Sustainability and Business Assignment Sample

Introduction Of Sustainability and Business Assignment

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Sustainable practices may assist to the overall profitability of a company in addition to achieving social and ecological transformation. Generally, “the three pillars of sustainable development are economic, social and environmental, which prominently needs to be considered by the organisation while to intend to develop their business progress sustainably”.It may be counter-intuitive to spend extra money on sustainable corporate practices, yet studies have shown that the most sustainable firms are the most lucrative. The metrics of ecological, social and governance (ESG) are commonly utilised to assess how an organisation is ethical and sustainable (Martínez-Martínez et al., 2019). The medium as well as long-term performance of companies with strong ESG ratings is continuously high. Although sustainable development techniques may be a short-term investment, they can bring long-term advantages.

Task 1

“Discussion of the Key Sustainability Issues Prevalent in the Garment Industry”

The meaning of Sustainable Development (SD) words can be misleading and vary between professions and businesses as per literature. The best approach to convey the SD idea though is to grasp the definition of the fundamental word 'sustain' (= to 'maintain'), and to recall that has three major dimensions: economics, society and the environment. When cross-cutting businesses with these dimensions, ethics, sustainability policy, or the two govern certain ways and activities (Carlson and Bitsch, 2018). The following figure gives the definitions of SD. Since 1980, the administration has been aggressively promoting the expansion of the clothing sector in Bangladesh by legislation.

Although the article does not focus so much on the environmental effects, the literature also covers ecological and financial factors and contends that ecological and resource conservation, dangerous chemicals and pollutants / waste are key concerns for sustainable development in business. “Researchers believe that sustainable issues in the clothing business are multifaceted and depend on suppliers and customers, including the position of the government, authority and willingness to regulate effectively (Garcia-Torres, Rey-Garcia and Albareda-Vivo, 2017)”. Poverty, corruption and poor socioeconomic developments in nations can contribute negatively. Public knowledge and excellent communication of these matters are also seen as key measures towards improved sustainability, in conjunction with Global activities.

(Source: Nath, Eweje and Bathurst, 2021)

An instance of this is Disney's choice not to use factories in Bangladesh for the production of their items. But this is a delicate decision and what is the best method.  To deny contract vendors that disregard the concerns of sustainability and human rights, or to help producers/countries improve their requirements which some firms might find costly and impossible solutions.Generally speaking, literature states that few megatrends identify the main obstacles in implementing sustainable projects (Nath, Eweje and Bathurst, 2021). These patterns are described below and action topics are highlighted.These great developments lead to problems which make it harder for sustainability plans to be implemented.

Globalization, for instance, has transformed trade, manufacturing and financial flow patterns (Goworeket al., 2020). The global financial system is becoming more delicate and it regrettably does not always staff requirements and inventions; in constructing nations impoverishment and unfairness are growing, and as in the case of Bangladesh, the global economy is making good returns from development drawbacks that promote untenable consumption patterns.

“Demonstration of a General Understanding of the UN Sustainability Development Goals and the Threats faced in Implementation of Sustainable Initiatives in the Apparel Industry”

Two above-mentioned objectives directly overlap the case study of Bangladesh: Goal 10 "Reduced Uniqueness" and Goal 12 "Responsible Consumption and Production."A 17-point agenda, created by 193 country leaders over a ten-year period in 2015, is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UNDP1 is the world's leader in poverty reduction, human welfare and environmental protection (Olofsson, 2018). By attaining these objectives, the world may effectively overcome all the hurdles that are existing in terms of supporting/implementing sustainable development in all areas of our lives by 2030 and propose effective action to achieve them. SDGs encompass most problematic areas. All 17 SDGs are shown in the following figure:

How textile/apparel sectors have evolved over the last decade’s increases the danger of earning a profit by leveraging disparity between individuals or nations, the shift in the industry is mainly seen in expanded SC networks to the countries, where manufacturing may be much lower, especially in moving garments fabrication and stitching facilities abroad. Now it is hard to comprehend that the material was produced in the same location a couple of generations earlier that apparel was developed and constructed (Lal et al., 2021). The correct illustration, nevertheless terrible, is the case: Bangladesh manufacturing is expensive for several explanations: it is a limited income country nation, where people are willing to find employment for some very lower wages that are unelected; labors do not obtain schooling and the significant proportion are ladies and everyone’s performance is cheaper in value and when they are not currently in a relationship, occupational stress is simple to handle for unregulated.

