The forthcoming business plan on the sustainability in global business defines global business sustainability as the roadmap with the aim to provide direction for policy makers to enable both short and long term transformation towards attainment of Vision 2050. Currently, policy-making structures in Europe mostly (environmental, social affairs and economic affairs) have not been systemic. This causes an absence of coherence in policies which could support and foster more sustainable lifestyles in the business world. The plan is submitted to demonstrate knowledge of the complex issues, risks and opportunities which businesses face. A businessman should apply the right knowledge including creative and entrepreneurial thinking to get convincing answers for a sustainable type of global business.

The SPREAD plan majorly has taken a methodical, human-cantered approach that stresses the need for social innovation and behavioural change in order to attain more sustainable business life by 2050. This plan has given four fundamental enablers to a better viable global business (Wilkinson and Mangalagiu 2012):

  1. Policy and authority;
  2. Economy and the fiscal system;
  3. Social invention;
  4. Individual conduct change.

There is an increasing acceptance that people do need to limit their use of non-renewable materials to about 5 tonnes per person per year, as compared to 85 tonnes in the US in 2009 (Wilkinson and Mangalagiu, 2012). The critical pathway towards attaining Vision 2050 for businesses and governments includes:

  1. Addressing the developmental needs of billions of people enhancing both education and economic empowerment of women, then radically developing more eco-efficient solutions, lifestyles and character.
  2. Incorporating the externalities’ cost beginning with carbon, ecosystem services and water.
  3. Doubling of the agricultural output without necessarily increasing the parcels of land or water used.
  4. Stopping deforestation and increasing planted forests yields.
  5. Cutting down carbon emissions by half worldwide. Based on 2005 levels by 2050, with greenhouse gas emissions rising around 2020 via a shift to low-carbon energy systems and highly improved side energy efficiency (Moss et al., 2010)
  6. Providing universal access to low carbon movement.
  7. Delivering a four-to-ten fold upgrade in the use of resources and materials.

Predictions for Prospect Business Setup in Accordance with Vision 2050

For this, Vision 2050 guidelines pinpoint likely happenings for change though now, they may look politically unfeasible. This report highlights that the path to better business holds various development chances for viable and resilient economies and populations where all Europeans will be at the hit of 2050. The roadmap starts in 2012 and utilizes the critical business impacts and also considers current practices already showing evidence of business impacts being overthrown through more visionary alternatives. The roadmap includes vital scenario elements and follows areas where policy could play a role in enhancing and fostering change. Another important prediction is growth (population, urbanization and consumption). Between now and 2050, the worldwide population is expected to rise from 6.9b to 9b or more. 98% of the growth will take place in the underdeveloped and developing nations (Horn, 2011). Meanwhile, populations are getting old and stable in many developed countries. Therefore, demographic patterns shall become very diverse.

Trends in Global Business Sustainability

Environmental and social effects linked with the present business lifestyles and trends of consumption have been the highly contributing factors to “unsustainable” trends. The SPREAD project has indicated ‘8000 kg of individual material intake a year in 2050’ as an orientation of the ecological limits which our lifestyles would have to be within to be sustainable (Hecht et al., 2014). Presently, across Europe, the living standards are unsustainable .The prevailing European societal structures, kinds of infrastructure, social believes, norms and values, and the financial status are said to be driving unsustainably for development. Examples like consumer-producer cooperation support multi-generational living.

Dynamic path for business forms is one major trend. Successful firms adapt to diversifying market realities and regulatory regions. They know when to lead again and when to follow. They have reached out for new resources (natural and human) in order to transform themselves and their products to help serve a new world. Creativity has been the most renewable and viable resource for the transformation process. It has been sought after and found in product development. Everywhere where companies have prospered in tapping sources of creativity, success has greatly come from these new directions. It has occurred due to business culture being open to new ideas and inventions

Major Challenges in Terms of Environmental Risks and Socio-Political Issues

Public risk perceptions are tricky components of that socio-political context for which policy makers operate. They can really constrain political, economic and social action to address particular risks. For example:

  1. Disapproval to climate rules. All laws and regulations on climate are significantly influenced by risks’ public views and the dangerous nature of global climate change. Like the United States (only having 5% of the world’s population) is presently the world’s biggest releaser of carbon dioxide solely adding up to 25% of world emissions .The Americans usually emit 5.40 metric tons of carbon yearly (Bonini & Alkan, 2012).
  2. No vigorous action. Successive US presidents plus congresspersons have been at odds with much of the world on regard to the reality, seriousness and call for vigorous action upon climate change. In 1997, just before the Kyoto climate change conference, the US Senate passed a resolution (95-0) not binding at all co-sponsored by Robert Byrd, D. (West Virginia) and Chuck Hagel, R. (Nebraska) that urged the Bill Clinton administration not to accept any agreement that did not include emission standards for developing and developed countries (Bonini &Alkan, 2012).
  3. Oil consumption. For instance, there are negotiations and proposed national energy law to raise drilling in search of oil and gas, coal-mining, and new fossil-fuel power plants that disturbs the environment. American public do play a big role in terms of the direct fossil fuels consumption and resulting in greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability in Global Business Assessment

Risk Adaption and Perception

The theories of choice under risk are cognitive and consequent. This assumption also underlies the expectation-utility model, which informs a lot about economic and psychological theory. Recent research on the America’s perception of global climate change has showed and analyzed the public’s accurate and inaccurate mental models about climate change causes. The researchers found that the population has taken in information on changes in climate into pre-existing models of ozone cover diminution and the ozone hole. Understanding and supporting changes via cooperation, they must demonstrate new success measures and well-being at all the international, national and individual levels; a greater understanding of the environmental reality issues of the world, causing changes in how people relate to the world and each another, how they define successful and desirable kinds of lifestyles; application of insights into what influences and causes certain behavioural changes in separate segments of society into the products and policy designs; policies, infrastructure and corporate leadership plus products and services make sustainability attainable.

