Corporate social responsibility and sustainability

Question:

Discuss About The Organizations Are Therefore Required To Act?

While it is the sole aim of any business to generate maximum profits for its various shareholders, businesses are also required to make sure that their activities do not negatively affect the wider society; Organizations are therefore required to act in ways that are considerate of needs and aspirations of their various stakeholders. Among the areas of focus for an organization in corporate social responsibility include a focus on the environment, ethical labor practices, undertaking philanthropic activities, supporting community welfare projects among others (Pullman, Maloni & Carter, 2009). Corporate social responsibility refers to having in place initiatives to assess an organization’s impact on the environment and social well-being (DiSegni, Huly & Akron, 2015).  Sustainability refers to the act of not negatively affecting the environment or depleting natural resources. This report will focus on the sustainability aspect of corporate social responsibility with special emphasis on Siemens Building Technologies Inc.

One major focus for many organizations that are socially responsible is the environment. This is mostly because businesses whether big or small all have a carbon footprint. Organizations, therefore, take different steps to ensure that the carbon footprint so produced is reduced in order to minimize the negative impact on the society. Some of the most common environmental efforts put in place especially in the European countries include usage of green energy and adoption of eco-friendly travel and office policies (Morelli, 2011). Also included is ensuring that each business takes upon itself the responsibility of ensuring that their net impact on the environment is kept at its minimal. Siemens Building Technologies is currently the most sustainable Company world over. To achieve this status, the company has in the recent years identified and implemented a number of measures which are focused on sustainability efforts (Carroll & Shabana, 2010).

At Siemens Company there are three dimensions of sustainability which are profit, people, and the planet which must be balanced at all times. The business is cognizant of the fact that people are an important asset in achieving maximum profits and long-term business growth. For this reason, therefore, the business ensures that it treats people fairly and with respect (Jabbour & Santos, 2008).  Part of this fair treatment is a reduction of its negative impact on the environment and working towards a healthy planet for the present and future generations.

Environmental sustainability initiatives at Siemens Building Technologies Inc

In its sustainability endeavor, Siemens Company carries out three primary activities including focusing on sustainable business practices under which the organization is focused on being the market leader in as far as sustainability is concerned and ensuring that sustainability is incorporated in all areas of the organization (Zhao,2016).  The Second activity involves the company helping its customers to become more resourceful through innovation and helping them to minimize their negative impact on the environment. Finally, the company is engaged in ensuring sustainable development of the society. To achieve this, the company has strived to ensure the best employer of choice for many job seekers engaging in philanthropy and improving the quality of life for people in Canada and other parts of the world.

The company has put in place several initiatives to help it achieve its sustainability goals and maintaining balance in the sustainability dimensions. Part of these strategies includes the company’s vision of being carbon neutral by the year 2030. This program was launched in the year 2015. The program is based on four pillars:

Under this pillar, the company aims at minimizing its fleet emissions by at least 30% by the year 2020.Currently, the fleet emissions from the company stand at 300,000 Tons of carbon per year. The company aims at achieving this by improving the efficiency of its transport (In Gonzalez Perez & In Leonard,2013).

The company has from the year 2016 invested more than 100 Million Euros to enhance energy efficiency at its sites. The program which is ongoing is targeted at saving more than 20 Million Euros per year upon completion of the implementation. In 2016 alone, the company started a total of eleven energy efficiency programs.

The company has a long-term target of meeting at least 10% of all the electricity demand from energy systems distributed on sites such as solar panels, wind turbines, intelligent energy management systems, energy management systems and small gas turbines. Trough this the company has recorded a reduction of 90% of primary energy consumption at its new headquarters (In Thangavel & In S?ri?de?vi, 2014)

Using renewable sources of electricity

The company has in the recent years continued to improve in its use of renewable energy and electricity with half of its Germany sites entirely using green energy. Since the launch of Carbon Neutral operations program the company has significantly reduced its collective carbon emissions as compared to the previous years.

Sustainability dimensions at Siemens

Protection Of The Environment And Conservation Of Resources

Over the years the company has maintained a commitment to improving the efficiency of its energy and resources in order to align itself with the international regulations regarding the protection of the environment. The company has rolled out an environmental protection management system in an all its production facilities and offices as part of meeting the established international standards. The company’s efforts have enabled it to have no landfill waste. The company has also managed to recycle 100% of its hazardous and non-hazardous wastes in some of its branches such as those in Germany, Newcastle and United Kingdom. To reach where it is today in terms of sustainability, the company has undertaken several steps to positively impact its stakeholders (In Gonzalez-Perez & In Leonard, 2013).

The company implements sustainability at various levels within the organization from the bottom to the top levels. This strategy helps in ensuring that there is a collaborative effort towards sustainability from all fronts within the organization. This has ensured that there is sufficient implementation of high-quality standards of environmental sustainability all levels (Seliger, Khraisheh & Jawahir, 2011).

The Company approaches suitability in a holistic manner basically at a strategic level which includes implementation of a top-down method. This not only helps the company to contribute to environmental sustainability but it also in enabling it to positively impact the society through its activities through sustainable value creation. Just like Siemens, Organizations should, therefore, have specific policies which are well defined and view sustainability as part of their corporate approach to ensure that their activities impact both the environment and organizations positively (McWilliams & Siegel, 2011).

Apart from the sustainability strategies that have been adopted by the organization, the company has ensured that they are adequately communicated to the various stakeholders of the company which has facilitated accountability and transparency (Székely & Knirsch,2007). For example, the company publishes annual sustainability reports which have helped the company to communicate its sustainability initiatives as well as achievements from these initiatives. This has also facilitated comparison of sustainability progress between different periods and with other companies.

Just like any other long-term strategy, goal setting becomes quite critical in ensuring long-term success. Siemens Company sets goals that are measurable, accurate and clearly defined. The setting of goals has enabled the organization to measure progress and also in the identification of any challenges (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014).  This has enabled the organization to keep track of its progress and enabled it to make adjustments aimed art realizing its sustainability agenda.

Sustainability efforts and goals at Siemens

Conclusion

In conclusion, sustainability has become integral to all organizations that wish to compete effectively in the market. As part of international regulations, organizations have been compelled to put in place sustainability strategies to minimize their negative impact on the environment. Siemens Building Technologies Inc. is a good example of organizations that recognize the importance sustainability as a corporate social responsibility goal. Basically, in as far as sustainability is concerned; the company is focused on profit, people, and the planet. It therefore ensures that in its pursuit of profits, it does not negatively affect the society and the environment The Company has adopted a number of programs including Carbon neutral program which is based on four pillars and policies on protection of the environment and conservation of the environmental policies in order to help it achieve its sustainability goals. These strategies have helped the company to emerge as the most sustainable company in the world for at least two years consecutively. The efforts put in place by Siemens Building Technologies Inc a global reputable organization, therefore, support the statement that sustainability is an important social responsibility goal.

References

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Seliger, G., Khraisheh, M. M. K., & Jawahir, I. S. (2011). Advances in Sustainable Manufacturing: Proceedings of the 8th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing. Berlin: Springer Berlin.

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In Thangavel, P., & In S?ri?de?vi, J. (2014). Environmental sustainability: Role of green technologies. New Delhi : Springer