Key Drivers Influencing Sustainable Business Practices and Stakeholder Management and Sustainability

Recognizing the significance of sustainable development require amplification of sustainability aspects in a given organization. Although to realize sustainability goals, the corporate stakeholders need to understand the internal and external environment of its operation (Mokhtar & Deng 2015, p.174). Hence, the success of a corporation depends on the ability of an organization to recognize the primary forces that drive change to gain of competitive advantage on opportunities present in the market. The key drivers can be a new idea or practices adopted by a company for sustainability. Corporations implementing sustainable practices are always resilient to risk of diversifying manufacturing process (Grigorescu, Maer-Matei, Mocanu, & Zamfir 2019, p. 1). Currently, companies have dedicated their management commitment and investments to sustainability. For instance, some companies such as Apple Inc. measure their innovation-based on the environment to engage sustainability. Therefore, it is vital to provide key drivers influencing sustainable business practice, including demand from consumers, internal and external drivers, and sustainable accounting system to attain stakeholder management and sustainability taking into account the value creation process, sustainability methodologies and reporting system. 

Apple Inc. engaged in corporate sustainability due to the constant demand for environmentally friendly and green products. Increased consumer recognition on overconsumption of natural resources and degradation of the environment continues to support the objective of changing to a sustainable economy (Grigorescu, Maer-Matei, Mocanu, & Zamfir 2019, p. 2). The awareness derives many companies like Apple Inc. from increasing their commitments towards developing a product that is sustainable to the environment because the practices can as well boost the company’s economic performance. Generally, millions of people rely on Apple products such as iPhones, iPads, and MacBook for their daily responsibilities, especially for learning or professional purposes. The company have received regard as the most environmentally friendly company through the adoption of 100% green energy in creating and designing products preferred by people and environment (Environmental Responsibility Report 2019, p. 3). Thus, Apple makes business sustainable through developing an environmentally friendly product that would gain a considerable market share to the company. 

Employees in the supply chain of Apple Inc. facilities are also essential as the firm drivers of corporate sustainable business practices. These workers are external stakeholders of Apple enterprise, but they have an impact on the firm’s corporate responsibilities. The primary focus of this stakeholders group is to receive proper compensations, the practice of ethical employment, and have a sense of job security (Khan, Alam, & Alam 2015, p. 963). In addressing these interests, the company create high commitment on suppliers through providing maximum working hours with reasonable compensation and allowing good working condition (Khan, Alam, & Alam 2015, p. 963). Besides, the company also have supplier ethical code of conduct that helps in monitoring and requiring working practices on a firm’s supply chain. Thus, for the certain of premium products, the giant tech corporation motivates its suppliers through compensation and creating ethical codes to fulfilling their interest. 

Apple Inc. adopts sustainable systems that integrate traditional financial procedures and corporate performance in measuring and controlling their assessment to attain an effective result. Sustainability accounting represents organizational practices that help in identifying environmental, social and economic determiners that affect the success of a company while measuring the driver’s progress. Corporate performance assists in measuring stakeholder’s need and satisfaction methods to achieve their expectations through assessing social, and factors of the environment around the company’s stakeholders. For instance, Apple Company has a popular framework to assess organizational responses to external forces and how they drive the firm to shift and adopt different management practices including sustainable accounting (“Environmental Responsibility Report” 2019, p 35). Therefore, Apple Company relies on a sustainable system by integrating corporate performance measurement to identify stakeholder needs and means of fulfilling them to achieve organization goal. 

Management of stakeholders and sustainability relies on the ability of a company to generate sustainable wellbeing which would determine the company relationship with all stakeholders on a given issue or at a specific period. Sustainability is the ability of a firm to continue with its business practices indefinitely taking into account their effect on social, environmental and economic dimensions that determine the company success (Nigri & Del Baldo 2018, p. 1). Corporate sustainability of the firm gets defined how it develops over a more extended period by considering the economic, environmental, and social dimension of its approach and performance, making it possible to discover a market that balances benefits with sustainable responsibilities. Thus, the corporate sustainability of a firm relies on the viability of stakeholder relations, and thereby a firm need to put into consideration and to engage not only internal stakeholders but also external stakeholders such as suppliers, society, and public authorities. 

Demand for environmentally friendly goods, stakeholders, and sustainable accounting system, are the key drivers that influence sustainable business practices to achieve stakeholder’s management and sustainability. Due to increased demand for an environmentally friendly product by the consumer, Apple Inc. engages in sustainable business practice to produce an environmentally friendly product. A mix of internal and external stakeholders such as consumer, employee and investors is another driver that pushes the company to sustainable business practice by addressing all stakeholder needs according to their expectation. Thus, stakeholder management and sustainability take into account value creation process that helps in the contribution of sustainability development.

 
Reference List 

Environmental Responsibility Report 2019, Apple Inc. Retrieved from https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Responsibility_Report_2019.pdf 

Grigorescu, A, Maer-Matei, MM., Mocanu, C, & Zafar, AM 2019, ‘Key Drivers and Skills Needed for Innovative Companies Focused on Sustainability’, sustainability, vol. 12, no. 1, pp.1-14. doi:10.3390/su12010102 

Khan, UA, Alam, MN, & Alam, S 2015, ‘A critical analysis of internal and external environment of Apple Inc.’, International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, vol. 3, no. 6, pp.955-961. Retrieved from http://ijecm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/3660.pdf 

Mokhtar, S & Deng, Y 2015, ‘Identification of key forces influencing sustainable development in Taiwan’, Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 8, no. 2, pp.174-186. doi: 10.5539/jsd.v8n2p174 

Nigri, G & Del Baldo, M 2018, ‘Sustainability Reporting and Performance Measurement Systems: How do Small-and Medium-Sized Benefit Corporations Manage Integration?’, Sustainability, vol. 10, no 12, p.4499. doi:10.3390/su10124499