Sustainability is an essential aspect of environmental concerns for organizations worldwide due to their operations’ negative environmental, social, and economic impacts on society and its members (Keure, 2021). Therefore many organizations have adopted various strategies to strengthen their governance and leadership to work toward environmental sustainability and social responsibility. This response will critically discuss these approaches and analyze the issue.
Critical Analysis of the Issue
In a study by (Dunphy & Benn, 2007, p.57), maintenance of sustainable governance and leadership towards sustainability requires responsible governance and adaptive and flexible systems of leadership. Leadership is the primary determinant of specific conditions that support or hinder organizational engagement with approaches, ethics, and sustainable and ethical business practices. For instance, the business strategy follows the leadership style, which displays its importance to the company’s sustainability in line with the firm’s mode of operation (Dunphy et al., 2007, p.58). The leadership further influences the business culture and their mode of operation as well the most prioritized projects in line with the ethical responsibilities of the company. The mode of decision-making by the leaders and managers is also crucial as it displays how the firm displays itself and its image to the community. In a different study by Desjardin and Mccall (2016, p, 64), leadership values are supposed to display why specific approaches to sustainability initiatives are essential and how they aid society and the firm involved. The rest of the task force looks up to leaders; thus, their values are also crucial to the followers. Thus, leaders have applied their values to aid in framing their explanation of why certain sustainability decisions that affect society’s perception of the firm are essential and thus explained to the followers effectively.
Ethics Responsibility and Sustainability (ERS) is a strategy organizational leaders use to strengthen their leadership and governance toward sustainability. It involves adopting responsible business practices that contribute to sustainable economic development, and improve the quality of life of employees, the local community, and society while minimizing environmental impact (Blowfield, 201, p. 87). By applying ERS as a strategy to strengthen leadership for sustainability purposes, organizations can demonstrate ethical leadership by committing to responsible business practices that promote social responsibility, ensure ethical standards, and minimize their environmental impact. ERS can enhance the organization’s reputation and improve its relationships with stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, investors, and the community (Fernando et al., 2022). It also strengthens leadership towards sustainability by encouraging organizations to adopt sustainable practices such as reducing carbon emissions, conserving natural resources, and promoting renewable energy. It can lead to cost savings, increased efficiency, and improved environmental performance, contributing to the organization’s long-term sustainability.
Furthermore, Ladkin (2021, p, 277) postulates that ERS can strengthen leadership toward sustainability by promoting stakeholder engagement and transparency. Organizations that adopt ERS are more likely to engage with their stakeholders and consider their needs, values, and concerns when making ethical business decisions. Considering the stakeholders’ such organizations ensure that governance is collaborative and thus is likely to be followed by many stakeholders in sustainability efforts.
Environmental Sustainability initiatives at the BMS Training Limited
At BMS Training Limited in Singapore, the leadership is maintained and made sustainable by offering the leaders prior training before the employees and learners train. (BSM Group, 2022). It is because; the firm believes that strengthening leadership drives it to a higher level. The BMS Training Limited Firm focuses on environmental sustainability by offering leaders training to manage environmental degradation via environmental cleaning, thus playing a role in Corporate Social Responsibilities. For example, every leader in the firm must undergo training on environmental cleaning precautions to ensure safety during interactions and training of the enrolled learners in the program (BMS Group, 2022).
Recommendations for Best Practices for BMS Training Limited
- One recommendation for BMS Training Limited is to expand its training programs on the importance and methods of environmental sustainability. These programs can involve leaders, employees, and the entire society as stakeholders of the company because evidence shows that ERS is a collaborative effort (Williams & Preston, 2018, p.4). Such training ensures that the entire task force supports the leaders’ support of ERS, thus, reinforcing leadership in terms of responsibility.
- In addition, a recommendation for the firm is to collaborate with other organizations and agencies with similar environmental goals to the BMS Training Limited sustainability initiatives. This recommendation is due to the insight by William and Preston (2018, p.5) that displays sustainability development goals as a combined effect of businesses, society, and the government as responsible environmental actors. Leaders association with these actors ensures strengthening leadership and sustainability goals.
- More also, a recommendation for BMS’ leadership is to use its social media platforms to reach out to its vast followers and confront the issues related to environmental degradation. Leaders are in charge of developing and authorizing such campaigns online, and they are crucial for the sustainability agenda considering the constant change in globalization methods of the world (Bhowmick, 2021).
Bibliography
Bhowmick, S. “The Changing Face of Globalization.” Asia Times. Last modified March 26, 2021. https://asiatimes.com/2021/03/the-changing-face-of-globalization/.
Blowfield, Michael. Business and Sustainability. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/Organizational_Change_for_Corporate_Sust.html?id=I0yjQgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y.
BMS Groups. “BMS Environmental Services.” BMS Group. Last modified 2022. https://www.bmsgroup.com.sg/bms-environmental-services-2/.
DesJardins, Joseph R., and John J. McCall. Contemporary Issues in Business Ethics. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2014. https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/Contemporary_Issues_in_Business_Ethics.html?id=9HcJzgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y.
Dunphy, Dexter C., Andrew Griffiths, and Suzanne Benn. Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability: A Guide for Leaders and Change Agents of the Future. London: Psychology Press, 2007. https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/Organizational_Change_for_Corporate_Sust.html?id=I0yjQgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y.
Fernando, J., T. Brok, and K. Munichiello. “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Explained With Examples.” Investopedia. Last modified October 28, 2022. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-social-responsibility.asp.
Keure, D. “Tackling Global and Local Challenges in Ethics, Responsibility, and Sustainability.” Issuu. Last modified April 21, 2021. https://issuu.com/diekeure/docs/how_to_prepare_for_tackling_global_and_local_chall.
Ladkin, Donna. “What Donald Trump’s response to COVID-19 teaches us: It’s time for our romance with leaders to end.” Leadership 16, no. 3 (2020), 273–278. doi:10.1177/1742715020929134.
Williams, Sarah, and Diane Preston. “Working with values: an alternative approach to win-win.” International Journal of Corporate Strategy and Social Responsibility 1, no. 4 (2018), 302. doi:10.1504/ijcssr.2018.099445.
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