Sustainable Innovation Strategy that Provides Value Creation and Reasonable Advantage

The procedure of value capture by organizations from their apparent value is additional to organizational benefits. There is little discussion on value-adding factors at the firm stage, value capture approaches, and their correlation. Some researchers discuss ‘value conception versus value capture’, they point out that value capture is defined as the appropriation of value created by a unit of analysis (consumers, companies, regions, and nations).Value capture needs tackling the issue of promotion-marketing and competition with other units giving competing substitute products or services.

Strategies for Value Capture. Bain (1956) identified three main strategies:

  1. Entry of new firms, which allows incumbents to get super-normal profits, through keeping prices on top of the competitive levels (where prices=average costs);
  2. Absolute cost advantage;
  3. Economies of scale and product differentiation.

It is interesting to identify that Bain’s four approaches include Porter’s 2 generic approaches. Incorporation, collaboration and diversification are often seen as obstacles to entry, and they aid in seeking distinct identity.

Existing Industry Standards and Country/Government Laws and Regulations

A case example of 1990’s, Papua New Guinea showed good economic progressions over a decade with a GDP growth average of 5-6% and attaining 7.2% in 2008. Between 2005 -2007, it experienced a price boom for mineral, oil exports and farming exports. On the contrary, in the 2008, prices dropped sharply for major export merchandises (Epstein and Buhovac 2014). In addition, the government also approved the Medium Term Fiscal Strategy (MTFS) from 2008-2012, yet another platform that has supported economic development (Paddock, 2012). The PNG Vision 2050 is the National Government’s planned direction statement that shall drive the development process for the subsequent 40 years. It has 7 development pillars, which will become the layout that development plans from 2010 to 2050 shall be anchored (Muff and Dyllick 2014). The strategy shall translate these focus areas to achievable objectives statements and act as a guide in where plans get prepared and implemented logically and sequentially. They are service delivery, wealth creation and human capital (Johnston and Bate, 2013).

There are five types of major changes required for this:

  1. Buy into the vision - acceptance of the constraints and opportunities in the world where 9b people live.
  2. Success and progress redefinition at national, corporate and individual levels.
  3. Increasing bio-productivity.
  4. Creating solutions to lower ecological impacts while maintaining quality of life in nations with high human development.
  5. Improvement of levels of human development in nations under the threshold for human development but not increasing their ecological impact above acceptable limits. Redefining Progress

The must haves for every industry are (Korbin, 2013):

  • New progress measures being more reflective of true progress unlike the traditional GDP.
  • Correct-value pricing, removal of subsidies, and finally, tax shifts to enhance sustainable business and behaviour.
  • Creative finance models and mechanisms which enable long-term investments in projects and risk diversification.
  • Effective structures to disseminate technologies.
  • Fiscal incentives.

Energy Cleanliness

Turning the market toward energy efficiency must haves:

  1. Globally recognized energy efficiency requirements in code-building, as well as giving incentives and managing the implementation.
  2. Current tax subsidies for energy efficiency investments of longer payback periods.
  3. Contractual terms which involve designers, contractors, utilities then end-users early as part that integrated team.
  4. Frequent government audits of energy performance, with more tightening and improvements. v. Sustained campaigns to create energy awareness use in buildings and promote behavioural change. The must haves:
  • Carbon price and higher use of other forms.
  • Obsolete landfills or phased out by strict legislation.
  • Improved energy efficiency in steel and production.
  • Designing production processes needed for closed-loop systems.
  • Business model creativity by value chains reviewing, products and services redesign and, re-engineering at large.

In line with Vision 2050, business and world leading corporations have devised plans for sustainable future, for example, The Unilever aims at reducing GHGs emission and water pollution (Polman, 2011). The measures are in adherence to UN‘s goal of lowering global temperatures. The corporation is also aiming at proper recycling of waste products. The Volkswagen is constructing a manufacturing site worth of billions in an effort to further reduce undesirable environmental and social effects. The corporations are working closely with other businesses in order to adopt measures to reduce environmental impacts caused by their production activities.

Concluding Remarks

Having the knowledge of how several aspects such as environment, laws, social economic issues and politics affect business sustainability, appropriate measures will help achieve sustainability in future businesses. The above formulated guidelines for forthcoming business scenario are based on the considerations of factors that hinder business viability. The guidelines are proved to be workable.

This text was written by Charles Pfeifer who is a writing editor at https://advanced-writer.com/