Economic Sustainability

The importance of implementing a sustainable approach in the business has increased in the past few decades to ensure that they use natural resources in a sustainable manner to fulfil the current needs while ensuring that future generations are able to fulfil their needs as well. The three key pillars of implementing and meeting the goals of a sustainability approach include economic, social and environmental sustainability (Pearce, Barbier and Markandya, 2013). In this report, the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards 2016 which implement on the case of Timberwell Constructions will be evaluated. The underlying fundamentals of these standards will be analysed in this report and their impact on the stakeholders of the company. 

In this case, the risks and opportunities posed by climate change have the potential to influence operations, expenditures or revenue of Timberwell Constructions. The risks or opportunities can be classified either physically or regulatory, and Timberwell Constructions has classified them in a physical manner. The corporation has violated some of the amendments which are introduced by Stanwell Council. These policies are a part of the Local Environmental Plan (LEP). Due to global warming and climate change, there are specific areas situated in Stanwell district which are facing the risk of fire or prone region. These challenges are created by the actions of companies, and they are expected to take appropriate actions to conduct their operations in sustainable manner to address the challenge of climate change (Lipper et al., 2014). Timberwell Constructions has established one of its sites in Stanwell district which is situated in the high fire-prone risk area which should be included in the Disclosure 201-2. This information is given by the LEP amendments, and the introduction of these new regulations creates challenges for Timberwell Constructions since it has to incur a cost of $4 million in order to comply with these regulations. Moreover, risks and opportunities are also created for the company based on the popularity of technologies which are available in order to address the challenges relating to climate change and changes in the behaviour of customers (Howells et al., 2013). Moreover, the company was engaged in an external town planning firm in order to reduce potential costs of LEP requirements which require the company to incur additional $50,000. 

A key challenge faced by Timberwell Constructions is that one of its employees has made a complaint against the company in the state corruption commission by providing that five of its employees and two business partners are liable for corruption. The state corruption commission has charge those seven stakeholders with corruption charges. The corporation has taken this incident seriously; it has suspended those employees without pay. Moreover, the company also avoid involving with its partners and suppliers who engaged in corrupt activities. The corporation has made various media releases and public statements in order to portray it as a good corporate citizen. It is important that corporations take serious steps towards similar incidents in order to avoid them in the future and set an example as a good corporate citizen to prohibit similar activities (Freckleton, Wright and Craigwell, 2012). The media releases made by the company in relation to corruption incident are focused on highlighting the actions taken by the company to punish those who engaged in these illegal activities and set an example for others to avoid similar activities in the future.

Disclosure 201-2: Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climate change

The company is facing a legal action in relation to anti-competitive behaviour, anti-trust and monopoly practices. The employees of the company have reported against the company to government regulators. These practices negatively affect the competition between companies in the market which negatively affect the economic growth in the country and the interest of customers (Fonseca, McAllister and Fitzpatrick, 2014). Timberwell Constructions is facing an on-going case which is filed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for engaged in anti-competitive conduct. A complaint was filed in the ACCC against Timberwell Constructions in which it was alleged that the corporation knew about some local builders who plan to establish their own corporation in the Stanwell district. In order to address this competitive threat, the senior executives of Timberwell Constructions threatened the suppliers that if they start this company, then their business with Timberwell Constructions will be reduced substantially or withdrawn completely. The executives engaged in this practice in order to create a monopoly of the market by misusing its powers which is negative for the customers and economic growth of the company (Amirmostofian, Reunanen and Uusitalo, 2014). As per Disclosure 206-1, the court entertains this case within four months which may create challenges for the company by imposing penalties and disciplinary actions on its executives which can negatively affect the interest of the corporation.

As per Disclosure 302-1, organisations have to make a public report in relation to the total amount of non-renewable energy sources or furl which it uses in its operations (Global Reporting, 2016). In the case of Timberwell Constructions, a press release is launched by the company in which it has include details regarding its energy consumption in which it is highlighted that the majority of the energy consumption of the corporation comes from electricity. Non-renewable energy sources include turbines, furnaces, vehicles, coals, fuel, heaters and others which are used by corporations (Apergis and Payne, 2012). The fuel consumption of the company from non-renewable resources is 1.0 Gigajoule, renewable resources are 0.5 Gigajoules and energy consumption 2.0 Gigajoules. As per the press release of the company, it has initiated a recent program which is focused on increasing the fuel consumptions of renewable energy up to 50 percent in the next three years. 

