What Sustains a Sustainable Business?

What Sustains a Sustainable Business?

WHAT SUSTAINS A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS?

Corporations are increasingly keen to integrate sustainability into their business strategies and models - striving to make their businesses more sustainable, to positively impact their performance, all while benefiting the environment. But efforts at an organisational level can only make an impact if they're connected to global sustainable development, which is the job of policymakers.So are corporate interests actually compatible with 'big picture' sustainability strategies?In this interactive, our academics from The Open University explore how prioritising care, making systems more resilient, and focusing more on innovation, can create opportunities for achieving economic success and environmental justice, paving the way for a more resilient and innovative, sustainable future.

ENTER INTERACTIVE

CARE

RESILIENCE

INNOVATION

What Sustains a Sustainable Business?

CARE

RESILIENCE

INNOVATION

CARE

A caring culture for a caring world

HOME

REFS.

Caring for the planet through a sustainable approach

FOR A CARING WORLD

Organisations structured to look after their stakeholders

Who and what should businesses care for?It all starts with empathetic relationships with employees, consumers, suppliers and the community.

Caring for a business's most important asset

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

Caring for People

Caring in business and society from the top downwards

CARING LEADERSHIP

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INNOVATION

Innovation supports business resilience and sustainability, unlocking new possibilities and ensuring sustained growth in an increasingly dynamic market landscape.

IN BUSINESSES AND BEYOND

HOME

REFS.

The importance of keeping approaches to sustainability up to date

INNOVATION SUSTAINABILITY

Embracing innovation by drawing on networks of innovative skills and ideas

Preparing the future leaders of business and policy for the challenges ahead

Innovation in networks

FUTURE LEADERS

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resilience

From resilient people to resilient systems, the ability to bounce back is the basis for building long-term success in ever-changing circumstances.

IN BUSINESS SYSTEMS AND BEYOND

HOME

REFS.

Building resilient organisations through personal and staff resilience

Explore the role of risk management in resilience inside a business and its networks

A resilienT WORKPLACE

RISK AND resilience

What is resilience? And is it becoming just another buzzword?

Just a buzzword?

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An organisational culture of care influences the development of business objectives and processes embedded in values of inclusion, diversity, ethics and sustainability. It supports the connection of business sustainability on a micro level to sustainable development on a macro level, with a business focus on financial returns and the environment. Every organisation is sustained by its people: employees, investors, consumers, suppliers, wider stakeholders and the community. Caring for people as an organisational value means caring for processes, operations, policies, practices and behaviours. A caring organisational culture means that care is a value shared by organisational members, therefore business objectives are not seen as in contradiction with the welfare of the environment, but instead, business motives encompass environmental sustainability on a wider scale.

A caring culture for a caring world

A Caring Organisational Culture

As businesses that adopt innovation mindset tend to be more resilient, leaders should focus on developing the innovation capability of individuals, organisational members and the larger networks - including policymakers. Future leaders will be making decisions in riskier, more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous markets. For them, it will be less about making detailed plans and more about exploring different ideas regarding new technologies and changing market dynamics. As Schoemaker et al. suggested: 'Leaders must be like classical musicians who follow a tight script for the part of the strategy deemed robust, as well as jazz performers who can improvise around key themes as necessitated by unexpected change.'

INNOVATION IN BUSINESSES AND BEYOND

capabilities for future leaders

The increasing complexity of global challenges, rapid technological advancements, demographic shifts, and evolving societal norms necessitate businesses to operate at the network and social innovation levels as well. As the exchange of external resources among network members is essential during innovation, supply networks generally play a critical role throughout the process. In social innovations, companies try to address social problems by affecting changes in society. This can be done when different groups of people with different sets of skills and resources work together to meet a social need or provide humanitarian help. Due to its focus on social values and large-scale issues, the network needs to include a range of groups. Building a collaborative and integrated relationship between supplier network members is one of the most important things that can make social innovation work. Establishing a supply network of partners with complementary skills and local knowledge is crucial for promptly identifying issues and finding ad hoc solutions.

INNOVATION IN BUSINESSES AND BEYOND

INNOVATION IN NETWORKS

Every organisation is sustained by its people: employees, investors, consumers, suppliers, wider stakeholders and the community. Caring for its people is an organisational value that spans across processes, operations, policies, practices and behaviours. A business ethics of care is based on empathetic relationships with all stakeholders (including employees and the community) founded on openness, reciprocity and responsiveness - leading to flexible actions that consider the concerns of others. An ethic of care also ensures that different views and perspectives are heard and respected.

A caring culture for a caring world

CARING FOR PEOPLE

Sustainability is much more than the reduction of carbon footprint. However, carbon footprint is often considered the measure to assess how sustainable businesses are. Reducing packaging, water and plastic usage, rewarding sustainable travelling and supporting green initiatives throughout the supply chain are small steps in the larger scheme of sustainable development for a healthier world. Ultimately, the reduction of reliance on fossil fuels, land reclamation and waste management should be the aim of sustainable businesses. Therefore, organisations that focus on a long-term sustainable strategy, do more than mitigating environmental damage, they engage with the important questions concerning sustainability problems the world is facing and what should be done to address them. Truly sustainable businesses work to address the causes of environmental deterioration and also engage in corrective actions.

