Corporate Sustainability 1

Introduction

Corporate sustainability is a common strategy applied by every successful

organization to establish long-term values that are considered adequate by adopting the

business strategy, which mainly emphasizes the social, ethical, cultural, environmental, and

economic dimensions of carrying out business. Also, it is viewed as the current and

developing model of business management globally. Although corporate sustainability

primarily focuses on the significance of profitability and development of the company,

nevertheless, it also essential that the organization conduct the business in line with the

societal objectives. Hence, the majority of the organizations are substantially increasing their

priorities concerning the notion of sustainability as a significant segment of their business

strategies (Pati, Ahmad, de Brito, and Tavasszy 2016, p.6). The three essential pillars of

corporate sustainability include the environment, social, and economic pillars. The

environmental pillar that has much attention ensures the companies' operations are oriented to

reducing the carbon footprints, effective waste management, and water usage.

Environmentally sustainable operations also have financial benefits to the companies. For

instance, the reduction of packaging materials reduces the overall packaging cost. On the

other hand, social sustainability ensures that the company's employees, a community where

the company is operating, and all the stakeholders prove and support the operations of the

company. Securing social support involves treating employees with fair treatment and

maintaining good relations with the community members and neighbors. Thus, the paper

explores the notion of business sustainability, evaluating the sustainable approaches adopted

by the Royal Dutch Shell firm, and finally, highlighting the organization's influence on both

the environment and society at large.

Q 1: Corporate sustainability
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Business sustainability is considered as the effectiveness of a company in both short

and long-term performance. Various theories address the adaptation of corporate social

responsibility (CSR) in the business, including the shareholder and the pyramid model. The

shareholder theory indicates that a company's responsibility is to the shareholder by

maximizing shareholders' returns. However, profit maximization should not come at the

expense of other stakeholders, such as customers, employees, and society. On the other hand,

the pyramid model indicates that firms need to incorporate philanthropic, ethical, legal, and

economic responsibilities in their operations. Within the business environment, various

factors influence the business's general performance and play an essential role because the

company leadership is anticipated to highlight strategies for overcoming these challenges.

According to Landrum and Ohsowski (2018), before implementing corporate sustainability,

the company's financial responsibility is the main agenda for most companies, though this

concept has changed since businesses are currently expected to consider the environment and

society before making business-oriented decisions. The sustainability strategies encompass an

array of voluntary measures implemented by the company that includes social and

environmental factors within the business operations and needs the participation of the

stakeholders. Further, these factors include financial, threats, and social opportunities in the

organization facet. Hence, when a company integrates economic and healthy social strategies,

they are likely to overcome the present and future challenges, thus, putting the organization in

a strategic position, which improves its future development.

Additionally, sustainability comprises social involvement, whereby the company is

perceived to be actively involved in helping society attain its goals. Another primary concern

is the need for tactical implementation by the firm to be perceived as environmental-friendly.

Besides, for the sustainable future of a business, it is significant that the company produces

economically and is able to satisfy its customers and workers. Zimek, and Baumgartner
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(2017) asset that three main factors impact business sustainability, that is, social, economic,

and environmental concerns. For financial firms, the economic aspect is not always viewed as

an advantage because of the conflict between the business's ethics and profit. Although the

supply chain's transition brings about short-term fiscal benefits, there could be issues that the

credulity of the profitable businesses might face tremendous criticism. The social aspect

highlights the stakeholders, workers, and societal involvement in business operations

primarily. Wijethilake (2017) believes that fair and equal treatment of the company workers

and the establishment of a fair supply chain environment contribute to improved

performance, innovation as well as a high dedication in the firm. Hence, establishing a

healthy and society-based environment promotes creative workers who can efficiently

improve the status of the current products, systems, and business strategies. Finally, the

environmental attribute is possibly the most crucial aspect of business sustainability. A

sustainable business is often the most progressive because it continuously researches the

current procedures to achieve better and more operative options.

The adaptation of CSR has some advantages and disadvantages for the company.

Some of CSR's potential merits to firms include increased business reputation, brand

recognition, customer loyalty, and increased sales. Also, CSR improves the company's

overall profitability through savings in various aspects of operation such as energy, reduced

waste management cost, and improved financial performance. CSR facilitates easier access to

economic resources such as capital and attracting and retaining talented human resources.

These, along with other merits that come with CSR allow organizational growth as a result of

increased profitability, value, and better customer relations. However, CSR may also be

disadvantageous to the company through the high cost of CRS implementation, conflict with

the company’s profit generation objectives, and increased customers awareness on

greenwashing.
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Q3. The sustainable strategy applied by the Royal Dutch Shell Company

Shell uses the standard and values strategy in encouraging economic, environmental,

and social sustainability. According to Manzie (2018), the approach is mainly exploring the

plausible business, environmental, economic, as well as political changes to evaluate their

likely effect on the firm and its ideal potential reaction. This strategy assists the company

approximate future issues and sustain the firm's status by balancing its social, economic, and

environmental problems. Moreover, involving business operation stakeholders is an

important approach for Shell to improve sustainability issues. Thus, creating dialogues, for

example, with various NGOs, has helped the company keep tabs on the changing demands of

society and the market. (Kronfeld-Goharani2018, p.136). Shell's social operation is a

constant procedure, which integrates several different methods of performance that attribute

directly or indirectly to the community where it operates. Shell's main approach is to think

realistically that can be perceived by its dependance on the control systems of the business.

