Consequences Of Mandatory Sustainability - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Consequences Of Mandatory Corporate Sustainability? Answer: Introduction The purpose of this task is to provide brief overview about the corporate sustainability accounting activities of the company-Bunnings Warehouse. Corporate sustainability accounting refers to the practice of financial accounting which involves the disclosure of non-financial information about the activities of the company implemented in the environment. This type of activities of the company shows their social and cultural responsibilities against the environment. Further, Bunnings Warehouse is an international household hardware chain store of Australia opearting in New Zealand, Ireland and United Kingdom as well. The company is owned by Wesfarmers retail chain store since 1994 (Bunnings 2018). Further the sustainability reporting of the company is discussed below: Products of Bunnings Warehouse Bunnings is leading retailer of household and outdoor furnishing products. Further there are numerous products served by the company in the external market. Many types of tools are provided by the company such as power tools, hand tools, tool accessories and in building and hardware decking, landscape, timber, roofing, fencing building board, etc. Garden dcor is also provided by the company namely plants, landscaping, hand and power tools (Bebbington, Unerman, and O'Dwyer 2014). In the category of outdoor fancy living products like barbeque, outdoor play equipment, swimming pool, shade and spas,Kitchen bathroom decorating, storage, lighting products are provided by the company. Many varieties are also provided under the above mentioned list. Services are also provided by the company like, kitchen designs, hire shops, special orders and customer bench tops. Customers can customize the type of furniture they require for their place (Bunnings 2018). Role of corporate sustainability reporting in Bunnings warehouse Sustainability has now days grown as an accepted obligation more than responsibilities of companies. Sustainability reporting helps an organization to recognize and implement the long term goals of the company. Further sustainability reporting helps an organization to analyze the obligations of the company related to the environment and act accordingly. In the organization Bunnings it is very important for the company to hold up to their sustainable reporting so as to help company to achieve success in all segments of the environment (Ioannou, and Serafeim 2017).Sustainability accounting focuses more on managerial accounting than financial accounting as it is used by companies to implement the internal decisions in the company and creation of new policies. Further this aspect reflects the growth of the company in the external environment at three level namely, people, planet and profit. Considering the need of sustainability reporting in the company Bunnings Warehouse works on a large scale crucially understanding the need and importance of sustainability activities in the management (Ball, Grubnic, and Birchall 2014). Further the following activities shows the need of sustainability reporting in the company Bunnings: Competitive Advantage: The major benefit of maintaining the books for sustainability reporting is that it helps the company to focus on specific issue and work on them so as to improve them. These activities help the company to gain recognition in the market. The company reduces their cost by unsustainable activities due to which they get reserves to spend on increasing the sustainable activities of the company. Thus, in order to gain competitive advantage in the target market, Bunnings initiates the sustainable reporting in their business process (Khan, Serafeim, and Yoon 2016). Enhancement of companys image and customer loyalty: further this activity is the need of the business it helps them to create loyalty i the eyes of the customers. With the initiation of sustainability activities, the company gains recognition in the market due to which an identified image created in the market. Further it does not mean that recognition will create trust but activities of the company implemented in the target market do. Therefore, the sustainable practices are implemented in such a way that the customer gains a sense of satisfaction which subsequently increases their level of trust as well (Maas, Schaltegger, and Crutzen 2016). Risk Management: Corporate social responsibility reporting allows the stakeholders of the company to make more informed decision based on the future risks that the company might take. Thus, type of reporting helps the company to create a relation with the environmental, social, economic etc. factors present in the society and minimize the risks as well. Bunnings Sustainability As sustainability is considered as an important aspect in the furnishing business as the resources used by the company comprises of mainly natural resources. Thus the organization needs to initiate sustainable practices and inculcate it in the behavior of employees as well. This practice of the company will initiate sustainable practices in the environment. Further sustainability of a company refers to the practices of implementing activities in the management which helps the company to grow in log run. Sustainable practices can only be implied in an organization if the employees and concerned enough for the development of the external environment along with internal environment of the organization (Cheng, et al., 2014). So, in response to that, the Company will attain growth in long run by using activities which supports the nature and do not harm the interest of the stakeholders as well. Sustainable furnishing activities shall be implemented which do not waste the natural resources and produce goods which provide long term benefits to the customers of the company. Contribution