Environmental Sustainability
At this point in time, there is a tremendous difference in European and American approaches to environmental sustainability, with the result being that the U.S. is falling behind Europe in its ability to foster and maintain sustainable development practices. This has a negative impact on American progress, as encouraging consumptive development places the U.S. In a less competitive position than other developed nations, while saddling it with some of the drawbacks of doing business in developing nations. Sustainable development means "meeting the needs of present generations without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs- in other words, a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come" (European Commission, 2012). Sustainable development can be influenced by official policies, so that government and businesses play important roles in helping influence sustainable development, and this official influence seems to be part of why Europe….

Environmental Sustainability in the United States
ecognizing the need for more fuel-efficient and environmentally sustainable practices, a growing number of public and private sector organizations are taking the lead in making it a priority to develop and implement these initiatives in recent years. One public sector organization in the United States that is modeling the way for others is the United States Navy which is tasked with conducting worldwide operations using a fuel-hungry fleet of modern vessels. This paper provides a definition of environmental sustainability, and examines how this concept is being applied in the U.S. today and compares this to sustainability on the global scale. A summary of the research and important findings are presented in the conclusion.

eview and Analysis

By definition, environmentally sustainable practices are those that take into account the needs of future generations and use optimal combinations of the resources that are available in steady state systems (Elkins,….

S. interests can flourish in developed and developing countries worldwide" (U.S. Department of State).
The offices inside the Bureau of OES are developing the policies of the U.S. addressing the air pollution, hazardous wastes and pollutants of all sorts based on the agreements made at "the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes, the otterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent, and the UN ECE Long-ange Transboundary Air Pollution Agreement" (idem). Another issue managed by the offices of the OES are those dealing with the conservation and sustainability development of the ecologically and economically important ecosystems worldwide (idem).

UNDP's Biodiversity for Development Programme helps over 140 countries to use their biodiversity in a sustainable manner and maintain it while using the natural resources. According to the UNDP, biodiversity is responsible for our very survival. The ecosystems provide the conditions for the "generation of soils and….

Kadembo supports the efforts of Transparency International (2006) in its internationals efforts against corruption. He supports there recommends the following instruments in fighting corruption, including:
1) Transparency

2) Codes of conduct

3) Civil society participation and oversight

4) histleblower protection

5) Reducing incentives for corruption

6) Conflict of interest rules

7) Integrity pacts and debarment

8) Rigorous prosecution

In Kadembo's research, he has found that countries in Africa in which these suggestions have been implemented (at least where the intention and authority has been serious), they are effective. The tools mentioned above have a track record of starving off corruption in African countries where the implementation efforts have been genuine and thorough going. The international focus is needed to fight off efforts by the big powers who benefit from corruption to thwart such efforts (ibid, 66-67).

Given the corruption that is rife in the U.S., we really do not have much room to talk. However, cooperation and accountability have….

Literature eview, Analysis and Discussion 7,500 words

This section presents a review of the recent relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature concerning environmental sustainability in general and how environmental sustainability initiatives can help multinational corporations of different sizes and types achieve a competitive advantage in particular.

Literature eview. According to Michalisin and Stinchfield (2010), "There is widespread consensus that human activity has had a significant impact on global climatic patterns which will have important consequences for much of society. Although there has been much research on the relationship between corporate environmental performance and corporate financial performance, empirical testing of the association between proactive corporate climate-change strategies and financial (or accounting) performance is still in its infancy" (p. 123). Despite this dearth of research, these authorities speculate that firms that successfully implement strategies to lessen their effect on climate change should outperform competitors who are less proactive in such efforts (Michalsin & Stinchfield, 2010).….

The most significant challenge was however on the sustainability and transition. It was made clear how the sustainability concept cannot be treated as a goal and that it has no end point. It is a way of life in the long-term that we may choose to follow. It was also clarified that there is need to find the limits of the planet and hence live within these limits in order to perpetuate the process of environmental sustainability. This approach to environmental conservation is prompted by the vast transitions in structures, cultures as well as practices over the last few decades. Due to the numerous transitions, I learnt that it becomes very difficult to command and control transitions bearing the numerous uncertainties with the changing times, however, it is possible to influence the pace and the direction of the transition. The transition management is a model that has been successfully used….

Big Businesses Sustainable?
Sustainable practices based on environmental regulations have been a concern for businesses, especially big businesses, in the past few decades. The significance of sustainable business practices has gained traction in the past few decades because of the enactment of regulations that seek to promote environmentally friendly practices by businesses. Countries across the world, especially developed countries, have been enacting laws that seek to help streamline business operations towards preventing and controlling environmental pollution. However, the significance of environmental sustainability in business operations has become vital in recent years (Stephenson & odriquez, 2012). This is largely attributed to the increase in social pressures for environmentally friendly and sustainable business operations. Despite these attempts, there are concerns on whether big businesses are environmentally sustainable.

Importance of Environmental Sustainability in Business Practices

As previously mentioned, environmental sustainability has become a buzz word and an important aspect of successful and profitable business operations.….

Social/Environmental Sustainability
Determining the limits of companies' corporate social responsibility is not easy. Businesses which treat corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability like any other corporate goal are on the right track. Having made that decision implies that companies should have specific targets to meet, just as they do for sales or production or other business functions. Once companies have met certain targets in both environmental and societal responsibility, then they have fulfilled their obligation to society.