One of the sites of Timberwell Constructions which is situated in Otford Park is populated with rate wallum sedge frogs. The proposed development made by the company in order to render the site is inconsistent with the survival of these frogs. In order to address this issue, the corporation is working with Stanwell Council and other environmental groups. The objective of the company is to develop a strategy for managing proposed development on the particular site while ensuring that the rare wallum sedge frogs are protected. It is the social responsibility of companies to ensure that they take appropriate measures to protect the biodiversity and reduce the negative impact of their activities, products and services on biodiversity (Lenzen et al., 2012). Moreover, it is also revealed in the Environmental Impact Assessment report of the company that conservations efforts are taken for Otford Park Development Park to protect those frogs. The corporation focuses on converting habitats of these frogs in order to ensure their survival. This disclosure highlights the role of corporations to ensure that they fulfil their social responsibility towards its stakeholders which include taking appropriate actions to protect biodiversity (Gordon et al., 2015).

Disclosure 205-3: Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken

The corporation has reported various monetary and non-monetary fines and sanctions which are imposed for failure of the company to comply with environmental regulations and laws. The objective of these laws is to impose a duty on companies and individuals to ensure that they did not adversely affect the environment or its resources while conducting their business operations (Burby et al., 2013). Various judicial and administrative fines are imposed on the company for non-compliance with environmental laws. These laws include national, local and regional regulations, international conventions, treaties and declarations. In the case of Timberwell Constructions, a fine of $200,000 was imposed on the corporation based on the investigation conducted by the Department of Energy and Environment. In this investigation, it was found that the company has cleared 0.45 hectares of coastal grasslands which resulted in endangering the ecology of the local area. Due to this action of the company, it becomes difficult for the authorities to protect flora and fauna pursuant to the state’s planning scheme. This deliberate non-compliance shows that the management of the company is unable to adhere to the environmental laws which are imposed on the operations of the company.

Timberwell Constructions did not comply with the guidelines issued by Disclosure 401-1 when it comes to utilising the information which is available on the total staff members as at the end of the reporting period because it failed to calculate its staff turnover and the rate of newly hired employees. The corporation has hired 58 male staff members with different construction-related trades and professions. Along with these employees, the corporation has hired 12 new apprentices, and 17 employees left the corporation in order to work in rival companies or start their own businesses. The hiring rate of the company is 20.6 percent whereas the employee turnover rate is 29.3 percent. The majority of the employees are between the age of 30 and 50 years. Without the retention of talented and experienced employees, it is difficult for companies to ensure that they sustain their growth in the market (Galpin and Lee Whittington, 2012). As per Disclosure 401-1, the companies have to ensure that they disclose relevant data regarding the hiring and turnover rate of employees. 

According to Kobayashi, Eweje and Tappin (2018), it is important that corporations implement relevant policies to prohibit discrimination and discriminatory behaviour in the workplace which is crucial to create a positive working environment that leads to promoting the performance of employees. An employee of Timberwell Constructions has filed a complaint against the company with the Fair Work Commission for age-based discrimination in the workplace. He provided in his complaint that he faced aged based discrimination in the workplace along in inappropriate humour which employees use against him to make fun of him. It was reported by the employee that he was the only one employee who was older than 50 years and other employees were between the age of 30 and 50 years. The corporation failed to take appropriate measures to prohibit this behaviour in the workplace to ensure that the employee did not face humiliation in the workplace. It is a duty of the corporations to ensure that they take precautionary actions in order to prohibit discrimination in the workplace which negatively affects the employees (Husgafvel et al., 2015). After this ruling, Timberwell Constructions reported that it had updated its anti-discriminatory policies and it has also implemented policies for anti-discriminatory training in the workplace to prohibit similar behaviour.

Disclosure 206-1: Legal actions for anti-competitive behaviour, anti-trust, and monopoly practices

Various actions and initiatives are taken by the management of Timberwell Constructions in order to promote programs that promote and support community engagement and participation. This is a key part of the overall social responsibility of companies to ensure that they engage in practices for supporting and promoting practices for development of local communities which are affected by the operations of the companies (Schulenkorf, 2012). Timberwell Constructions has initiated different programs to engage with local communities which are achieved through various community development programs and meetings which are conducted between local residents. Furthermore, the corporation is working with Stanwell Council for complying with proposed amendments made in the Local Environmental Plan. The objective of this plan is to reduce the risk of global warming and climate change on the local communities by taking precautionary measures.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Timberwell Constructions has faced a number of sustainability issues, and the corporation has implemented various approaches in order to address these issues. The GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards 2016 assists in identifying the negative and positive contributions made by the corporation in relation to sustainable development. This report has evaluated both the positive and negative impact of actions taken by the company on different stakeholders. The corporation is taking several measures which are targeted on achieving sustainable goals of the company by providing safe working environment for employees, protecting biodiversity, eliminating discrimination, reducing use of non-renewable energy sources and many others. Compliance with these policies assists the company in positively influencing its brand image and implements a sustainable business approach which secures its future growth in the market. 

References

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