Innovation as accelerator for sustainability - The interface between Essay

Innovation as accelerator for sustainability - The interface between sustainability and innovation is the sweet spot for the fut - Essay Example In order to increase the level of assessment on this important resource, the food and beverage company in question should find innovative methods of packaging in order to increase their value as a company that is socially responsible and actively pursuing avenues of real change. In recent years, the discussion of sustainability has been at the forefront of the public relations strategies of most businesses. While it would be nice to hope that corporate responsibility was a result of enlightenment, it has been the development of global communications through which the pressure to right the wrongs that are occurring across the planet have become enough pressure for companies to have a broader concern for sustainability. The concept of sustainability covers a wide range of resource management issues including, but not limited to, labour, environmental issues, and resources. While there are a great number of companies making a concerted effort to lesson the impact their industry has on t he resources of the Earth, there is much to be done to reinvent the philosophy of a disposable world that has ruled the two centuries throughout the industrial era. One of the biggest problems in the world today is that of the amount of waste that is produced through packaging. The only way to combat this problem is through innovative techniques that shrink the level of left over product once either a package is opened or a product has been used and discarded. The amount of solid waste that is created through packaging is staggering. Through innovations and creative thinking, corporations have developed products and packaging that has less of an imprint on the environment, thus supporting the sustainability of that aspect of the health of the world. Defining Sustainability Sustainability is a product of responsible behavior within the corporate framework. Business that is conducted in a socially responsible manner maintains and preserves resources so that business can continue witho ut adversely impacting the availability of what is needed to continue business. Furthermore, sustainability is a way in which to frame how to continue a valued and quality environment within the world, both in humanitarian spheres and in environmental spheres. Sustainability is best conducted through the stakeholder form of corporate governance where all stakeholders are considered during the decision making process. The U.K. and the U.S. have corporate models that are more oriented towards the shareholder model of corporate governance, thus impeding the philosophy that best supports long term goal making that will provide for socially responsible decisions that are intended for sustaining all of the interests of those who have a stake in the business (Hoffman 2007, p. 29). Several companies can be examined for their efforts towards social responsibility and sustainability. Nike corporation, as an example, was cited for using manufacturing plants in countries with lax human rights l aws and practices in regard to workers in order to save money on the costs of creating their line of products. During 1996 and 1997, Nike was under a tremendous amount of pressure because of the