Government rules do not promote the protection of individual rights in the fields of health and safety at work nor in the labour code. The case study demonstrates that when rich people operate on the manufacturing sector, vendors are unaware of a situation in plants and company management mistreat workers because the state does not deal with the problem or cannot manage it with adequate protections (Shen et al., 2020).Although the case study fails to stress environmental impacts, it is quite simple to infer how individuals and particularly women and children in Bangladesh industries are abused and how the atmosphere is harmed on the basis of working circumstances at companies.

When companies and in particular their buyers have been adequately honoured for the principles of accountable and ethical manufacturing, their conduct will impact and customers will become more responsible for deciding what they are to purchase and at what price. Sustainable production influences the company's credibility and consumers may contribute significantly to the improvement of sustainable production methods by taking ethical choices when they purchase products and services (Rudolphet al., 2020). The chart below shows that ethical consumerism is a key advantage in persuading company owners, governments and society in promoting sustainable development.

“Demonstration of a Critical Understanding of the Effects of Sustainability on Supply Chains in the Apparel Industry”

“Supply Chain (SC) is a complicated system leading to the final production and can be a mixed system of material, data, personnel, operations and organisations”. "The SC conceptualise the whole physical procedure from the purchasing and procurement of basic materials throughout all operational phases to the end user (Yadlapalli, Rahman and Gunasekaran, 2018). Many individual firms, each of which is connected through their share in meeting the particular requirement of the end customer" are the majority of supply chains. Every SC comprises elements in production and consumption.

Today, one of the most polluting sectors with a long international outsourcing chain is the textile or clothing industry and this scenario was caused by the major shift in recent decades when manufacturing was moved out of nations and SC became multinational / decentralized. Formerly, clothing was locally created using materials that were sourced domestically (Bubicz, Barbosa-Póvoa and Carvalho, 2019). “New SC management strategy has generated ethical difficulties when producers are not engaged in the production of materials and clothing”.In the textile and clothing sector, the danger of infringing labour rights and other harmful human and environmental practices is very significant.

Significant factors include that many clients are ready to pay more, especially human rights abuses, as detailed in Bangladesh's case studies, because of the rise in knowledge and not accept bad practices. Incorporation of concepts of sustainable development to the supply chain is therefore becoming more essential for both consumers and manufacturers, sometimes for commercial purposes, but at the same time hard for companies (Luthra et al., 2018). Ethical production generally becomes a concept/philosophy, impacts a brand reputation and determines success/profits. The following figure shows ethical sources:

A corporate social responsibility, ethical resourcing/manufacturing; the low carbon supplier chain are all regarded, as are literary measures for sustainability: enhanced corporate social responsibility and innovations such as environmental sustainability, conservation or pr Further study is needed in tackling challenges such as waste management techniques, management of environmental risk, assessment and assessment methodology, supply chain management, involving contractual coordination, etc. (Roy, Silvestre and Singh, 2020). Researchers also highlighted numerous challenges like the fragmentation of SC, consumer desire and volatility of the market.  The following graphic shows all the industry's stages and essential topics for sustainable thinking. This number also covers efforts by renowned firms to improve the management of sustainable SC.

“Evaluation of the Global Best Practices in Ethical Sourcing Implemented by Organisations in the Apparel Industry”

Ethical sources are used to pick raw materials, where the buyer considers how staffs are handled and how the components are produced sustainably together with quality and pricing. There are instances of failing clothing firms that could not fulfil the ethical resource criteria (i.e. Gap). Consumer behaviour is crucial here; therefore, most firms are currently launching worldwide campaigns to comply with ethical resource criteria to achieve business success.The businesses Adidas, Patagonia, Marks & Spencer and H&M have created "additional miles" of ethics supply for a brand image (Oelze, 2017). In order to sustainably consider the organizational brand image, these organisations have developed their potentiality in supplying high-quality product to the consumers. There are several methods to implement SD principles, such as ensuring that the plants situated outside the country are regularly controlled, demanding accreditation for inclusion on the SC, assisting factory staff in different ways, etc.

(Source: Nawaz and Koç, 2019)

The firm Marks & Spencer is one of the so-called 'higher street brands' who never cancel a factory merely because they do not comply to the requirements, and it knows what it does for the contractors to lose their agreement. "Global Community" and "Plan A," which contain of hundreds of various measures, is well-known to Marks & Spencer, but always promote the rights of staff in foreign countries, helping entrepreneurs achieve health and safety standards and technological standards that are beneficial to communities (Nawaz and Koç, 2019). Marks & Spencer has provincial offices, which provide easy monitoring of the situation in manufacturing and first source data.

