BM4501 Strategies for Corporate Sustainability-Report Overview

Online Help on Placement Report

Placement Student Name: ___________________________________________________________

Placement Organisation Name: _______________________________________________________

Placement Line Manager Name: ______________________________________________________

As part of your professional placement experience, you are required to evaluate the business practices or operations of the placement organisation and complete the following:

Identify three areas for improvement for business practice or operations in the placement organisation e.g., ethical and sustainable practice.
For each area of improvement, you must recommend appropriate actions for the placement organisation to take.

You will write 500-750 words in total. Please refer to relevant academic sources to support reasons for improvements and recommended actions. You must include citations and provide a reference list of sources using Harvard referencing style.

Areas for Improvement

Area for Improvement one:	Ethical Sourcing Practices
Appropriate actions recommended supported by reasons:
a. The company must adopt more ethical sourcing strategy, especially when selecting suppliers for manufacturing processes. This includes making sure that suppliers follow fair labor practices, pay fair wages and meet environmental sustainability standards. The company must assess the supply chain and audit the suppliers to confirm if the company is complying with the ethical guidelines, ensuring transparency at every level. Sourcing materials following recognized sustainability standards will facilitate the company (LeBaron, 2021).
b. By fostering partnership with suppliers who practice ethical standards by treating employees fairly and implementing eco-friendly practices, this will decrease the risk factors associated with labor exploitation and environmental damage. This will also prevent negative public opinions and financial consequences as in penalties or charges due to labour or environmental exploitation (Chouaibi, & Affes,2021). The company must collaborate with the organisations that possess international sustainability certifications like Fair Trade or ISO 14001 (Krishnan, 2020).
c. Consumers are very much aware of the impact they make with their buying choices and how it affects the environment and society. Djafarova, & Foots (2022), states that organisations that abide by ethical practices enjoy better brand loyalty, customer satisfaction, and enhanced reputation. The brand Patagonia can be considered in this regard, where the company benefitted from ethical sourcing and sustainable practices, which built a brand image and attracting environmentally-conscious consumers (Bischoff & Staufenberg,2021).