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    1. QUESTION

    Sustainable management plays a vital role in maintaining the quality of life on our planet. Sustainable management can be applied to all aspects of our lives.For example, the practices of a business should be sustainable if they wish to stay in businesses, because if the business is unsustainable, then by the definition of sustainability they will cease to be able to be in competition.

     

    Instructions: Select a company of your choice and describe the company’s “Sustainable management” operational practices. As an example, visit Nike’s Sustainable Innovation site. You may not use Nike as your company choice. HERE ARE THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PAPER

 

Subject Business Pages 4 Style APA

Answer

Sustainable Management Practices at Patagonia, Inc.

Sustainability management refers to the introduction of sustainability concepts in the operation of a business. It mainly involves balancing the three bottom lines of profits, plant and people so the three prosper at the same time. The essence of sustainability is to ensure that the business makes profits, while at the same time, maintaining the environment and society for the sake of posterity and future generations. As a result, the business is able to conserve natural resources, reduce wastage, and increase efficiency, thus optimizing its use of resources. This ensures long term viability of a business. Sustainability management entails ensuring that people are subjected to humane working conditions, proper waste disposal, reduced carbon footprint, and involvement in fair trade practices among others (Bob, 2011). A case of an organization that has merited in sustainable management is Patagonia, Inc. It is upon this understanding that this essay describes Patagonia’s sustainable management operational practices.

Patagonia, Inc. is an outdoor clothing company based in the USA. It was founded in 1973. It is headquartered in California. It went bankrupt in 1989 which necessitated adoption of a circular economy model of business. This business model is associated with sustainability management. Since then, Patagonia has changed its vision and mission statements, as well as work ethics to embody sustainability operations and practices. As a result, it has managed to achieve the triple balance between profitability, people and planet. For instance, it registered revenues of $209.09 million in 2017 (O’Rourke & Strand, 2017). In addition, it has invested in communities through CSR while protecting the environment through a range of environmental sustainability initiatives. In fact, its active engagement in sustainability management has earned it the title of an activist company.

To begin with, Patagonia’s mission statement is to ‘to build the best quality products that cause no harm and use their business to implement and inspire solutions to environmental crisis. Consequently, their supply chain has been reviewed and evaluated to eliminate practices and processes that degrade the environment (Patagonia, 2018). Their offices and distribution centers are energy efficient and are described as a green. The buildings are made of recycled materials and energy efficient lighting and heating systems. As a result, it has earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Gold Certification issued by the US Green Building Council.

Patagonia promotes fair labor practices and provides a safe working environment for its employees along the supply chain. This includes protecting migrant workers who are considered a vulnerable class of workers from human trafficking and exploitation. It has also ascribed to the California SB657 disclosure statement which helps meet high human rights standards such as avoiding child labor (Patagonia, 2018). As part of its environmental conservation initiatives, Patagonia encourages customers to either reuse their products or return them to the factory, through dedicated collection points, where they are repaired, cleaned and sold as ‘Worn Wear”. In addition, it commits 10% of its profits or 1% of its total sales to funding environmental groups. Its founder was a pioneer in establishing the ‘One Percent for the Planet’ initiative which encourages other firms to contribute towards environmental groups. It also operates the Common Threads Project, where customers are asked to reuse or recycle clothing. Its commitment to environmental conservation has been manifested in situations where Patagonia has championed activism and boycott against government policies that are not pro-environmental. White (2016) notes that these practices have helped Patagonia win over environmental conscious customers thus realizing competitive advantage over its competitors.

References

Bob, T. (2011). Sustainable distribution at Patagonia. Available at: http://www.scmr.com/article/sustainable_distribution_at_patagonia

O’Rourke, D., & Strand, R. (2017). Patagonia: Driving Sustainable Innovation by Embracing Tensions. California Management Review, 60(1), 102-125.

Patagonia. (2018). Promoting fair labor practices and safe working conditions throughout Patagonia’s supply chain. Available at: https://www.patagonia.com/corporate-responsibility.html

White, S. (2016). Commitment to sustainability gives Patagonia strategic advantage. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/headin-here-20160426-goev7b.html

 

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