It must be noted that worldwide advertising may seem to be more efficient, but a disintegrated strategy may be at danger of being more marketable and gaining customer awareness. Compatible long-term methods, such as being upfront in revealing subcontractor identities and continuous processes for delivering employee advantages are better. The most successful ways are to engage and assist regions and contractors in the advancement of technology, waste-free manufacturing and the implementation of necessary regulations (Nayak, Akbari and Far, 2019). In order to assist customer’s access and comprehend the real effect of any local or global initiatives and not be lured by 'green-washing,' it is also extremely vital to educate customers.

“Formulation of Sustainable Strategies to Improve the Working Conditions of the Garment Workers in Bangladesh”

“In today's society, sustainability is part of all corporate plans. Companies should demonstrate what they do to preserve the planet and whether people with disabilities benefit from it”. Development and sustainable and implementation plans designed by businesses to ensure conformity with SD. Investigation has demonstrated that 66% of professionals think that durability ensures efficiency and revenue and 73% consider that a majority of companies need some kind of guidance for developing and improving their sustainable strategies (Alamgir and Alakavuklar, 2020). The 5 phases to create and execute the sustainable development strategy. The following are the following stages outlined and described.

The table below shows concerns of Bangladeshi garment workers and proposes methods for improving the situation:

“Critical Analysis of the Role of the HR in Driving Sustainability in Such Organisations”

Human resourcemanagement (HRM) monitors procedures and activities linked to workers at the centre of the company and. Training and development is one of the HRM tasks and is aimed at strengthening employee capacities, giving the necessary information, information and competencies. HRM also encompasses healthcare, security, ethical standards and, above all, contributes to the management of transformation, adapting all processes and practices to new needs and contexts (Pham et al., 2020). Consequently, it can also be the job of HRM to develop and promote sustainable culture in the organisation. A list of several methods in which HR may help build a suited culture in the organisation has been established.

(Source: Ahuja et al., 2019)

HRM begins with engaging with top executives and adapts the HR strategy, particularly sustainable techniques, as per business needs. The next stage is to communicate to employees what SD is and how the corporation's performance and well-being is connected. In all phases of manufacturing or services, it is thus extremely necessary to include the staff in the procedure of integrating sustainable and at the same time to keep customers and prospective customers aware of the situation and the business actions in terms of SD (Ahuja et al., 2019).There is a belief that sustainability may be emphasised from the recruitment stage, which means that new employees should be sensitive to concerns of sustainable development.

The method of assessing employee performance must bring comparable efficacy into account (Baum, 2018). In other respects, all the phases and activities of HRM must include SD. Studies show that very few corporations comprehend the responsibility of HR in improving and incorporating sustainable practices and that converting HRM into a strategic body has changed over the past couple of decades, and thus not everyone recognises HRM's role in promoting sustainable culture and the adjustments connected to the influence of the corporation on employees and the following figure demonstrates the Green HRM idea which contains various components including workers, the ecosystem and community for succession planning, KPIs and sustainable objectives, CSR.

“Selection of Brand(s) and Critical Review of Some Strategies Implemented by them to Manage Sustainability in their Business”

Furthermore, the situation of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh has thoroughly shown that all companies contracted manufacturers in Rana Plaza have not been expanded to outsourced manufacturers in foreign countries for their commercial principles and ethics. Furthermore, neither were informed of the tragic inhuman circumstances in the factories and consequently never accompanied a notion of 'shared value' or social responsibility for their CSs and, as CEOs in the company's sustainability leadership, either supported green cleaning or the leadership of Rana Plaza did not comprehend their role and area of efficiency and coverage (Ishaq and Di Maria, 2020). However, it is well known that, via a higher responsibility to companies, Bangladesh's scenario has completely changed the context of the textile, apparel and garment sector worldwide.

Leadership in sustainable development is relatively new and, as some scholars say, transitory throughout the transition phase while the globe introduces/establishes/promotes sustainable development and until it becomes common for any firm worldwide.It also supplied the needed descriptions and justifications, based on interviews with CEOs and others at various companies globally extended models for sustainable leadership (Abualfaraaet al., 2020). The authors' basic description of sustainable leadership "is someone who motivates and promotes activity for a better society." “The writers included three key ideas on leadership, one focusing on a leader's own characteristics, the outside situation that forms leadership behaviours, and the other. The instance of Rana Plaza has shown how shifting contexts have affected the leaders' actions to promote sustainable development”.

