For fifty years, the sustainability agenda has been gradually developing. From thoughts of national self-sufficiency (or the avoidance of dependency and its political consequences) in the aftermath of the Second World War, sustainability has emerged centre stage in 2002 as the big issue that transcends national boundaries.  But it is also the unavoidable issue that challenges the way we work.  At the beginning of the 21st century, the sustainability agenda has arrived at a point beyond the political, intergovernmental talking shop stage.  Sustainability is already on the agenda of many managers at work, and for the rest, it will be a challenge in the very near future. 

What people mean by sustainability varies widely and this presents organizations with the challenge of being clear about definition and measurement.  The other challenge for organizations is transparency in definition and measurement – otherwise sustainability can be whatever you want.  In a financial sense, for example, most organizations have always pursued a policy of sustainability: it is their raison d’être.  Also, in the last few years, many organizations have developed environmental policies and practices.  But neither financial management nor environmental management reflect what is now accepted as the broad basis for corporate sustainability.  Today, it is accepted that there are three facets to corporate sustainability – economic, environmental and social.  In addition, there are international standards emerging that will show an organization’s approach to sustainability for what it is. These subjects are explored in this dossier in greater detail. 

There are any number of reasons and opinions as to why corporate sustainability is the big issue of today.  Undoubtedly, a global political consensus has gradually developed over the last ten years through such forums as:

• United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Rio de Janerio, 1992 (attended by 178 governments and produced Agenda 21)
  

• Global Warming Earth Summits at Kyoto 1997, Buenos Aires 1998 and Bonn 2001
  

• International Conference on Freshwater 2001
  

• Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2002
  (Ensuring sustainable livelihoods: challenges for governments, corporates and civil society at Rio)
  

• World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (due September 2002).

  This political consensus has a strong environmental thrust, and many national governments, have made commitments to detailed action as a result of this global consensus.  The UK government’s commitments have now come through to us, for example, as regulations and taxes on carbon emissions among others.

But in many respects, the less tangible aspects of corporate sustainability are far more challenging.   These are the social dimensions – corporate citizenship, for example.  While this sounds warm and woolly, the citizens of New York experienced the reality of corporate citizenship in the wake of September 11th, 2001 when Mayor Rudolph Guliani called on New York’s major corporations to show their citizenship and provide support.  Some of the world’s largest corporations were providing aid and assistance within hours of Guliani’s speech.  But this dreadful event itself called into question the ethical stance of the developed economies.  Prime Minister Tony Blair in his 2001 Mansion House Speech put it succinctly:  

‘But one illusion has been shattered on 11 September: that we can have the good life of the West irrespective of the state of the rest of the world.’

While the sustainability agenda is driven by such global issues, there are direct challenges resulting for today’s manager.  For example, Dow Jones has established a series of sustainability indices for different industries to guide (long term) investors.  The data for these indices comes from detailed assessment of a wide range of operational management activities for which both junior and middle managers may be held accountable by their CEOs.

(Dossier 15 looks at the issues of managing for sustainability but does not limit itself to the industrial or commercial scene.  The growing involvement of the public service sector, small businesses and rural industries in the move towards sustainability is described as well as that of larger corporate organizations.  Particular examples are used to illustrate the impact on the work of managers, day-to-day.)