of company in market As the company has a history of taking real life action into implementation, the company has implemented below mentioned strategies to contribute their part in the society: Report Cards: accounting of sustainable activities is important the organization it helps them to focus on crucial areas. The 2017 community report tells about the ongoing sustainable commitments of the company. The report underlines the areas where the company is currently focusing and the community involvement activities of the company (Martnez?Ferrero, Garcia?Sanchez, and Cuadrado?Ballesteros 2015). Less consumption of energy: Climate change is widely recognized as one of the most pressuring challenge for the company to cope up with. So, the company aims to use less or minimal energy to produce the resources concerning the available of energy in the environment. Initiatives like energy efficient lighting system are led by the company which reduces the use of energy in production process (Peters, and Romi 2014). Less water and waste: The goal of the company is to responsibly produce less waste in the environment through their business activities. Recycling activities are implemented and with eco-friendly packaging activities as well; Due to which the spare products of the company are used and less pollutants are delivered in the environment. Responsible sourcing: The Company responsibly holds up to the products and services which they supply in the environment. As the activities of the company are sourced worldwide, so Bunnings they initiate sustainable operations in their process with good working conditions and fair treatment with all stakeholders as well (Thomson, 2015). Environmental effect The activities of furnishing companies adversely hamper the growth of the environment. therefore to compensate the effect of this damage the company initiates the sustainable reporting activities. The company aims to reduce waste and produce goods which work in long run. With the initiation of these practices the company would require fewer raw materials as well. Further in order to minimize the negative effect caused in the environment Bunnings adequately complied with the sustainable law to initiate positivity in the environment. Existing market The company exists in parts of Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and United Kingdom. The Company operates in hardware markets of these countries. Bunnings is involved in varied sectors of furnishing business like garden equipment, kitchen dcor etc. (Schaltegger, and Wagner 2017). Recommendations Thus it shall be recommended to the company that they shall improve the process so as to increase sustainability of the company in the market. The company shall comply with all the laws and regulations related to sustainable accounting. Also they shall circulate the information about the sustainable activities which all companies present in the household furnishing shall implement for the benefit of environment. Lastly, by using raw materials like wood sustainably, cost of production will reduce causing benefit for the organization. Conclusion Thus it shall be concluded that sustainability is an obligation which is be fulfilled by all companies present in current environment. Sustainable accounting helps a business to analyse the areas where they are lacking behind in term of sustainability to implement activities accordingly. Further the above mentioned task talks about the sustainable activities of the company Bunnings which is present in the furnishing industry. The company adequately fulfills their sustainable reporting activities in the management system so as to contribute their share in the environment. Lastly, the environment is getting depleted now days so it is important for the government to issue guidelines to maintain the sustainable reporting in the environment. References Ball, A., Grubnic, S. and Birchall, J., 2014. 11 Sustainability accounting and accountability in the public sector.Sustainability accounting and accountability, p.176. Bebbington, J., Unerman, J. and O'Dwyer, B. eds., 2014.Sustainability accounting and accountability. Routledge. Bunnings., 2018. Bunnings and sustainability. Viewed on January 19, 2018 from https://www.bunnings.com.au/about-us/our-actions Bunnings., 2018. In Our Community. Viewed on January 19, 2018 from https://www.bunnings.com.au/about-us/in-our-community Cheng, M., Green, W., Conradie, P., Konishi, N. and Romi, A., 2014. The international integrated reporting framework: key issues and future research opportunities.Journal of International Financial Management Accounting,25(1), pp.90-119. Ioannou, I. and Serafeim, G., 2017. The consequences of mandatory corporate sustainability reporting. Khan, M., Serafeim, G. and Yoon, A., 2016. Corporate sustainability: First evidence on materiality.The accounting review,91(6), pp.1697-1724. Maas, K., Schaltegger, S. and Crutzen, N., 2016. Integrating corporate sustainability assessment, management accounting, control, and reporting.Journal of Cleaner Production,136, pp.237-248. Martnez?Ferrero, J., Garcia?Sanchez, I.M. and Cuadrado?Ballesteros, B., 2015. Effect of financial reporting quality on sustainability information disclosure.Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management,22(1), pp.45-64. Peters, G.F. and Romi, A.M., 2014. The association between sustainability governance characteristics and the assurance of corporate sustainability reports.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,34(1), pp.163-198. Schaltegger, S. and Wagner, M. eds., 2017.Managing the business case for sustainability: The integration of social, environmental and economic performance. Routledge. Thomson, I., 2015. But does sustainability need capitalism or an integrated reporta commentary on The International Integrated Reporting Council: A story of failureby Flower, J.Critical Perspectives on Accounting,27, pp.18-22.