So the real question is not whether all companies should do CSR. Instead the question to be debated is how to create specific CSR programs as part of their business strategy to become more competitive. The new focus in CSR is relating it to profitability (Cavett-Goodwin, 2007).

A good example of being responsible up to a point is shown by the experience of Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company which manufactures Tamiflu. After trying unsuccessfully to get….

S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2000 and has since led to over 9 billion square feet of facility space being in compliance. In addition, LEED has taken on the most challenging areas of quantifying through cost analysis the contributions of these initiative to the bottom line of companies
(Haxton, Beckstead, 2008). The results have shown a 35% reduction in operating costs while reducing energy costs while also reducing emissions and harmful waste. The ability to drive down costs while attaining SBD-based strategies and objectives has also fueled greater investment in LEED as a strategy of attaining production efficiencies while at the same time increasing in-process efficiencies overall. Where LEED has also defined a series of metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is in the area of interior air quality and reduction of harmful emissions both on the environment and employees. Designing a building to be LEED compatible can accomplish SBD-based….

Universities Approach to Environmental Sustainability and How it Enhances Their Brand Values
There are many debates that seem to capture the attention of the world quite as spectacularly as Environmental Concerns have. The ultimate result of such a mass attention to a topic has meant that much media coverage besides the administrative and Government Level Attention has been given in this direction, with the ultimate aim of finding a solution of curbing this problem that can go on to effect the entire humankind.

Therefore it is not surprising at all that this awareness and the concern regarding the Environment has meant that there has been an overall change in the way Institutes, no matter of what category, deal with this issue. This awareness has also meant that there has been an overall change in the way policies are drafted which can impact the image of such Institutes.

Today the concept of Environmental Sustainability….

ottom line, firms can become more competitive with sustainable development (World usiness Council for Sustainable Development, 2002), for a wide variety of reasons, including from a cost perspective.
ibliography

1. World usiness Council for Sustainable Development. 2002. The usiness Case for Sustainable Development. On the Internet at http://www.wbcsd.org/web/publications/business-case.pdf. Last retrieved on January 12, 2012

Student 3

One explanation for which sustainable development has become such a used notion in the last years is simple: relationship management (Adams, 2006). People in the 21st century have become more and more aware of the world they live in, and, especially, of the implications of not living correctly in this environment. People understood that such implications could impact not only the generations to come, but also future generations.

With that in mind, individuals, who are also consumers, have become more and more aware of the dangers of unsustainable development and, as such, have started to monitor more closely….

By reaching this objective, the company can also attract a larger number of investors, and increase its investment capital. In addition to this, the company can use this strategy in order to market its innovative products and services. Stonyfield Farm is another company that uses life cycle thinking and assessment techniques (Schatsky, 2012). This is intended to help the company identify packaging systems with improved environmental performance. The company managed to find bioplastic packaging materials that determine fewer greenhouse gas emissions in comparison with other materials, at reduced costs (Deloitte, 2009). Companies mostly use life cycle thinking and assessment in order to improve their product development process. In addition to this, such practices are used when companies want to build production plants and want to establish the environmental impact of their production process.
b) the need for improving environmental sustainability practices has determined companies to use life cycle thinking and….

Analysis of the Field The concept of sustainability has gained considerable popularity in the recent past. Sustainability generally refers to the continued existence of systems and processes. Traditionally, sustainability was discussed mainly in the context of ecology and biological systems, but today the concept has stretched to entirely every discipline including management, economics, business, politics, and culture. The increasing attention on sustainability has largely been informed by the danger posed by human activities on the environment. For instance, using fossil fuels depletes the ozone layer, which in turn causes climate change. Nonetheless, from what has been achieved so far, it is evident that sustainable development is a realisable endeavour (Bowdin et al., 2011). Sustainable development basically refers to a road map for attaining sustainability in any process or activity that utilises resources. It is development that fulfils present needs without shortening the capacity of future generations to fulfil their needs.
Organizational sustainability….

Corporations and Environmental Sustainability
Environmental conservation and sustainability has been viewed over the years as public relations activity and away of maintaining good relations with the community and other stakeholders like the government under c they operate. This has however significantly changed and the environmental conservation and sustainability is a social responsibility that any business or organization with a long-term vision has to take into account, plan for and effectively execute in order to not only earn acceptability by the government regulatory bodies, but also to contribute to their own future existence.

Proper and safe disposal of waste material and refuse is one of the major ways that corporations are gauged in their commitment to environmental protection and conservation. Corporations need to take deliberate steps to ensure their wastes area correctly categorized and disposed off in the recommended and approved manner. Toxic wastes must not find their way into the natural resources….

The author therefore appears to suggest that the holistic approach poses a risk of costly time delays for approval that might prove too little too late for any true difference to be possible.
Brown (2005) asserts that the political involvement of security in natural resource issues holds the risk of conflict and insecurity. Indeed, competition relates to power and control issues arise where resources are abundant, while competition for resources occur where these are scarce. Brown, like Levy, asserts that there is little question that security and environmental issues are integrated. The risk lies in whether security is specifically integrated in mitigation measures, and the degree to which this is done.

It has been mentioned above that the environment directly affects human survival and well-being. Brown further addresses the interrelation between the environment and security be asserting that they are interdependent: in other words, the environment can cause insecurity, while insecurity….