The Importance of Monitoring Sustainable Business Practices

Maintaining sustainability in the business is the process by which the organisations try to reduce its negative impact on the global environment. Apart from this, companies also have to focus on the management of triple bottom line (Schaltegger & Wagner, 2017). Monitoring process helps the organisation in analysing their standing in terms of sustainable standards established by them. This system also facilitate the companies in comparing their future conditions with the present one so, that they can make better strategies. In the end prosperity of the companies in the terms of sustainable growth can be measured easily.

There are two types of indicators of sustainability. One is modern and other is traditional. Some of the modern indicators may include economic, social and political environment progress. However traditional indicators are- stakeholder’s profitability, quality of water and many others (Hauschildt, et.al. 2017).

According to Robert H. King (Sroufe & Joseph, 2017) it is easy to make identification of the factors resulting in the problem in early stages and such identification must be kept in mind while taking decisions after the formation of appropriate strategy. This helps the organisation in taking care of the environment in which they are performing business activities. Apart from this past experience has also shown that there is an increase in the use of recycled materials and all the economic benefits related to EMS are not easy to crack but with the help of efficient monitoring system all the sustainable activities can be performed by the organisation in an efficient way.

According to Martin Chater (Charter & Tischner, 2017) sustainability operations have created many opportunity for the business such as, sustainable product designs. Array of stakeholders have also been increased in social as well as in ethical dimension. This book is divided into three parts. In the first part description about SPD is given, in second part eco product and service development is given and in the third part different cases of the companies are given which clearly point out on the benefits of monitoring system.

Every organisation have some responsibility towards the environment as well for the members of society for which they are working but sometimes due to the over empathises on the profitability (Charter, 2017) they may lose their focus on sustainable areas.in such cases efficient monitoring system helps in many ways like- setting up of organisational objectives, act as a clear indicator against which sustainable work can be measured, provide support system and also helps in setting more future targets for the organisation.

Types of Sustainability Indicators

Indicators are very important as they help the organisation to focus on particular issue.  This also helps the organisation to know how efficiently its system is been working and in case any issues exist indicators also help in providing proper guidance to overcome them (Bell & Morse, 2008). As the organisation is actively engaged in performing many tasks so help the firms not to deviate from its path.

In this report discussion will be carried on socio-cultural, economic and environmental sustainable dimensions of a carpet manufacturing business – Victoria Carpets, detail description on one of the above sustainability area, indicator name, definition and different ways of measurement, key challenges/limitations and many other things.

 

Figure 1 indicator characteristics (Schaltegger & Wagner, 2017)

The above figure shows that there are three main indicators in the external environment- social, economic and social environment. In all the three areas organisation have to have to fulfil some of its responsibility such as, treatment of all the toxic waste produced by the organisations, performing the work by keeping the cost fact in mind as this will help the firm in saving its financial resources and at the end firm should produce only those commodities that are safe for the society.

Victoria Carpet Company was founded in the year 1895 in Scotland and was the fourth company that began carpet manufacturing in Australia. Its operations in Australia commenced in the year 1954 in Dandenong. Now it operates in two sites in Australia and has provided employment to more than 200 people. Its Dandenong plant performs operations including carpet manufacturing, sales and administration and sampling. The international quality yarns used for the manufacturing of carpets in the Dandenong plant are the result of wool processing and spinning mill in Bendigo (Victoria Carpets, 2018).

Victoria Carpets has an experience of more than 120 years in which it has evolved to material diversity from wool. In other words, earlier Victoria Carpets was predominantly a wool house but the increasing use of synthetic yarns and other new materials evolved it to a contemporary manufacturer which meets the demands of the market by the way of supplying a large range of tufted carpets.

The carpets manufactured by Victoria Carpets are classified on the basis of carpet styles and fibre types. Victoria Carpets offer tufted carpets in four distinctive styles namely loop pile, cut pile- plush, cut- pile twist and cut and loop. Moreover, two fibre types are utilized in the manufacturing of carpets – wool and woollen blends and synthetics. The use of wool makes the carpet stain resistant, durable, comfortable and hypoallergenic.

Case Study: Victoria Carpets

Victoria Carpets is known for the outstanding quality of its products, trendy and sophisticated designs, on time delivery and exceptional service and is therefore recommended by the leading architects and designers of Australia and New Zealand. The quality of the products and service are of prime importance to Victoria Carpets as it is one of the leading manufacturers of fine carpets in Australia for both commercial and residential applications. The growth of Victoria Carpets has seen to be three times in the past 12 years which has its reputation of a world class supplier of tufted carpets with high quality. It has continuously made investments in various facilities required for manufacturing and in innovative technologies which has resulted in significant broadening of its capabilities along with increase in the capacity. This in turn has provided market advantage to Victoria Carpets in terms of patterns, designs and quality. It has also won major range of industry and environmental awards which includes Premier’s Recognition Awards – 2013 and the Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards – 2013. It provides guarantee of their adherence to best standards of manufacturing quality and consumer satisfaction in the form of ISO 90001: 2008 Quality Management System accreditation.