“Critical Evaluation of the Role of the CEO of these Brands or Organisations in Dealing with Such a Reputational Crisis”

The disintegration of Rana Plaza caused 1129 deaths and 2000 injuries in the SC management globally, which resulted in a collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013. Famous businesses like Rana Plaza, Primark, etc. have evaluated their supply chains with regard to sustainability and have adopted new guidelines for ethical manufacturing. The "Fire and Safe Building Accord in Bangladesh" has been signed specifically by more than 200 clothing companies from 20 countries to prevent future catastrophes comparable. The agreement managed to reduce 97,000 of 132,000 risks in Bangladesh's manufacturing (Liu and Li, 2021). “The catastrophe at Rana Plaza has exposed that most companies do not know where and what their factories operate, yet their reputations could not be saved thus clothing manufacturers began to make huge adjustments by incorporating sustainability problems into their business plans”.

Benetton was one of the brands that had a big impact on their reputation. It became evident that Beneton's last purchase was sent two weeks before its catastrophe, which at initially denied any link with Rana Plaza. “The firm delayed payments to the Donors Trust Fund formed in order to recompense the victims/families and their sales had a negative impact on all those delays and lack of transparency”. Customers, particularly young men, protested in stores and workplaces, accused Benetton of exploiting employees and established arbitration (Jahng, 2021). “In 2014 and 2015, a company's sales therefore fell considerably”. In 2015, the firm had to re-brand its advertising approach to improve profits and revenues.

Recommendations

Throughout analyzing and researching some evident sources, the knowledge of those frameworks and researches advice to CEOs to satisfy the sustainability criteria in Rana Plaza can be articulated as follows on the basis of the debate above:

• “Put sustainable development plan into the company's corporate principles and strategic HRM priorities”.
• “Know all SC elements, independent of location and kind of contract, about their working circumstances and values”.
• “Take serious measures and give community, staff and the environment particular attention”.
• “Establish internal health and safety standards and pollutants and ensure that all SC aspects are in line with the principles of ethical sustainability”.
• “Be honest, transparent and sustainable in company processes”.
• “Follow 'three actions,' 'social corporate responsibility' and 'approaches of shared value’.”
• “Inform and prevent green washing, be part of the community that creates and promotes the worldwide sustainable culture”.

Task 2

a)Biodiversity loss, resource scarcity, population increase andglobal warming onInformational Technology Industry

The information technology (IT) industry includes businesses that manufacture software, hardware, or semiconductor equipment, as well as businesses that would provide internet or associated services. Software solutions, semiconductor equipment, technology hardware and equipment, and semiconductors and are the primary industry sectors within the IT segment. Each of these industrial categories is further subdivided into industries and sub-industries. Businesses are classified according to the sub-industry in which their primary or most profitable company operates.

“Population expansion and the associated rise in economic/industrial activity have negative consequences like “global warming”, “resource scarcity”, and “biodiversity loss”, all of which are direct consequences of human industrial activity in recent decades. “Global warming (GW)” is a shift in weather patterns caused by the industrial revolution’s increased temperature, which became notably noticeable in the mid-twentieth century”.

International organizations, academics, and professionals assert that GW has a substantial influence on companies (Bartholyand Pongrácz, 2018). Explicitly, extreme weather events such as floods, storms, and temperature changes have a substantial impact on businesses, i.e. create difficult working conditions and increase insurance costs; they can also affect the supply chain and disrupt operations due to changed availability/cost; they can result in a change in demand or public pressure that results in changed regulations.

Climate risk is commercial risk. These sectors' assets, equipment, and operational processes were developed to operate under certain climate and environmental circumstances. Climate change (which might take the form of gradual changes or catastrophic occurrences) can have an effect on operational parameters and corporate supply chains, affecting telecom and data centre firms as well as their consumers. The consequences may include changes to functionality, service quality, return on investment, business continuity, and price, as well as cascade effects on the different consumers that rely on them. To mitigate these risks, value preservation methods are necessary.

Climate change entails both spectacular and subtle risks. Extreme weather events such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and the Thai floods in 2011 demonstrate the near-term economic impact of climate change. Cumulative or gradual climate impacts, on the other hand, are less likely to be studied due to the inability to detect signals as operating performance deteriorates gradually, the uncertainty surrounding the timing and magnitude of impacts, the lack of stakeholder consensus following an extraordinary circumstance, and the short-term decision-making timelines of many businesses. These consequences may result in an increase in expenses and a decrease in the estimated life of infrastructure assets. Businesses face an urgent need to comprehend, analyse, and prioritise various types of climate threats (Kouloukouiet al., 2019).

