Order: Report
Words count: 2 x 3150 words each => total: around: 6300 words
Order details:
Task Objective: The objectives of this task are to enable students to apply their learning on Business & Sustainability course notes, and wider reading, to develop skills which will enable them to assimilate a depth of literature which they can critically review and report on sustainable business practices in organizations. It will also develop deeper analytical and practical skills on the application and reporting of the Sustainable Development Goals in organizations.
Task Details: Literature Review and Organization Report Compare and contrast organizations in terms of their Sustainability/CSR activities, performance, reporting and communications. Make particular reference to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): are they identified by the organizations, if yes give details and review, and if not, where could they explicitly connect their activities to the SDGs.
Choose two or more organizations with plenty of information available. They may be very similar or very different in their business activities. You may include your own organization or ones which are in your area of work/interest/locality, if you wish. Use the organizations’ own sources e.g. a sustainability sections on websites, reports or similar, as well as publicly available information, trusted third party sources.
Write a report with a clear structure: – Introduction – Main Body – Conclusions and Recommendations – References
Introduction: Include in the introduction a brief explanation on why you selected these particular organizations. What do they have in common or how do they differ (sector/size/structure etc). Why is this theme/topic of special interest? Provide a link to the relevant pages on various the organizations’ websites.
Main Body: The main body of the report should be in three sections: 1. Literature review on theme of sustainability in organizations 2. Evaluation of activities and performance 3. Reporting and communications
1. Literature review: Write a review on the theme of Sustainability/CSR/SDG management in organizations. Introduce a topic/topics of particular interest to you and/or of relevance to the organizations you have chosen (environmental management, certification, CSR, communications, challenges/barriers, critical success factors, engagement etc).
Structure your review with an introduction, key headings, conclusions. Use course materials, textbooks and peer reviewed articles. Ensure that you reference all material correctly and use the Harvard Referencing System. References should be listed at the end of the report.
2. Evaluation of activities and performance: Outline and evaluate the CSR/Sustainability/SDG activities and performance in each of your chosen organizations. How do they define sustainability/corporate responsibility? What systems are employed? Who is responsible?
Provide a summary of the main activities; highlight strong points, weaknesses unusual or interesting activities. – How do they differ? What do they have in common? – What is successful and what is not? What are the strengths and weaknesses – What are the common or differing drivers of activities and the success factors? – Regarding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): are they identified by the organizations, if yes give details and review, and if not, where could they explicitly connect their activities to the SDGs.
Link and connect this section to your literature review. Is it what you expect from the literature or different?
3. Reporting and communications: How are CSR/Sustainability/SDGs reported and communicated (reports, websites, social media, marketing)? Look at what information is, and is not, provided. Is it a true reflection of activities and performance? In order to aid your reading of reports, the following guidelines are useful: United Nations Global Compact Communication on Progress (COP) https://www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/report/cop Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): https://www.globalreporting.org Corporate Register Reporting Awards (CRRA): http://www.corporateregister.com/crra/help/crrahelp.html
Conclusions and Recommendations: Based on your evaluation of the different organizations, your reading on the subject including the course materials and your literature review, write conclusions and recommendations for organizations based on your analysis the success factors. – What can the organizations do differently? – How can they improve? How can they better integrate the SDGS? – What are the distinguishing success factors/impeders? – What can other organizations learn? – Key recommendations
References: Ensure that you reference all material and sources correctly including websites.
Appendices: You may use appendices to present large volumes of data, tables etc which are too cumbersome to include in the main body or which may unduly add to the word count but which provide useful and relevant information nonetheless.
Images, Figures and Tables: These add value to reports and aid reading and are not included in the word count.
Indicative Outline and Word Count: Approximate Words +/- Introduction 200 Main Body 1. Literature review 850 2. Evaluation of activities & performance 750 3. Reporting & communications 750 Conclusions & Recommendations 600 References Total 3150
