SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND COMMUNITY WELLBEING

Abstract

A leader has been defined as a person who is able to motivate, inspire, and win commitment from those he leads to work willingly towards achievement of organisational objectives. Consequently, a sustainable leader is someone who “inspires and supports action towards a better world.” In leading and inspiring those he leads, a sustainable leader adopts new ways of seeing, thinking and interacting that result in innovative and sustainable solutions.” This paper attempts a Critical analysis of the effect of sustainable business practices on community wellbeing. It uses desk research to gather academic literature and current business examples on the topic. By analysing empirical literature on the topic, the study evaluates contributions of sustainable business practices in relation to climate change, social justice and economic prosperity and with special emphasis on the management of triple bottom line sustainability, corporate social responsibility and business ethics by organisations. It is organised under the headings: Business and sustainability challenges; contributions of sustainable business practices to corporate social responsibility and; the management of triple bottom line sustainability as a panacea to enhancing community wellbeing. After analyses, the paper concludes that a sustainable leader is one who design innovative programmes necessary for dealing with Sustainable Business Practices for Climate Change, Social Justice and Economic Prosperity at all levels of the organisation. Finally, the paper recommends that in order to achieve their goals, a business has to adopt sustainable business management practices through Cooperation, Collaboration, and Partnerships, popularly known as the Triple Bottom Line Sustainability model.