Global supply networks expose the world to a variety of climatic threats. Climate change has the potential to have a wide range of effects on the supply chains that deliver goods and services to both of these industries. However, due to the complexity of this network, climatic impacts on one segment of the supply chain in one region of the globe might have repercussions in other segments of the supply chain in other places. A single climatic event can have compound consequences, affecting a wide range of industries and nations.

Threats to infrastructure are more understood than risks to supply chains. While warming risks to critical supply chain inputs such as energy look to be considerable, the modest but rising body of work on telecommunication and data centre climate hazards focuses almost exclusively on infrastructure, almost entirely ignoring business supply chains. This gap must be filled in order to ascertain the relative importance of climate threats to the network of inputs, components, and services that support the information and communications technology (ICT) industries.

However, GW effects may be viewed as opportunities to improve sustainability approaches through the introduction of new technologies and a greater emphasis on public benefits and services (Shukla, Verma and Misra, 2017).

Another worldwide trend influencing business industries is population growth, which may have a beneficial influence on the economy by expanding its production capacity but can also have a negative effect by increasing food insecurity, housing difficulties, health system spending, and natural resource depletion. Scarcity of resources is one of the negative consequences of population expansion and increasing/irresponsible consumption; particularly, resources can be drained by rising demand, resulting in resource depletion or mismanagement (Tashman, 2021). Shortage of natural resources is defined as a situation in which demand exceeds supply, resulting in a scarcity of accessible resources. Indeed, resource scarcity is produced by unsustainable usage over an extended period of time. The loss of biodiversity on the planet is a result of industrial waste and pollution, resulting in major changes to the environment, which may have a profound detrimental influence on people’s health and well-being in the future (Maceet al.,2018).

The Information TechnologyIndustries has a unique position in the world. Increased pollution, population expansion, followed by demographic changes such as population exploration and biodiversity loss, all contribute to an increase in the need forInformational Technology Industry Industries. Informational Technology Industryfirms are increasing their investment in research and development to create new services and products. The population places a financial strain on innovation systems that are now shifting their focus to prevention and reducing their reliance on Informational Technology Industry. The public places further pressure on the business, seeking greater transparency in operations and, particularly, in treatment pricing.

Global dynamics contribute to the actualization of sustainable development. This adds further pressure and scrutiny to the sector. To address all of these sustainability challenges, businesses must make significant financial expenditures and organizational/marketing efforts to maintain amarket share, steady reputation, and profit margin.

b) Identifying sustainable development finance issues, solutions and suggestions

Without appropriate finance, the global community's best intentions as articulated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) would remain unattainable. Recent failures in development finance should thus refocus policymakers' attention on the importance of developing clear national policies to ensure that these noble objectives are achieved. Obtaining the necessary resources might be accomplished through a mix of income generation, private capital attraction, and financial sector growth. Policymakers will need to take collective action and adopt a new form of multilateralism in order to advance global objectives. A new United Nations report delves deeply into how nations and the international community are progressing in terms of raising necessary funds.

The funding requirements are not trivial.

According to the UN study, recent changes may make finance more difficult to get. Global growth is believed to have peaked; trade restrictions are becoming more severe, certain developing economies are seeing capital flow reversals, and credit concerns are increasing, with around thirty low-income nations either at high risk of or already in debt crisis.Financial constraints may jeopardize the achievement of sustainable development targets by 2025. This is a well-recognized issue by many international organizations. Despite enormous international financial support, emerging markets constitute a significant impediment to attaining the “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs) by 2025. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) project aims to close that gap. The OECD estimates that the yearly funding gap (public and private) is in excess of USD 2,500 billion. International society recognizes that greater finance must be accompanied by an increase in the quality and efficacy of all spending. Renewed methodologies and standards for international development finance are in great demand, particularly in terms of evaluating and implementing highly efficient sustainability activities. Thus, improving the quality and productivity of sustainability measures, as well as incorporating SDGs into international development programs concentrating on poor nations, are two of the most feasible solutions to the funding gap and danger of SDG implementation failure outlined previously.

Creating a funding strategy might help asfinancing is frequently the most vulnerable component of national SDG plans. “Revenue plans for the medium term is important as forging a national consensus on medium-term profittactics that can sustain changes over the course of a political cycle by highlighting the connection between increased income and operative and fair public services”.