Victoria Carpets also got the opportunity to supply red carpet for the wedding of future King and Queen i.e. Prince William and Catherine Middleton due to the outstanding quality provided by it. The royal households have been carpeted by Victoria Carpets for a number of years.

Victoria Carpets has three distinctive features namely integrity, innovation and inspired. The carpets manufactured by Victoria are not only beautiful in terms of appearance but also provides utility in terms of durability, comfort and luxury. Moreover, the carpets are environmental friendly and have low VOC emissions. It makes the use of minimal energy in the processes related to the manufacturing and finishing of the carpets and is effluent free. It provides the customers with lifetime warranty against shading with the help of tip definition and exceptional tuft bind.

Sustainability means to focus on the needs of present without compromising the capability of future generations to meet their needs (Schaltegger & Burritt, 2010). It means to grow without deteriorating environmental factors. It also means to produce goods and services which do not cause damage to environment. It includes three factors, socio-cultural, economic and environmental dimensions (Glavic & Lukman, 2007).

The socio-cultural dimension focuses on identifying the major reasons behind the different ways in which people react or perform their activities within the organisation (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014). Victoria carpet represents the demographic characteristics such as norms, values and custom of the population. Mainly factors identified under socio cultural dimensions are geographical distribution, population density, age and qualification (Knox & Mayer, 2013). Society norms and values are also considered in socio cultural dimension (Dempsey, Bramley, Power & Brown, 2011).

• Colour variation:  Colour is selected according to the taste and preference of customers. The company makes available colours according to the preference of society. Youngsters prefer to buy vibrant colours in society whereas people of middle and old age like to buy light shades of carpet.
• Carpet style: Selecting the most appropriate style is the biggest hurdle of company. These are available in wide range of styles and vary in texture. The customers can select appropriate style from palette. Victoria carpet makes available four type of carpet such as, loop pile, cut pile-plush, cut pile-twist and cut and loop. These styles are popular in both commercial and residential interiors.  
• Fibre types: The fibre is used of two types in the manufacturing of carpets like wool blends and synthetics. Wool carpets are stain resistant and hypoallergenic. Synthetic fibre reflects the weight, appearance and durability of the carpet. The people who are more tending to diseases prefer to buy wool carpets (Savitz, 2013).

Dimensions of Sustainability in Victoria Carpets

The economic dimension concerns the focus of organisation on the economic condition of stakeholders and economic society throughout the society at local, national and global level (Blackburn, 2007). Wool carpet of Victoria carpet is of natural fibre. It is renewable and equally sustainable. These are allergy resistant and include advantages such as resilience and stain resistance. Relevancy of economic factors can be as follows:

• Stain resistant: The woollen carpets are formed in such a way that can slowly absorb the moisture. The material used in manufacturing is water resistant. These qualities make it easy  
• Durable: The fibre used in carpets springs back into its natural shape. These are ultra-soft, even a person feels comfortable bare foot.
• Hypoallergenic:  The company resists the growth of hypo allergic factors such as germs, moulds, mildew and bacteria. It also traps the potential allergens from the air a person breaths.
• Quiet: The wool carpets absorb the airborne noise. It helps to keep room quieter.
• Low flammability: The wool carpets are more stable and cannot be easily burnt when exposed to heat or high flame.
• Comfortable: These carpets trap air in fibres. It keeps room warm in winter and cool in summer.

Victoria carpets aims to eliminate the factors which cause adverse impact on the environment. It also helps a company to lead in the carpet industry. The environment dimension includes commitment to minimise pollution and sustainable waste management system (Moussiopoulos, Achillas, Vlachokostas, Spyridi & Nikolaou, 2010). The company ensures safe disposal of wastage and minimising harmful impact on environment (O’Dwyer & Owen, 2005). It makes available environment sustainable designs such as:

• Modularity: The products of Victoria carpets are produced to standard size that is 50 x 50cm. It enables easy reconfiguration, replacement and reuse.
• Recyclable: The carpets of Victoria are efficient for recycling. The construction of tiles allows entire product to recycle without separating components prior to dispensation. It is a process audited by the organisations like TQCSI and JAS-ANZ.
• Emission minimisation: The company has reduced greenhouse gas emission to tackle climate change. The process of the company is audited by the accredited organisation.
• Waste minimisation: The wastage of company is recyclable and can be reused. The waste of manufacturing can be recycled into plastic products. The synthetic fibre can be recycled both internally and externally.
• Zero PVC: The modular products of company are 100% PVC free. The products of the company achieve maximum 2 credit points on the credit of green star PVC minimisation.
• Recycled content: The products of Victoria carpet are manufactured with minimum 40% recycle material. These are manufactured according to the weight of product (Orlitzky, Siegel & Waldman, 2011).

