Sustainability Assignment

BACKGROUND
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 .
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 . The
report (you’ll see more reports in the MBA!) demonstrates most of the GRI standards
(watch the introduction 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 that 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 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. Then, using the two sustainability reports, describe who the firm considers as
stakeholders.
3. 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.
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 three areas of content requirement.
WIIFM (What’s in it for me): 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.