As per Gomez-Echeverri, (2018), an in-depth examination of debt issues reveals a plethora of measures that can assist governments in identifying vulnerabilities early on and managing their debt more effectively.Sustaining debt sustainability through actions and constructing a contingency plan for future emergencies. Even the best-laid plans, strategies, and instruments may fall short of effectively preparing developing nations for potential financial crises and advanced economy spillovers.

According to Tomislav (2018), Informational Technology Industry, along with other related industries, has a significant effect on attaining the SDGs. To prioritise functioning above sustainability—the primary concern should be the fruitfulness and durability of services and products as they travel through the supply chain. In other terms, not to jeopardizethe quality. To create novel management solutions and place a premium concentration on “corporate social responsibility” and to ensure that it encompasses all three pillars, including community/people, environment, and economics. “Corporate values” and “company ethics” should be inextricably connected; when chosen prudently and applied successfully within a complete risk management framework, they frequently result in market value and distinction. To completely comply with international regulations—as it is a highly regulated sector, which implies that regulatory compliance may greatly improve sustainability activities and approaches is highly important. Transparency and real concern for the earth and its inhabitants—to keep the public informed, to prevent greenwashing, and to place a premium on the most long-term efficient, inventive, and successful sustainability initiatives is a must.

c) Exploring and discussing creative business ideas that will assist the firm in solving sustainability problems

Utilizing innovations is often regarded as one of the most successful strategies for tackling sustainability concerns. While innovation takes financial expenditures and may appear to be costly at first look, it ultimately results in increased efficiency and savings. The illustration below depicts how innovation is typically regarded in theInformational Technology Industry.Innovation in any enterprise, however, involves much more than improvement. Creativity in the IT sector and its professional is an ongoing fascinating, complex, and inventive activity that goes beyond design and technology. Creativity, thoughts and opportunities combine these points with a varied populace, and all help to finding today's advances in technology.

Sustainable and responsible manufacturing is critical to the industry’s sustainability efforts, as it is one of the most polluting industries, wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. sustainability might refer to two distinct concepts in the setting of IT production. To begin, sustainability might relate to the concept of safeguarding the firm by avoiding risks that can jeopardise output and revenue. The second goal is to minimise activities’ environmental impact and planetary assets. These two ideas come together when IT firms evaluate the financial savings associated with decreasing environmental impact.

IT sectors are well known for the green house gas emission which eventually contributes to the high rise of the global warming. For lessening the effect, they can make use of Architecture that is environmentally friendly. Green design is significantly more cost effective. It is appropriate to say that sustainability is the foundation of these projects. HOK, which has over 25 offices throughout the globe, is located in the US. Established in 1955, their strong collaboration with the Biomimicry Guild identifies them as an ally in sustainable design (Knappet al., 2019). Design Futures Council's Design Intelligence has recognised HOK as the number one role model for Sustainable and Improve Skills for the third consecutive year, based on the fact that they have 900 LEED-accredited experts and have certified 125 LEED projects. The firm's dedication to sustainability involves its projects and practise achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, with honors for all HOK design professionals, and high ratings for all HOK workplaces with respect to LEED Gold or above.

IT companies can create a blog/app as the most critical at this moment, above all, is to raise awareness about sustainable and environment friendly products or services.And one business that can assist accomplish this goal for as little as a dollar is a blog, program, or social media platform.It will aid in the dissemination of awareness and facilitate the connection of eco-friendly enterprises with their target market.

d) “Effect of regulations and international codes on sustainability in the Informational Technology Industry”

The Information Technology Industry's primary goal is to enable effective data exchange in order to address some of society's most pressing issues and to assist individuals and businesses in becoming more inventive, efficient, and productive. All firms must also demonstrate the additional value of their activity in order to execute this. Because there are no established rules for integrating sustainability into business, each organisation develops its own perspective and method for benefiting the world and people without jeopardising corporate earnings. Creation and production need a substantial investment of natural, human, and financial resources. While production entails significant ecological dangers, it may also be viewed as a tremendous opportunity, as IT firms can make significant contributions to ensuring the planet's sustainable future. In recent decades, sustainability policies have played a key role in determining a company's competitive advantage, and as a result, IT firms have taken a proactive approach to incorporating sustainability into their activities (Taeihagh and Lim, 2019). The primary objective is to be the most effective manufacturer of high-quality products while also being sustainable. This entails making a trade-off between expenditures and outputs. Several measures taken by businesses include green IT practises aimed at decreasing energy consumption; carbon-neutral movements aimed at minimising carbon emissions are also significant.