The environmental dimension is selected from the sustainable dimension as the factors of environment have significant effect on the sustainability of business (Baland, Bardhan & Bowles, 2007). Victoria carpets consider more of environment factors to gain sustainability. It also helps to attain competitive advantage over other competitors (Bonini & Gorner, 2011). A company considers environmental factors, can lead in the market.  

In order to monitor the environmental dimension of sustainability, the list of indicators are presented below-

• The use of energy and material during the process of production
• Natural environment including the human health
• Economic performance
• Products

Indicator name	Definition	Measurement	Challenge
Energy and material used	The energy and material used in the making of carpets are bio based and two types of fibres is used woollen and synthetic.	The company uses nylon-6 recycling facility.	The challenge is material used that is polypropylene and polyester.
Economic performance	It is the assessment of the success of an organization in the areas associated with assets, liabilities and its market strength.	It can be measured and monitored by management of Victoria Carpets with the help of participatory process of continuous evaluation and improvement.	Heavy investments are required which may lower its short term profitability.
Products	The company produces two types of carpets, wool and synthetic.	The company uses variety of products and methods to remove odour and stains.	Type of carpet which is wool and synthetic.
Natural environment	It is the sum total of living and non-living things that occur naturally that are not artificial.	Measures include reduction or minimization of waste, chemical substances, ecologically incompatible by products that are hazardous for human health.	Heavy investments at initial stages, formulation and management of new policies in establishing EPR and organics and establishment of infrastructure and markets in order to reduce wastage and environment hazards.

Energy and material use: This indicator focuses on the energy and material used in the manufacturing of carpets. The company uses nylon-6 recycling facility. It not only reduces the amount of material used in carpet but produces caprolactam of virgin quality (Krausmann et. al, 2009). The company uses bio based raw material. There is higher authority who audits the process of company. They take all the necessary steps to measure the process. The company uses two type of fibre, wool and synthetic. Wool is soft, warm and hypoallergenic. It reduces germs and bacteria. It also traps the germs which people release in breathing. Synthetic carpet is easy to mould and takes the shape itself. The challenge found in the form of material used in synthetic carpets that is nylon, polyester and polypropylene. The nylon used is more prone to electricity unless it is properly treated. Polyester is suspected to shedding and oil based stains. The usage of polypropylene can cause to crushing. It soon heads to scrape. The nylon has bad effects on the environment as soon as it is recycled in the form of bad air.

Natural environment including human health- natural environment can be defined as the sum total of all the living and non- living things that occur naturally and are not artificial. It includes whether, climate and natural resources by which economic activity along with the survival and health of humans are affected (Environmental Science, 2018).

Socio-Cultural Dimension

Victoria Carpets can monitor this indicator by ensuring the reduction of incidental or secondary products that are ecologically incompatible along with minimization, elimination or recycling of waste. Moreover, the monitoring must also focus on the chemical substances, technologies, work practices and physical agents that are hazardous for human health and the environment that they are continuously eliminated or reduced. It is challenging as other processes may be required to found out which may also require heavy investments at initial stages, formulation and management of new policies in establishing EPR and organics and establishment of infrastructure and markets such that wastage and environment hazards can be reduced.

Economic performance- Economic performance is an assessment of the success of an organization in the areas associated with assets, liabilities and its market strength. In other words, it is the success of the firm in producing profits for its owners.it can also be defined as a form of accounting profit where the profits are achieved when revenues exceed the cost of the firm.

Economic performance is the efficient way of monitoring the environmental dimension of sustainability. Good economic performance of a company is the result of its adherence to environment sustainability. It can be measured and monitored by management of Victoria Carpets with the help of participatory process of continuous evaluation and improvement. The economic performance will automatically increase if Victoria Carpets will take its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seriously. However, it is challenging due to the fact that it may require huge investments which may lower its short term profitability (Mowforth & Munt, 2015).

Products: The company has twist, loop, velvet and wilton range. The common variety of these products is in the form of royal victoria, celestial, aura, freedom and more. The products come in the form of wool and synthetic carpets. The challenge faced by customers is choosing type of carpet, which is wool or synthetic. So, people need to buy according to their requirement. The challenges come to the company in the forms of pet odour and stains. The company uses a variety of products and techniques to get rid of stains and odour. It should be eliminated as soon as possible. The urine of pet can cause damage to the textile of carpets. So, the company needs to manufacture carpets which do not cause harmful effects are more environment friendly. The recycling process should contribute to the positive effects on economy (Albino, Balice, Dangelico  & Iacobone, 2012).

