Question

In many parts of the world, there is a variety of accreditation schemes and programs to provide some indication of the sustainability or social responsibility credentials of a product or business. a. Give an example of one of these certification and/or accreditation programs that features in the course materials and describe how this program assists businesses to report on their sustainability and social responsibility performances. . b. In your view, what are the benefits and weaknesses of this certification (accreditation) program?

Answer 1

Today, icompanies iface ipressure ito iexpand itheir icorporate isocial iresponsibility i(CSR) ipractices. iSolarCity's isustainability ibriefing ifound ithat i75 ipercent iof iconsumers iare imore ilikely ito ibuy ia iproduct ior iservice iif ithe icompany iis imaking ian ieffort ito ibe isustainable, iwhile i82 ipercent iare imore ilikely ito ipurchase ia iproduct ithat irepresents iCSR iover ione ithat idoes inot.Many icompanies ihave iturned ito iaccredited iCSR icertifications iand iawards.

With isustainability ireporting ion ithe irise iand ia ilot iat istake ifor icompanies, ithere iare iseveral icertifications ibusinesses ican ichoose ifrom. iChoosing ithe ibest ione ican ibe idifficult, ibut ihere iare isome iof ithe imore ipopular iones ito imake iyour idecision ia ibit ieasier.

B iLab icertification irequires icompanies ito ipass ian ionline iassessment ifor i"social iand ienvironmental iperformance," iintegrate iB iLab icommitments iinto icompany igoverning idocuments, iand ipay ian iannual ifee iranging ifrom i$50 ito i$50,000. I

LEED

Leadership iin iEnergy iand iEnvironmental iDesign iis ian iecology-oriented ibuilding icertification iprogram irun iby ithe iU.S. iGreen iBuilding iCouncil.

TRUE

Administered iby iGreen iBusiness iCertification iInc. i(GBCI), icertification iis iavailable ifor iany ifacility iand iits ioperations.SITES

Developed ithrough ia icollaborative ieffort iof ithe iAmerican iSociety iof iLandscape iArchitects, iThe iLady iBird iJohnson iWildflower iCenter iand ithe iUnited iStates iBotanic iGarden, iSITES i(used iby iarchitects, ilandscapers, iecologists, ietc.) iprovides iperformance imeasures irather ithan iprescribing ipractices, isupporting ithe iunique ienvironmental iconditions iof ieach ilandscape iit icertifies.

GBB

The iGreen iBusiness iBureau's i(GBB) icertification iprocess iis ientirely iinitiative-based, iso iyour icompany iwill ireceive ipoints ifor ieach iactivity iit icompletes. iGBB's isustainability iassessment iidentifies iand icommunicates isustainability iefforts ithat iyour ismall ibusiness ihas ialready icompleted, iwhile ialso ihelping ito iguide iand iformulate ifuture iefforts. iGBB icertification idifferentiates iitself ifrom iother iorganizations iby imaking iit ieasy ifor ismall ibusinesses ito icustomize itheir isustainability ipractices.

GBB

The iGreen iBusiness iBureau's i(GBB) icertification iprocess iis ientirely iinitiative-based, iso iyour icompany iwill ireceive ipoints ifor ieach iactivity iit icompletes. iGBB's isustainability iassessment iidentifies iand icommunicates isustainability iefforts ithat iyour ismall ibusiness ihas ialready icompleted, iwhile ialso ihelping ito iguide iand iformulate ifuture iefforts. iGBB icertification idifferentiates iitself ifrom iother iorganizations iby imaking iit ieasy ifor ismall ibusinesses ito icustomize itheir isustainability ipractices.

The isame iapproach ican ibe itaken iwhen ichoosing iwhich isustainability icertification imakes ithe imost isense ifor iyour ibusiness.