Sustainability and CSR Case of BHP Billiton

Question: Discuss about the Sustainability and CSR Case of BHP Billiton. Answer: Introduction In the study of market economics engaging stakeholders is one of the main purpose of the organisations. It is one of their primary focus to engage the shareholders in the organisational operation if not directly then indirectly. It could be said that in the recent past the global market has become highly competitive in nature not allowing companies to settle down properly and keeping them on their toes to come up with something new. What has been more agonising for companies is the sudden emergence of environmentalism and green politics among the consumers. People have become more conscious about their purchases and their impact on the environment. This clearly showed that mere innovation or improvement in products and services wouldnt be effective for companies and in order to stand out of the queue that got to do something which will set the trend (Carroll Buchholtz, 2014). The emergence of the Corporate Social Responsibility came a source of respite for many companies especially the multinational companies as they now understand that in order to capture the consumer base one has to have positive impact not only with the products but with its activities as well. From the broader point of view Corporate Social Responsibility concept mainly indicated that companies have to contribute towards the development of the environment and the society and not merely the sales of quality products and services. Sustainability is one of the key sections of Corporate Social Responsibility and there are number of companies those who have been successful in practicing their trade sustainably and have become quintessential to the practice of CSR. One Such organisation is BHP Billiton one of the leading Gas and Energy Company from Australia. The present study will discuss the concepts of sustainability and CSR with reference to BHP Billiton (Carroll Shabana, 2010). Sustainability as Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility is a multi-faceted subject and hence has different definitions. The classical definition of Corporate Social Responsibility could be put forward as a business approach that contributes to the overall sustainable development of the stakeholders in terms of social, environmental, economic aspects. The CSR approach of an organisation is mainly pointed to provide stakeholders with economic, social and political benefits. In a broader view it could be said that through CSR the companies not only focus on serving the consumers but it also focuses on serving the environment and society in order to have a better and positive impact (Aras Crowther, 2009). There are different layers to Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability is considered as one of the most important layers. Sustainability is futuristic approach to CSR where a company focuses to utilise its resources effectively especially the scarce resources and focus on preserving them which forms to be conducive for long term trading of the organisation in the market. Sustainability or sustainable development could be stated as the process of meeting the needs and wants of the present without negotiating the availability for the future generations. Sustainability has become a very effective concept due to its approach of saving for the future (Luchs et al., 2010). Australian Gas and energy company BHP Billiton has focused on taking the aspect of sustainability in mind in order to operate effectively. BHP has had an effective sustainable approach to its operations. As a major producer of fossil fuel the company has understood its responsibility to reduce greenhouse gases which has helped the company to reduce climate impacts. In 2015 the company has collaborated with the United Nations Convention on Climate Change to contribute in holding the increase in the global temperature. The company believes in policy framework and conformation to policies which helps it to operate effectively. The company also strives to actively support the communities where it works and so far it has been effective. It has organised number of climate and education awareness campaign which has helped to support a lot of people in distant regions. Through collaborative approach the company has involved a number of people to understand its practices in business (Schalteg ger et al., 2012). The company is an initiator and is more focused on better compliance to systems and managing the business operations to reduce environmental impacts due to the business operations. The company is highly focused on applying the ethical theory within its operations. The company has earlier faced number of issues that had raised questions on their morale and ethics for instance the incident in brazil mining operation was a big blow to the company but since then it has recovered well and ensures that its approach towards work is ethically correct which helps the company to have better bonding with the society (Visser, 2011). The company should also take into account the stakeholder approach to CSR. The stakeholder theory is mainly a theory organisational management and business ethics that addresses values of the organisation in managing the company. BHP has its own code of conduct which has helped to manage its different stakeholders differently. It could be said that most of the stakeholders with the company could have conflicting interest and hence in order to have a proper relation with all of them the company has developed separate corporate governance plan which would help the company to ensure proper relationship with the consumers, the suppliers, the financers, the employees et cetera. BHP recently has emphasised on the use of philanthropic responsibility approach to sustainability (Idowu et al., 2013). It has started organising different community based operations and awareness programs and charities and the company have also focused its employee time and money to create effective relationship w ith communities especially in mining areas. The company has also created an effective relationship with stakeholders like government with the help of stakeholder theory where it has emphasised on supporting the local governmental bodies for the welfare of the society and the local communities. The philanthropic approach to sustainability has involves abiding by the social and ethical norms, eliminating any kind of ethical dilemma that manifests within the organisational operation. The company has also contributed to the development of educational institutes in places like Tasmania, Western Australia and even in its foreign plants in Brazil and other countries (Orlitzky et al., 2011). Conclusion BHP Billiton has been effective with its sustainable practices within the country as well as foreign countries. The company has used the ethical theory to eliminate any kind of ethical dilemma, the philanthropic responsibility approach to address the social and moral duties and the stakeholder theory which has helped the company to ensure that it is able to handle its different stakeholders in the most suitable manner possible. It is important to say that the company has been able to implement the best possible sustainable practices which have helped to boost its social responsibility goals and have allowed space to the company to sustain in the market for a much longer time (Visser, 2011). References Aras, G., Crowther, D. (2009). Corporate sustainability reporting: a study in disingenuity?.Journal of business ethics,87(1), 279-288. Carroll, A. B., Buchholtz, A. K. (2014).Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Nelson Education. Carroll, A. B., Shabana, K. M. (2010). The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practice.International journal of management reviews,12(1), 85-105. Idowu, S. O., Capaldi, N., Zu, L. (2013).Encyclopedia of corporate social responsibility. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Luchs, M. G., Naylor, R. W., Irwin, J. R., Raghunathan, R. (2010). 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