• Sustainable business, or a green business, is an enterprise that has minimal negative impact on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy—a businessthat strives to meet the triple bottom line. In general, businessis described as green if it matches the following four criteria:

1. It incorporates principles of sustainability into each of its businessdecisions.
2. It supplies environmentally friendlyproducts or services that replaces demand for nongreen products and/or services.
3. It is greener than traditional competition.
4. It has made an enduring commitment to environmental principles in its business operations.

• The Brundtland Reportemphasized that sustainability is a three-legged stool of people, planet, and profit.
• Sustainability is often confused with corporate social responsibility(CSR), though the two are not the same. Bansal and DesJardine (2014) state that the notion of ‘time’ discriminates sustainability from CSR and other similar concepts. Whereas ethics, morality, and norms permeate CSR, sustainability only obliges businesses to make intertemporal trade-offs to safeguard intergenerational equity. Short-termism is the bane of sustainability.
• Environmental-friendly practices:
  • A major initiative of sustainable businesses is to eliminate or decrease the environmental harm caused by the production and consumption of their goods. The impact of such human activities in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced can be measured in units of carbon dioxide and is referred to as thecarbon footprint. The carbon footprint concept is derived from ecological footprint analysis, which examines the ecological capacity required to support the consumption of products.
  • One of the most common examples is the act of "going paperless" or sending electronic correspondence in lieu of paper when possible.
  • On a higher level, examples of sustainable business practices include: refurbishing used products(e.g., tuning up lightly used commercial fitness equipment for resale); revising production processes to eliminate waste (such as using a more accurate template to cut out designs); and choosing nontoxic raw materials and processes. For example, Canadian farmers have found that hemp is a sustainable alternative to rapeseed in their traditional crop rotation; hemp grown for fiber or seed requires no pesticides or herbicides.
• Sustainable business leaders also take into account the life cycle costs for the items they produce. Input costs must be considered in regards to regulations, energy use, storage, and disposal.
• Designing for the environment (DFE) is also an element of sustainable business. This process enables users to consider the potential environmental impacts of a product and the process used to make that product.
• Some companies have resorted to greenwashing instead of making meaningful changes, merely marketing their products in ways that suggest green practices. For example, various producers in the bamboo fiber industry have been taken to court for advertising their products as more "green" than they are.
• Green investment firms are consequently attracting unprecedented interest. In the UK, for instance, the Green Investment Bankis devoted exclusively to supporting renewable domestic energy. However, the UK and Europe as a whole are falling behind the impressive pace set by developing nations in terms of green development.

Case study: Ford Motor Company: Among large corporations, Ford Motor Company occupies an odd role in the story of sustainability. Ironically, founder Henry Ford was a pioneer in the sustainable business realm, experimenting with plant-based fuels during the days of the Model T. Ford Motor Company also shipped the Model A truck in crates that then became the vehicle floorboards at the factory destination. This was a form of upcycling, retaining high quality in a closed-loop industrial cycle. Furthermore, the original auto body was made of a stronger-than-steel hemp composite. Currently, Ford's claim to eco-friendly fame is the use of seat fabric made from 100% post-industrial materials and renewable soy foam seat bases. Ford executives recently appointed the company’s first senior vice president of sustainability, environment, and safety engineering.

Six essential charactersitics:

1. Triple top-line value production
2. Nature-based knowledge and technology
3. Products of service to products of consumption
4. Solar, wind, geothermal and ocean energy.
5. Local-based organizations and economies
6. Continuous improvement process

 Exercise 1: Environment - Interview

 Exercise 2: Industrial disasters

 Exercise 3: The Volkswagen Story