Sustainable Production and Consumption
PLEASE READ THE ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES CAREFULLY AND TAKE EVERYTHING SERIOUSLY ON BOARD.
In this assignment, you will write an individual 2500 word report that provides a critical analysis of the sustainability performance of a company, with a focus on environmental sustainability and the effectiveness of environmental management approaches and tools. You must analyse one of these companies: Barclays Bank or Lloyds Banking Group or HSBC.
1. discuss the banking sector and your selected company in its socio-economic and consumerist context;
2. identify and discuss the opportunities and threats that the sustainable development agenda is posing to the company;
3. appraise the company's management of environmental opportunities and threats;
4. critically evaluate the company's overall sustainable business practices; and
5. conclude about the company's sustainability and environmental performance.
In addition, it is important that your report follows the guidance below (Marking Criterion 1):
• Your report should have a clear and coherent structure, with appropriate use of section headings and sub-headings;
• You should use complete sentences and paragraphs that are logically linked;
• There should be a clear argument that runs throughout the report;
• You should demonstrate evidence of critical and original thinking;
• You should make correct use of a wide range of references throughout your report.
• You should use clear and consistent formatting.
In completing this assignment, please make sure that you have:
Task set: fulfilled all aspects of the task, demonstrated motivation and creativity, and developed self-management skills;
Research: demonstrated breadth of reading (academic and grey literature), applied critical analysis, collected information systematically and treated sources critically;
Evaluation: related theory to practice, appraised factual information, used real world examples and trends, and demonstrated evidence of original thinking;
Analysis: broken down issues into component parts, identified relationships between issues, and articulated awareness of wide contexts;
Coherence: used well-structured sentences, paragraphs, sections and subsections, with a well-structured argument that follows throughout; and
Quality: Communicated information effectively using an appropriate balance of text, figures and tables, used citations correctly, and included a full and completed reference list using the Harvard referencing system.
The assignment guidelines would be sent as a file.
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION: BARCLAYS BANK
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Introduction
With presence in more than fifty countries and providing financial and other integrated services of similar concerns, Barclays bank has employed more than 135,000 people while offering its services to millions across the globe as well. The following paper looks at Barclays bank with a central view of giving a critical analysis of its sustainability performance in terms of its commitment towards a sustainable environment. In essence, this paper looks at the environment management approaches that the Bank has employed in the endeavor to manage its impacts as well as those of its clients on the environment (Barclays Citizenship Report, 2013). Equally, just as its financial departments try to analyze their incomes against their expenses so is there a parallel long term plan to ensure that this progress is matched by similar advancement in its environmental management policy.
Barclays bank deals with a variety of products and services in the banking sector. Some of these products include lending services; investments advice, brokerage and the facilitation of inter financial institution transactions too. Sustainability has become an indispensable factor in the survival of a business organization today. Many organization s including Barclays bank therefore have championed third environmental sustainability and in the actual sense being in response to the needs of the customers. This as a result increases the banks customer base thereby contributing to increased revenues from its operations.
Ideally, today banks play a very significant role in the economies of all countries as an institution that bridges the gap between the capital surplus and the capital deficient people. This has an imperative role in driving the economy through accelerating investment through channeling savings to the most appropriate areas of the economy (Alta 2008). Therefore, as banks strive to generate this interest income on their products and services, across major platforms such as corporate, online, electronic, agency, commercial and even investment banking, there lies great concern in their responsibility towards ensuring a sustainable environment.
According to Barclays bank, Group Operating Committee and the policy owner who is the Group Head of Environmental Sustainability all its branches are required to meet threshold guidelines on managing environmental impacts through integrated environmental aspects that are incorporated into the business policy and decisions. These guidelines are therefore an essential part of their supply chain (Baland, Pranab & Bowles 2007).
It is therefore under the above background that this paper assesses the environmental sustainability and the effectiveness of environmental management approaches and tools that Barclays bank has taken into concern as well as offering a critical analysis of how and by what extent has it been able to deliver on this responsibility (Barclays Citizenship Report, 2013).
PART 2: The opportunities and threats that the sustainable development agenda is posing to the company
The bank’s management has relied on stakeholder involvement mostly to increase its attractiveness to the banking sector as a whole. This has involved the creation of better customer service pacts and inclusivity in decision making with regard to key policies that involve the customer too. Indeed, this has contributed greatly towards Barclay’s success in its environmental sustainability.