Economic Dimension

The basic purpose behind the inclusion of environmental indicators is the monitoring of environmental dimension of sustainability such that the direct and indirect impacts and outcomes of the project on the environment can be analysed (SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTKNOWLEDGE PLATFORM, 2018).

Conclusion

The above report helps to conclude that it is important to consider sustainability in the operations of a business. The proper overview of the three important dimensions of sustainability namely socio- cultural, environmental and economic dimensions are explained in the report in context with Victoria carpets. However it is difficult to deal with these dimensions but their effective monitoring can help in overcoming the challenges brought by them in the way of its business operations. Moreover, various indicators has been explained in this report which can be utilized for monitoring of environmental dimension of sustainability by the way of adopting effective measures.

References

Albino, V., Balice, A., Dangelico, R. M., & Iacobone, F. A. (2012). The effect of the adoption of environmental strategies on green product development: a study of companies on world sustainability indices. International Journal of Management, 29(2), 525.

Baland, J. M., Bardhan, P. K., & Bowles, S. (Eds.). (2007). Inequality, cooperation, and environmental sustainability. Princeton University Press.

Bell, S., & Morse, S. (2008). Sustainability indicators: measuring the immeasurable. Earthscan.

Blackburn, W. R. (2007). The sustainability handbook: The complete management guide to achieving social, economic, and environmental responsibility. Environmental Law Institute.

Bonini, S., & Gorner, S. (2011). The business of sustainability. Silicon Valley, CA: McKinsey and.

Charter, M. (Ed.). (2017). Greener marketing: A responsible approach to business. Routledge.

Charter, M., & Tischner, U. (Eds.). (2017). Sustainable solutions: developing products and services for the future. Routledge.

Dempsey, N., Bramley, G., Power, S., & Brown, C. (2011). The social dimension of sustainable development: Defining urban social sustainability. Sustainable development, 19(5), 289-300.

Environmental Science. (2018). Natural Environments, Health, and Well-Being.   Retrieved January 15, 2018 from https://environmentalscience.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.001.0001/acrefore-9780199389414-e-333

Epstein, M. J., & Buhovac, A. R. (2014). Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Glavic, P., & Lukman, R. (2007). Review of sustainability terms and their definitions. Journal of cleaner production, 15(18), 1875-1885.

Hauschildt, K., Gwosc, C., Netz, N., & Mishra, S. (2017). Social and Economic Conditions of Student Life in Europe: Synopsis of Indicators. Eurostudent V 2012-2015. W. Bertelsmann Verlag.

Knox, P., & Mayer, H. (2013). Small town sustainability: Economic, social, and environmental innovation. Walter de Gruyter.

Krausmann, F., Gingrich, S., Eisenmenger, N., Erb, K. H., Haberl, H., & Fischer-Kowalski, M. (2009). Growth in global materials use, GDP and population during the 20th century. Ecological Economics, 68(10), 2696-2705.

Moussiopoulos, N., Achillas, C., Vlachokostas, C., Spyridi, D., & Nikolaou, K. (2010). Environmental, social and economic information management for the evaluation of sustainability in urban areas: A system of indicators for Thessaloniki, Greece. Cities, 27(5), 377-384.

Mowforth, M., & Munt, I. (2015). Tourism and sustainability: Development, globalisation and new tourism in the third world. Routledge.

O’Dwyer, B., & Owen, D. L. (2005). Assurance statement practice in environmental, social and sustainability reporting: a critical evaluation. The British Accounting Review, 37(2), 205-229.

Orlitzky, M., Siegel, D. S., & Waldman, D. A. (2011). Strategic corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Business & society, 50(1), 6-27.

Savitz, A. (2013). The triple bottom line: how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success-and how you can too. John Wiley & Sons.

Schaltegger, S., & Burritt, R. L. (2010). Sustainability accounting for companies: Catchphrase or decision support for business leaders?. Journal of World Business, 45(4), 375-384.

Schaltegger, S., & Wagner, M. (Eds.). (2017). Managing the business case for sustainability: The integration of social, environmental and economic performance. Routledge.

Sroufe, R., & Joseph, S. (Eds.). (2017). Strategic sustainability: the state of the art in corporate environmental management systems. Routledge.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTKNOWLEDGE PLATFORM. (2018). Indicators and a Monitoring Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved January 15, 2018 from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=400&nr=2013&menu=35

Victoria Carpets. (2018). OUR COMPANY. Retrieved January 15, 2018 from https://victoriacarpets.com.au/about/our-company/