Sustainability: a good idea, but not an easy task.

The ambition of transforming a traditional business in a sustainable organization is increasingly common. According to the getAbstract, main service of abstracts about technical books recommended for executives, the term sustainability has become one of the most focused topics in business literature. Among the approximately 5 thousand titles present in the acquis, 460 volumes are related to the topic. The word sustainability is at the same level of demand which common themes as: "negotiation", "capital markets", "marketing" and "consulting" (Smeraldi 2009). However, although there is a greater demand for the theme, few organizations are able to effectively overcome the barrier between the claim and the execution. As the conventional wisdom: talk is cheap, doing is not so simple. As an example of this situation, we can mention "the Exame sustainability Guide" (Special Edition of Exame Magazine), which every year holds a competition to select the most sustainable company in the country. Registration for the selection process is done so spontaneous, however only part of the selection process those who respond 122 questions about activities related to sustainability. The questions are, in a way, simple and are based on the existence of committees, publication of reports, targets for CO2 reduction, compensation related to environmental and social goals. Companies do not need to perform the activities, just answer the questions. In the 2009 Guide, 210 companies signed up and only 141 (or 67.1) answered all questions. On the assumption, the 210 companies listed, possibly believed that could be considered "sustainable company of the year", since the inscription is made so spontaneous. Also that this competition would follow a more journalistic criteria and wouldn't be as rigorous as other indicators of sustainability. It can be concluded that more than a third of the companies that considered themselves sustainable, they couldn't even participate by not answer simple questions about some activities. However, there is a small group of organizations that have committed a real effort to suit this policy and most importantly; they have had a great economic success. Incorporating sustainability into everyday policy, environmental and social issues are beginning to be part of economic growth, and I don't mean a problem for him. An example of success in Brazil's Natura cosmetics. Its policy of sustainability involves your entire production chain, from the collection of the product in nature for the manufacture of cosmetic to the destination of the package. Only in the year 2008, the company generated a profit of 2 billion dollars, and was considered the largest and best company in Brazil in 2009 for the same magazine that conducts the Exame sustainability Guide.


Source of Information: http://revistasustentabilidade.com.br/sustentabilidade-uma-ideia-boa-mas-nao-uma-tarefa-facil-por-rafael-morais-chiaravalloti/