A cybersecurity regulation (for example, "The Consumer Data Security and Notification Act") is a collection of directives designed to protect “information technology” and “computer systems” by demanding businesses and organisations to safeguard their systems and information from cyberattacks like "denial of service" (DOS), "phishing", viruses, "unauthorised access attacks", "Trojan horses", and "control system compromise" (Fuster and Jasmontaite 2020). Numerous precautions are in place to ward off hackers. “Cybersecurity” measures comprise“firewalls”, “anti-virus software”, "intrusion detection" and "prevention systems", “encryption”, and “login passwords”. “Efforts have been undertaken to strengthen cybersecurity through regulation and active participation between the public and private sectors to stimulate voluntary improvements”. Regulators in the private sector, notably in the banking sector, have recognised the threat presented by cybersecurity and have started or plan to begin incorporating cybersecurity into regulatory evaluations. Transparency and accountability are critical components in implementing sustainable practises. Consumers must be educated about a company's sustainability efforts; this enhances the company's reputation. Given the size of the information technology sector's supply chain, this industry must assure sustainability at all levels.

The ethics of IT businesses is a hot issue of debate, and many experts believe that the IT sector engages in unethical marketing practises. This is precisely why this industry is already one of the most regulated, as laws are an extremely effective tool for policing company ethics. The UK, France, Germany, and the majority of Western Europe have by far the most advanced IT industries. This enables businesses to save heavily on "research and development" and "sustainable production" in order to manufacture high-quality products and maintain their brands' reputations, which they have already established.

e) Examination of the influence of legislation and international standards on the sustainability of the Informational Technology Industry Industries

As a result of globalisation, the Informational Technology Industry Firmsis dominated by multinational corporations that must adhere to both domestic and international rules concurrently. The primary regulatory concerns in this industry are about data privacy, in a post-GDPR environment, privacy may be the single most important concern for customers.Regulation of artificial intelligence is gaining traction—and with cause.Every sector, from production to clerical labour, is being disrupted by automation. Regulation and government action are of utmost importance for thisas copyright laws are always changing.

Because the quality IT products and services directly change the conception of technology of people who use it. The international organizations that provide guidance on these standards; however, are keeping an eye to safeguard whatever international codes they want. Each country maintains technological advancement as it is a must.

IT is a highly regulated industry, although the extent to which it affects the environment is mostly determined by local and national legislation. SDGs impose extra pressure and requirements on businesses to adhere to ethical manufacturing standards. Sustainability has become a selling point and a determinant of a company’s reputation; as a result, these are constantly improving their technologies and exposing innovations in order to create ethically manufactured products that are of the highest quality and generate the most revenue.Sales and marketing are other sectors that are heavily controlled at the local level in the business. Regulations cover a variety of topics, restricting advertising via mass media (Hempshall, 2019).

Additionally, it should be noted that the majority of businesses have their own distinct codes of ethics and conduct in which they explain their corporate philosophy in terms of how they handle their employees, the environment, sustainability, and human rights (Medzini, 2021). National and international rules have animportantinfluence on the IT industry, primarily in a favourable way that benefits customers, but also presents challenges for corporations, which frequently must make additional efforts to remain competitive and maintain stable profit margins (Moriokaet al., 2017).

In reality, persuading management to adopt regulations and codes is contingent on a variety of factors, including industry, business level, organisational culture, management style and hierarchy, and so forth, as I am bearing in mind a “hypothetical scenario” rather than the organisation where I currently work. However, I trust that I must emphasise the business’s positive sides. I must define how adhering to international standards improves the quality of products or services, how this benefits the workforce, who developsto be more efficient, creative, and results in better outcomes, and how enhanced processes impact the company’s competitive advantage. Additionally, I should clarify that buyers are more knowledgeable and frequently choose to pay a premium for items made ethically. Additionally, it may be useful to justify by bringing instances of multinational firms that have destroyed their reputation by not adhering to sustainability standards, therefore harming the environment, violating human rights, or utilising suppliers that abuse employees, and so on (Nosratabadi, 2019). I would attempt to include the human resources department and incorporate a sustainability component into regular employee training sessions. In this scenario, sustainability actions will be taken not just to comply with the policy, but out of genuine appreciation for how beneficial it is to have a stable and sustainable supply chain and the impact it has on the individuals around us, the corporation’sstatus, and including our own families’ future.

f) Critical discussion of the sustainability report “Etisalat”

“Emirates Telecommunication Group Company PJSC”, doing business as “Etisalat”, is a global “Emirati telecommunications services” company with operations in 16 countries in, the Africa, Asia, and Middle East. It is the world’s 18th leading telecommunications provider in terms of customer base (ETISALAT 2019 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT, 2020).Everything they do is guided by a commitment to sustainability. They make a concerted effort to conduct themselves ethically and responsibly by living up to their mission of Paving the path for a sustainable and interconnected digital future. They are devoted to making a good difference in their communities while also achieving long-term success.