Within these systems, Shell has adopted well-separated management responsibilities and

operational metrics. Since its establishment in 1997, the firm has maintained its shareholders

efficiently informed conecrning its sustainability and operations (Garbie, and Al-Shaqsi 2019,

p.480). generally, the company has heavily invested in social relations in the Ogoni area to

enhance the community's living standards. The firm's main principles are to establish more

value for the shareholders, environment, and society at large. It is unfortunate that Shell, one

of the leading producers and distributors of fossil fuels that are highly related to

environmental degradation and global warming, claims to have adapted environmentally

sustainable operations through its CSR, an outright greenwashing.

Q3. Impact of Shell Adaptation of CSR

Society impact
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The firm has operated diligently to enhance its reputation as well as product image by

improving its economic development and social welfare. Depending on the region of its

operation, it provides a wide range of social welfare programs. The majority of these

developments created by the firm are based on the development of skills, environmental

issues, education, health, as well as societal growth, which have impacted the financial

growth for the area of operation (Egbon, Idemudia, and Amaeshi 2018, p.5). Moreover, the

company's main objective is to maintain its reliability and safety in the refining and

manufacture plants, support large market stocks, and associate with the local companies. The

organization has heavily capitalized funds to make sure that safety aspects are implemented

in the firm. For example, the launch of the twelve lifesaving rules, established in 2013, as a

type of awareness creation campaign and reducing the high levels of fatalities and injuries.

The company has several programs that focus on employees’ engagement strategies as well

as retention programs that have improved their confidence, productivity, and loyalty. Such

programs include flexible scheduling, responsive benefit, as well as various development and

learning opportunities for the employees. Shell has community engagement strategies such as

sponsoring community programs, fundraising for community activities such as education and

community development, and direct involvement in public community projects. As a global

brand,, Shell has a well-planned operation and supply chain that does not go against social

licensing and expectations. For instance, the Shell management ensures that no child labor is

involved until the final product, all employees and contractors within the supply chain are

paid and treated fairly, and are working in a safe and environmentally friendly environment.

Environmental impacts

In relation to the mission of the company, its primary objective is for client advantage

and to promptly react to the constantly changing situation sustainability and success as its

plans of the future operations (Enneking 2019, p.546). the firm has managed to sustain the
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long-term growth and profitability, and its objective to the green in the future. For the

company, GHG and the changes in climate seems to be the main environmental issues it faces

(Sullivan, and Warner2017, p.48). thus, it has mainly aimed to create energy from secondary

convectional bases to attain the expected ecological requirements effectively. Though the

company has given put more focus on the carbon emanations that are the main current source

of the greenhouse impacts, it is still linked to ecological threats because of its abstraction

manufacture of harmful substances.

Shell operates in an industry with undeniable environmental impacts that had put a lot

of operation strategies for benchmarking and reducing the impact on the environment. The

petroleum industry has a lot of environmental challenges such as full costing of the

businesses' impact on the environment as there are various externalities involved. For

example, the costs for carbon dioxide, wastewater, land reclamation, as well as solid waste

management may not be easy to calculate since companies such as Shell do not directly

manage the generated wastes. This is why Shell focuses on benchmarking to quantify all the

externalities involved in carbon reduction and waste management to ensure effective

reduction and waste and carbon production.

Economic Impact

Economic sustainability is another aspect that the Royal Dutch Shell Company is

firmly grounded, leading to the consistent profitability of the company. However, the

profitability of the company does not come at a cost to the other elements of corporate

sustainability, including the environment and society. Shell does not believe in profitability at

all costs as its operations are oriented to adherence with the environmental and social

guidelines. The company also spends a significant amount of its revenues on technologies

that facilitate the reduction of the carbon footprint and waste management. All the operations

of Royal Dutch Shell fit under the economic pillar of corporate sustainability through
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compliance with all the policies and guidelines such as risk management compliance, proper

governance compliance, social licensing, environmental management and protection

compliance, and all other policies that affect petroleum companies. Also, economic

sustainability has facilitated the company's performance through long-term profitability and

revenue generation, reduced operational costs as a result of proper management of waste and

energy saving, effective management of risks by adhering to the respective legislation and

policies.

Conclusion

In summary, companies ought to implement approaches that can drive their corporate

to achieve the required sustainability. Additionally, the procedure of change should be steady

and incessant, which means that the company must continuously assess its processes and

guarantee that its procedures are continuously improved. For the effective achievement of

business sustainability, the company must ensure that it adopts a prompt business culture that

deems its customers' and employees' needs. In its operations, Shell has effectively

implemented several approaches, which have enabled it to control a large share in the market

within various nations. Further, its initiative of perceiving the economic, environmental as

well as social aspects of the business has additional warranted its effectiveness and

achievement of competitive edge within most marketplaces.

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References

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Garbie, I.H., and Al-Shaqsi, R., 2019. Building sustainable models and assessments into

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Systems Engineering, 33(4), pp.473-512.

Kronfeld-Goharani, U., 2018. Maritime economy: Insights on corporate visions and strategies

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