Social, Economic, and Environmental Sustainability Assignment

BACKGROUND

Here’s the PDF Here’s the PDF – Alternative Formats

There are two downloads for this particular written essay assignment.

The first document is an article that will familiarize everyone with how many firms (larger size generally: but small & medium enterprises can use the standards too) report about their sustainability efforts.

The dimensions that firms focus upon fit into three areas: Social, Economic, and Environmental (SEE).  SEE is an acronym I use to remember the dimensions, it’ s not reflective of corporate priorities, which are generally about profit and shareholder wealth.

DOWNLOADS

Download the article here or here  Antolin-Lopez Delgado-Ceballos Montiel JCP 2016 _1_.pdf Antolin-Lopez Delgado-Ceballos Montiel JCP 2016 _1_.pdf – Alternative Formats

I have written with Ivan Montiel on and off for 10 years, so I assure you that this is a fairly easy read.  The article itself is an APA draft, so the tables will be at the end of the paper.

The second document comes from the GRI database.

This is a document that has solid links to webpages and the firm could be considered “tasty.”   You can pick the document up  Yum Foods Sustainability Report.pdf Yum Foods Sustainability Report.pdf – Alternative Formats

.  The report (you’ll see more reports in the MBA!) demonstrates most of the GRI standards (watch the introduction on the GRI standards  https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/). Some standards are reported on in separate reports, some standards are reported in the Annual Report (where the Profit and Loss statements reside).  The Yum foods report is pretty darn comprehensive–but don’t eat the report, drive to KFC as needed.

Now, I visited the GRI, which is based in Amsterdam, a couple of years ago–maybe 2017.  Some of the firms who claim to report under GRI standards need to report on ONE standard.  I know. I was a little taken aback. Enter in large companies in the news like Monsanto.

Many years ago, as a doctoral student, GRI was requiring certification/accreditation of all standards and then gave a grade (C being the most ominous).  As I understood things in 2017, GRI wanted to expand to a larger group of firms and try to build awareness.

It’s important to remember that the GRI does NOT accredit.  The GRI, similar to USCA (SACSCOC) and the School of Business (AACSB), requires a third-party to be engaged for checking on firms and asking: “does this firm meet GRI standards and how?”

The third document I’d like everyone to download is the Sustainability Report for your firm or for a firm for which you might have an interest.  You can download the report from the GRI database, or from the corporate reporting site that most firms maintain.  The sustainability report doesn’t HAVE to be in the GRI database–the only requirement is that you find a second sustainability report.

WHAT

By now, you’re thinking, get to the point Dr. Rod!  What I’d like everyone to do is create a short paper, 1″ margins, single spacing, double-space between paragraphs, with a maximum of THREE pages, use APA CITATIONS not formatting–we’re deviating from the formatting.

Here are the content requirements:

1. Write a short summary of the three dimensions of sustainability from the Antolin-Lopez et al. (2016) article.  Use the definitions found in paper and utilize the tables to help support your definitions.  The goal is to familiarize students with the three dimensions of sustainability.
2. Look at the GRI requirements before diving into the reports.  There’s a structure that will help frame the next two documents.
3. Then, using the two sustainability reports, describe who the firm considers as stakeholders.
4. Link the reports to the three sustainability dimensions of the firm.  Be sure to identify, describe and write about, any unique and innovative ideas that are in use and being reported.  Be sure to not only list the ways that firms meet the three sustainability definitions, provide a description and any “Gee Whiz” stuff.

WHY

• Students should be able to describe the main sustainability dimensions and be able to apply the dimensions as they relate to firms.
• Students should be able to identify unique and innovative initiatives and describe and consider if the application is helpful.

GRADING

Grading Points will come from the four areas of content requirement.

WIIFM (What’s in it for me-Dr. Rod): I didn’t like the old sustainability assessment and neither did some students. I am re-working the assignment and have not developed a clear picture around the “students should be able to” statements. I need to adjust the assignment based on outcomes from this first round. Always room for improvement.