They’ve developed a progressive roadmap for monitoring, benchmarking, and constantly improving their financial, environmental, and social effectiveness.“Our sustainability framework directs our efforts towards maximizing the telecommunication sector’s contribution to national and global sustainable development objectives” as stated by Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Chairman - Etisalat Group.

Understanding the perspectives and apprehensions of Etisalat’s different stakeholders helps to shape their business processes and strategic objectives.“To conceptualize sustainability, we rely on a sustainability framework for defining and managing our environmental, social, and economic impacts” as illustrated in 2019 Suitability report of Etisalat.They work with key stakeholder groups on a regular basis to assist define and develop their sustainability approach. They listen to and solicit input from the stakeholders who really are impacted by their company through a variety of communication channels.

They are always on the lookout for and responding to new global and regional issues that provide both dangers and possibilities for the business and “key stakeholders”. To ascertain critical material problems, they:

1. Conduct “desk-based research”, as well as a study ofstaff interviews, industry standards, and rival businesses, to identify a list of probable significant concerns.
2. “Prioritize stakeholders” (external and internal) and subjects in order to assign a perceived significance to material concerns.
3. Conduct an internal review of the outcomes with “Etisalat management and the sustainability group”. This assessment safeguards that the inventory of material problems is comprehensive and represents the viewpoints of all stakeholders.“Review results internally within Etisalat management and the sustainability team. This review ensures the list of material issues capture and is inclusive of all stakeholder perspectives” as described in ETISALAT 2019 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT.

They use a sustainability framework to define and manage their environmental, social, and financial effects in order to conceive sustainability. Their approach is built on five pillars: “Accountable Business Practices”, “Market and Customer Focus”, “Community Engagement”, “Environmental Stewardship”, and Their “People” (ETISALAT 2019 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT, 2020). They think that a strong foundation, backed up by continuous improvement programmes, will enable us to accomplish their strategic business goals.

Their sustainability initiatives are guided by international and national goals for example the “UAE Vision 2021” and the “UN Sustainable Development Goals”. This is necessary to ensure the long-term growth of a strong economy and a committed society.

Being an uniqueleading telecom businesses of the region, they acknowledge their industry’s responsibility to contribute meaningfully to “international and national standards and sustainability goals”, including the “GRI”, “SASB”, “UAE Vision 2021”, and the “UN Sustainable Development Goals”. Their sustainability strategies and activities have been coordinated to support these audacious aims.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the discussion done on the segments of task one and task two examined details about Sustainable practices that contribute to companies’ total profitability while also accomplishing social and ecological transformation. It also meticulously discussed about sustainable development approaches and scrutinized data related to it.The first task examined the key “sustainability issues” facing the “garment industry”, asserted anover-all understanding of the United Nations sustainable development goals and the barriers to implementing sustainable initiatives in the apparel industry, and included a crucial examination of the effects of “sustainability” on “apparel supply chains”. Additionally, businesses in the “apparel industry” were evaluated on their implementation of global best practices in ethical sourcing and on their development of “sustainable strategies to improve working conditions of garment workers in Bangladesh”. along with these, a critical investigation of the function of human resources in integrating sustainability in such organizations was conducted, as well as a critical review of some of the measures employed by them to maintain sustainability in their business and a critical analysis of the contribution of the CEO of these brands or organizations in interacting with such a “reputational crisis”. Task two discussed about Biodiversity loss, resource scarcity, population increase and global warming on Informational Technology Industry, sustainable development finance issues were identified along with solutions and suggestions. Creative business ideas that would assist the firm in solving sustainability problems were explored and discussed. The influence of regulations and “international codes on sustainability” in the Informational Technology Industry were assessed along with the examination of the influence of legislation and international standards on the sustainability of the Informational Technology Industry Industries. A critical discussion of the sustainability report “Etisalat” was also evaluated to understand the subject matter more clearly.         

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