Cases in Corporate Sustainability and Change

Today humankind faces two major crises. The first is the global financial crisis that began in 2008. The second is ecological and has been slowly building since the industrial revolution. The ecological crisis is now gaining momentum as we witness the meltdown of the world’s glaciers and a range of related issues such as widespread weather volatility, desertification and food shortages.

The two crises are intimately related. In the words of leading ecologist Tim Flannery: ‘We have become the ‘future eaters’, living beyond the earth’s ability to replace the resources we consume’. As a consequence, there is a need for up-to-date, relevant course materials—and particularly case studies—addressing the challenges ahead.

Corporate sustainability is increasingly central to strategy in modern businesses. Learning about sustainability lends itself to the use of case studies because: (1) case studies demonstrate that sustainability is not some fantasy but a business imperative; (2) sustainability issues do not come in neat packages but cut across the traditional academic disciplines; and (3) case studies allow the relevance of theories to be tested.

As the title of this book indicates, the primary emphasis is on corporate sustainability but an emphasis has also been placed on corporate change. Sustainability will not be achieved through technological fixes alone; corporate culture needs to change also.

Organisations and industries featured in case studies in this book include: Westpac Bank, Fuji Xerox, HP, Ikea, Westfield Group, and the Indian garment industry.

Table of contents
Preface — Theory and practice in change toward sustainability
Case 1 — Bendigo Bank’s approach to sustainability
Case 2 — City of Mandurah: Champions of change
Case 3 — Fuji Xerox Australia: Eco-manufacturing centre
Case 4 — Hewlett Packard’s supply chain
Case 5 — IKEA: Progression to a strategic approach
Case 6 — Indian clothing industry: Ethical/social dilemmas
Case 7 — Interface’s approach to sustainability
Case 8 — Leighton Contractors: Becoming sustainable
Case 9 — Ports of Auckland’s response to climate challenges
Case 10 — State of Grace: Can death be sustainable?
Case 11 — Westfield talent management
Case 12 — Westpac: What do we mean by sustainability?
Case 13 — Yarra Valley Water: Learning and change