A caring culture for a caring world

FOR A CARING WORLD

• Schoemaker, P.J., Heaton, S. and Teece, D., 2018. Innovation, dynamic capabilities, and leadership. California management review, 61(1), pp.15-42
• Tabaklar, T., Sorkun, M.F., Yurt, O. and Yu, W., 2021. Exploring the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities for social innovation in a humanitarian aid supply network setting. Industrial Marketing Management, 96, pp.147-162.

References

Poorly managed risks will, in their simplest form, result in lower performance, which does not contribute to the goal of sustaining a sustainable business at all. Further impacts of this would lead to lower product quality, inaccurate forecasting, a decrease in turnover and share price, loss of reputation, and poor relationships with network members and stakeholders. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, more attention is placed on understanding how global events affect businesses and alternative networks in the presence of supply chain risks and risk mitigation strategies. There are several risk management/mitigation strategies to cope with these adverse effects, such as network re-engineering, developing collaboration with partners, adapting agility, and cultivating a risk management culture. In the end, these strategies develop the resilience capacity of a single businesses, buyer-supplier dyads, supply networks or collections of supply networks, and larger systems such as global supply chains.

Resilience IN BUSINESS SYSTEMS AND BEYOND

Resilience and RISK

• Resilience, APA Dictionary of Psychology, https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience
• Christopher, M. and Peck, H. (2004), "Building the Resilient Supply Chain", The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 1-14. https://doi-org.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/10.1108/09574090410700275
• Gurbuz, M.C., Yurt, O., Ozdemir, S., Sena, V. and Yu, W., 2023. Global supply chains risks and COVID-19: Supply chain structure as a mitigating strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises. Journal of Business Research, 155, p.113407.
• Christopher, M., Mena, C., Khan, O. and Yurt, O., 2011. Approaches to managing global sourcing risk. Supply chain management: An international journal, 16(2), pp.67-81.

References

Resilience IN BUSINESS SYSTEMS AND BEYOND

What is resilience in essence?

Resilience represents a highly relevant approach to addressing inevitable disruptions caused by various crises, and disasters, as well as the volatile and dynamic nature of the global marketplace. That is why it is becoming a popular topic among managers, decision-makers, practitioners, and researchers. Particularly after the COVID-19 crisis, which served as a new super-disruptor for business and society, it has gained much importance in various contexts and settings, especially in relation to sustainability.

But what is it really? Do we all use it in the correct form in a daily basis?Following common principles and goals with sustainability, resilience also addresses the environmental, social and economic dimensions of a system, aiming to create a holistic approach that ensures long-term viability and adaptability. The American Psychology Association suggests “resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.” In applying the concept to a business setting, Christopher and Peck explain it as “…the ability of a system to return to its original state or move to a new, more desirable state after being disturbed” and apply it to a single business and/or a wider network scale.

Caring leaders engage in decision-making and actions that consider the moral and emotional implications for others, including organisational members and other stakeholders, and the social and physical world in general. Empathy and emotional resilience, alongside strength and decision-making in a practical sense are important leadership qualities, more so in times of change and crisis. Caring leaders are also able to absorb and contain stressful situations and organisational anxiety, and for this are perceived as effective and successful. Caring leadership is the foundation to the development of an organisational culture of care, grounded on care for others, care for the business purpose and care for the environment. Engaging in caring decision-making has a huge impact on leaders’ success, and therefore on the success of the business.

A caring culture for a caring world

CARING LEADERSHIP

The term "resilience" takes its roots from psychology. If one can fully understand the term and implement at an individual level in the context of psychology, then it can easily be extended to larger contexts such as a business or network. If employees can be supported to build their resilience through developing their skills on bouncing back, adapting to lifechanging situations, and becoming more adaptable and flexible, they can develop the basis of a resilient business. This is where “care” and “resilience” intersect.

Resilience IN BUSINESS SYSTEMS AND BEYOND

developing a resilient workplace

The role of innovation encompasses innovating in physical goods, materials, services, and other relevant processes for businesses to become more sustainable in terms of environmental, social, and economic aspects. Businesses can also contribute to innovations for broader sustainable development initiatives that have a global impact. In this way, they direct their attention towards developing sustainable solutions that not only benefit society but also contribute to their bottom line.

INNOVATION IN BUSINESSES AND BEYOND

Innovation in Sustainability

This shift in focus from internal innovation to innovation networks reflects a growing recognition of the vital role innovation plays in addressing economic, social, and environmental challenges. However, it is crucial to clearly identify potential avenues for businesses to achieve a higher level of sustainability through innovation. Recommendations include placing a greater emphasis on a global perspective, fostering an organizational culture that supports open innovation, securing top management support, promoting continuous organizational learning, and being responsive to the needs of customers and other stakeholders in global markets.

References

• Bend, G. and Priola, V. (2023) ‘There is nothing wrong with me’: The Materialisation of Disability in Sheltered Employment. Work, Employment and Society, 37(3), 645-664.
• Priola, V., Lasio, D., Serri, F. and De Simone, S. (2018) The organisation of sexuality and the sexuality of organisation. A genealogical analysis of ‘inclusive exclusion’ at work. Organization, 25(6), 732-754.
• The Care Collective (2020), The Care Manifesto , The Politics of Interdependence. London: Verso..
• Thomkins, L. (2020) Where is Boris Johnson? When and why it matters that leaders show up in a crisis. Leadership, 16(3) 331-342