Since the rise in globalization and consumerism the world`s leaders become increasingly aware of the negative consequences that are leading to a global climate crisis. Nowadays almost everyone is aware that climate action becomes a necessity instead of an option in order to find a solution for this problem to save the planet. One approach of how to reduce the carbon footprint is the right technique of waste management. The most commonly known process is called Recycling which consists of collecting used materials, reprocessing the waste material into a secondary material into its raw ingredients in order to be able to use this material for new product production. In other words creating a new durable product that is made of waste is the ideal choice to support the environmentally friendly way of living and contributing to our planet. The current times just make it a necessity for every business to act ethically and to have sustainable processes in place that contribute to the purpose economy. It is relevant to change the primary goal of businesses from “profit maximization no matter the costs” to first having sustainable methods in place that protect humanity and future generations.
This leads to the main purpose of this essay consisting of explaining the meaning of purpose economy and sustainable development to business. In short, the purpose economy consists of the idea of having a business which has a green economy that helps the planet instead of destroying it. Further the sustainability consists of three main aspects (Social, Ecological and Economic) and aims on acting in an ethical way with the purpose of not harming future generations. This will be properly illustrated by the help of using a real case, the US clothing brand “Patagonia”. Patagonia is an US clothing brand that was founded by Yvon Chouinard in the year 1973 and is known for producing sustainable outdoor clothing. Since the whole clothing industry contributes up to 10% of the pollution which worsens the climate crisis, this company illustrates a perfect example of how to be a leading model for other companies of running a sustainable business.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Argumentation
Conclusion
Refrences
Introduction
Since the rise in globalization and consumerism the world`s leaders become increasingly aware of the negative consequences that are leading to a global climate crisis. Nowadays almost everyone is aware that climate action becomes a necessity instead of an option in order to find a solution for this problem to save the planet. One approach of how to reduce the carbon footprint is the right technique of waste management. The most commonly known process is called Recycling which consists of collecting used materials, reprocessing the waste material into a secondary material into its raw ingredients in order to be able to use this material for new product production. In other words creating a new durable product that is made of waste is the ideal choice to support the environmentally friendly way of living and contributing to our planet. The current times just make it a necessity for every business to act ethically and to have sustainable processes in place that contribute to the purpose economy. It is relevant to change the primary goal of businesses from “profit maximization no matter the costs” to first having sustainable methods in place that protect humanity and future generations.
This leads to the main purpose of this essay consisting of explaining the meaning of purpose economy and sustainable development to business. In short, the purpose economy consists of the idea of having a business which has a green economy that helps the planet instead of destroying it. Further the sustainability consists of three main aspects (Social, Ecological and Economic) and aims on acting in an ethical way with the purpose of not harming future generations. This will be properly illustrated by the help of using a real case, the US clothing brand “Patagonia”. Patagonia is an US clothing brand that was founded by Yvon Chouinard in the year 1973 and is known for producing sustainable outdoor clothing. Since the whole clothing industry contributes up to 10% of the pollution which worsens the climate crisis, this company illustrates a perfect example of how to be a leading model for other companies of running a sustainable business. In this essay the companies mission statement, philosophy and methods will be explained and demonstrated on how this leads to reducing the carbon footprint to benefit our planet.
In this essay the “What” and “Why” questions will be addressed in order to make the essay easy to follow for the targeted audience which is in this case the “fellow students”. The “What” question will help with properly illustrating all components of this topic. The “Why” question will clarify the significance of this topic. Why is sustainability an unavoidable component in today`s world? Why should it be a necessity for every company and individual to serve the purpose economy?
This essay will be structured in the following way. The main body of this essay will cover three main aspects. In the first part the emphasis will be on elaborating the meaning of purpose economy to businesses. The second part will cover the importance of sustainable development to businesses. This part will also cover the significance of the seventeen sustainable development goals that are designed to create a more sustainable future. Finally, the last part will be demonstrating the interaction between purpose economy and sustainable development.
In order to complete the paper in an academic fashion, three insightful articles will be used to support the research. In addition, two scientific articles from well recognized journals will be included in the argumentation. Lastly two YouTube clips that fit the topic will be introduced and it will be explained why they support this essay.
At the end the essay will include a conclusion that will provide an answer to the research question. In addition, it will mention key outcomes of the arguments and it will link together with the purpose of the essay, so the reader receives a full picture of the described issues.
Argumentation
1. Meaning of Purpose economy illustrated with a case example
As mentioned in introduction the first part will deal with the meaning of purpose economy to businesses. During the research an insightful article was discovered that covered the meaning of purpose economy from different points of views. The article describes how a new economy is always naturally building up from previous economies (Businesshumanizer, 2017). With first having the agrarian economy that was focused on agriculture, the information economy was entered with the invention of the internet and computers. Now the purpose economy is evolving and it focuses on finding meaning and connection (Businesshumanizer, 2017). The article states that the focus was too much on output and efficiency in the past with the consequence of not keeping in mind the impact on humanity and the planet. The Purpose economy`s foundation could be used to focus more on the human aspect again and to serve the planet instead of exploiting its resources. Further Purpose economy might transform the career definition. It emphasises on doing work that is meaningful to an individual, because only that can bring out the best capabilities of an individual and leads to finding purpose (Businesshumanizer, 2017). It leads to realizing someone`s true potential and creates the working attitude of enjoying to do something that benefits others. The author mentions that humans look for meaningful relationships and community connection which should be used in the working environment in order to help each other grow (Businesshumanizer, 2017). This shows that purpose economy is all about connecting with the same minded individuals and doing something that helps other individuals or the planet. The most powerful message that could be taken from the article consisted of that humans are most fulfilled if they work on something greater than about themselves. Every Economy or business needs to make profits in order to function but the purpose economy is focused to create meaningful service to the people and planet (Businesshumanizer, 2017). In other words, whatever an individual or business is doing, they should act in favour of our planet and other individuals.
Basically that means companies have to find a way to generate profit while acting in favour of the purpose economy. This might seem like an impossible task for some businesses, but my case example of the clothing Company “Patagonia” perfectly illustrates that it is achievable.
One of the biggest examples of how “Patagonia” is majorly contributing to the Purpose economy is by donating 1% of its annual sales to environmental organizations that help restoring the planet (Patagonia, 2021). They have a good understanding of how profit and loss is connected to the health and societal and environmental impacts of the industry. The company has so far donated over one hundred and forty million dollars to organizations that focus on saving the planet. In addition Patagonia`s owner has created a non-profit organization in the year of 2002 with the purpose to encourage other companies to follow their business philosophy (Patagonia, 2021). This shows how the company tries to create a strong community of similar minded companies that will provide first hand examples to other companies of how to do business in the times of worsening environmental issues. They try to emphasis on taking more corporate responsibility in the business world and having the support of customers that value the environment (Patagonia, 2021).
In addition 87% of Patagonia`s selling line uses recycled materials and possesses the fair trade certificate (Patagonia, 2021). Besides their fair trade certificate on the clothes the company supports over 64000 workers in the Patagonia Fair trade program to ensure acceptable working conditions and salaries.
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- Quote paper
- Yannick Wichert (Author), 2021, Meaning of Purpose Economy and Sustainable Development to Business Based on the Example of the Clothing Brand "Patagonia", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1183585
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