The following part identifies the opportunities as well as the threats that Barclays Bank faces in its operations. It specifically highlights the services that are geared towards environmental sustainability, the threats that come along as well as products and policies that have been developed to respond to these concerns (Baland, Pranab & Bowles 2007).
First, we identify the sustainable development agenda that the company has embarked onto. This agenda can be summarized into the following points;
A policy towards achieving carbon neutrality
The company has identified policies to fight global warming as embedded in its development agenda since the year 2007, which is aimed at reducing carbon emissions through increasing energy efficiency across the UK and the entire Europe. The company has committed itself to supporting the purchase of clean energy as opposed to other fuels that act as environmental pollutants. It has offered products and services that have incentives for the purchase of low carbon emitting fuels (Barclays Citizenship Report, 2013).
Absa Capital building in South Africa based on SO 14001 standards
One of the most notable undertakings in this regard is the building of Absa capital building in South Africa. This building marked the serious beginning of a new standard for sustainable building. The building has indeed incorporated sustainable environment features such as solar heating, rain water harvesting, and the use of recycled materials, natural air conditioning and other energy saving approaches as well. It has been estimated that the business complex at Sandton Court in Johannesburg is 34.2% more energy efficient as compared to an average business building. More so Wilmington complex among many buildings have green roofs for environmental sustainability.
Launch of the Barclaycard
In its launch of the carbon footprint, Barclays bank launched a credit card that provides good incentives to its customers who shop for greener products and at the same time using half of the proceeds from the Barclaycard sector to contribute towards initiatives geared at a sustainable environment. In the first year itself the company donated a million USD towards environmental projects coupled with its decision to avail the car to all its corporate customers (Barclays Citizenship Report, 2013).
Opportunities presented by the company’s development agenda;
Decreased resource use
As noted by the above initiatives such as the use of green energy fuels as well as the construction of more efficient buildings, costs on fuel, and other resources such as water are reduced. Additionally, the externalities that arise from environmental degradation such as the sustained potential of land to maintain high productivity as a result of green investments are reduced thereby generating huge savings as a result.
Improved human health
The company benefits from a healthier population, who can work, generate more lending power and investment opportunities as well.
Increased acceptance of the projects that are undertaken
The environmentally conscious projects such as buildings and other investments gain general public acceptance as they do not interfere with the interests of external parties.
Violations of the law is avoided
Presently much governmental legislation provides regulations that aim at creating a sustainable future. Therefore, when Barclays bank and all its branches worldwide heed to this concern, legal suits are avoided (Barclays Citizenship Report, 2013).
Reduction of wasted and the efficient use of resources through recycling and management.
Increased public awareness of the environmental concerns and need for a sustainably among the company’s employees and the society as well.
Increased business profits arise from operating in a more efficient environment, societal acceptability, and the goodwill of stakeholders due to more efficient business operations.
Threats posed by the sustainable development Agenda to the company
Internalizing such concerns of ensuring a sustainable environment poses an additional risk to the company. Its involvement, both in terms of ideology and financial support is neither a guarantee to increased streams of income nor public goodwill as well. Providing incentives through the Barclaycard only serves to reduce the revenues generated by the company’s operations. Therefore, ideally, such financing can better be viewed as a social responsibility but not an income generating initiative since the company faces the risk of reducing its profitability as a result.
On the same regard, only operating through the use of clean fuels and creating prohibitive policies towards environmentally unfriendly investments means losing revenue from their lending reserves while at the same time operating on an uneconomic scale as they avoid more economic fossil fuels in the global market (Barclays Citizenship Report, 2013).
PART: 2 appraising the company’s management of environmental opportunities and threats
Banks have been previously seen as an environmentally clean sector. However, today, it can be observed that their enormous use of paper, water and energy coupled with their external associates such as the investments that it funds pose a significant environmental impact. Such indirect interrelationships therefore make it hard to estimate their overall impact on the environment as a result. That’s why a few years in the past, banks have been reluctant to internalize some of these externalities posed to their environment.
In this regard therefore, we appraise Barclays bank’s management of environmental opportunities and threats as we seek to identify how different theoretical approaches can be of use towards achieving a sustainable environment.
Environmental management practices and performance as employed by Barclays Bank
Development of Group wide Environmental Management Syste...