The Inaugural Conference on Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality in Asia

“Sustainable Tourism: Shaping the Future”

The Inaugural Conference on Social Responsibility in Asia

“Balancing the Triple Bottom Line”

William P. Kittredge, Ph.D.

Sustainability Defined

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What is Sustainable Development?

Sustainable development is a form of economic growth

that recognises the importance of environmental and

social objectives in long-term company financial

performance and survival

Contrast neoclassical economic theory

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How Can Sustainably Be Learned? Sustainability issues should be incorporated throughout

all modules, at all levels, with linkages between modules.

Sustainability needs to be strategically located at the

university, school, or department level in order to ensure

that the principles of sustainability are really embedded

in teaching and learning

This holistic approach means that Education for

Sustainable Development ESD is not only a matter to be

implemented in the curricula or educational programs but

also in institutions and organizations which facilitate

these learning processes. 4

How Can Sustainably Be Learned?

It is more important to shift the pedagogical approaches

than to embed core sustainable development content in

the curriculum.

Modelling good practice: Learning is also taking place

implicitly through the hidden curriculum. How many

educators seek to reduce paper use and turn off lights

out at the end of sessions? These are means of teaching

students the importance of action-taking. It is important

to introduce means to motivate educators to adopt a

sustainable behaviour, because they act as role models.

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Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Involves diverse partners

Requires stakeholder identification & engagement, and

may require technical support

Private sector generates responsible profits

Society reaps the benefits of sustainable development.

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Evolution of CSR

Compliance

Establishment of standards

Cerfitications

Triple Bottom Line (TBL)

“making a business case” for CSR

Social, environmental, & financial impacts

Responsible Competitiveness

Market forces engaged

Companies rewarded and punished using CSR

standards

source: Responsible Business Guide: A Toolkit for Winning Companies

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Sustainability & CSR

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Arts &

Culture

Employee

Voluntarism

EducationHealth

Disaster

Relief

Community

/Livelihood

Development

CSR

Initiatives by

Group Companies

Environment

CSR

Corporate Responsibility &

Sustainability (CR&S)

Implementation in line with organizational goals, mission

and vision – strategic plan implementation

CR&S - a comprehensive framework developed and

adopted by the organization

No generic framework fits all situations

Role of public authorities and regulatory bodies

Transparency and credibility of CR&S

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CR & S: Who Pays; Who Benefits?

Old assumption – companies with CR&S underperform

Research suggests – organizations adopting CR&S

enjoy higher rate of returns (e.g. Imran Zawwar Cranfield

University)

CR&S provides more robust governance structure &

accounts include environmental and social impacts

Enhanced measurement protocols and reporting system

Together, generate social trust

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Ensuring Real Sustainability

Build a business case for CR&S as opposed to the

normative case for sustainability

Identify and distinguish sustainability and greenwashing

Commitment to transparency and TBL disclosures

Develop, implement and integrate operations in

consonance with TBL philosophy

Commitment to multi-dimensional measurement &

reporting

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Transparency Initiative

Adopting transparency in operational and reporting

processes

Social expectation shifts from ‘why do you report?’ to ‘why

don’t you report meaningfully and understandably?’

Research indicates correlation between economic, social

and environmental indicators

Externality impact of environmental degradation becomes

company economic liability – BP's Gulf spill

Poor social performance e.g. high work place injuries also

incur economic impacts – loss of skilled employees

reduces productivity & morale

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CR&S Framework

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CR&S Lifecycle

How to Respond?

Adopt sustainable practices to improve processes and

productivity at the same time reducing negative

environment impact (Weyerhauser example)

Develop, implement and integrate operations in line with

sustainability policy and reporting framework

Adopt, implement, and ENFORCE an appropriate code

of ethics.

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How to Respond?

Identify and eliminate unethical or exploitative practices

(e.g. Friends International ‘kids aren’t a tourist attraction’

campaign in Cambodia)

Sustainability reporting, disclosure and assurance

Realize that these are goals for improving current

practice, they will evolve over time and should be set

high not ‘something we can look good on’

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How to Respond?

Do something, make a start

Set and realise realistic CR&S goals

Company resources

Business lines

Acknowledge that this is an iterative process, not an end

point.

Companies and those who own and manage them have

more power than the average citizen

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How to Respond?

Identify and eliminate unethical or exploitative practices

(e.g. Friends International ‘kids aren’t a tourist attraction’

campaign in Cambodia)

Sustainability reporting, disclosure and assurance

Realize that these are goals for improving current

practice, they will evolve over time and should be set

high not ‘something we can look good on’

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How to Respond?

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Seattle | Bangkok | Karachi | Islamabad

www.cerveletconsulting.com

From Sustainability to Sustainability…

William P. Kittredge, Ph.D.President

Cervelet | Management & Strategy Consulting

wkittredge@cerveletconsulting.com

(084) 717 7900