Executive summary

 

This report is related with sustainability issues of South West Water. Two sustainabilty issues are identified inlcuding pollution of Devon stream and sewage spills into sea and river. These issues are question mark on the sustainability and CSR of South West Water. These issues can be resolved by SWW by focusing on stakeholders engagement, innovation, environmental management systems and customer services.

1. Introduction

 

The contemporary business world has become highly competitive due to globalization, technological advancements and highly efficient communication systems. It is highly important for the business concerns to meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders. According to Carroll and Buchholtz (2014) companies are becoming socially responsible and ensuring that business activities do not harm any of the stakeholders. In addition, they are paying attention towards social aspects and taking steps for betterment of society. According to Christensen et al., (2007) companies in contemporary world are focusing on sustainability which is a phenomenon of managing profit, people and planet in an efficient way. In addition, financial, social as well as environmental risks are effectively handled by sustainable companies. It is not an easy task to become sustainable business and companies need to take various steps. In this report, sustainability practices and issues related with South West Water will be discussed. South West Water is UK based company, established in 1989 and responsible for providing sewerage, water as well as other services to the customers in Devon, Cornwall and nearby places (South West Water, 2017). After analyzing the sustainability issues, recommendations will be made to South West Water for resolving them. At the end, conclusion will be provided.

 

2. Sustainability issues at South West Water

According to Crane and Matten (2016) it is quite challenging task for business concerns to remain sustainable in highly competitive business world. In addition, sustainable businesses must focus on economic efficiency, social equity as well as environmental accountability. In order to become sustainable, no activities should be performed by companies that lead towards harm to environment, people and other stakeholders. South West Water is busy in providing services to the customers from past many years and is focusing on environmental management system for fulfilling corporate social responsibility (South West Water, 2017). However, several environmental issues are reported against South West Water and these should be resolved by the management. Some of the issues are discussed as under.

 

2.1. Pollution of Devon stream

As mentioned earlier, South West Water provides sewage services to the people in Devon, Cornwall and nearby places. It is the duties of South West Water to keep the environment clean by timely cleaning the streams, lakes and surroundings. According to GOV.UK (2017), South West Water poorly managed the sewage that entered the Devon stream and Craddock stream. In addition, upon survey of Environment Agency, it was found that the condition of both streams was poor, extensive sewage fungus was present and the filters were blocked. It showed that South West Water has not performed the cleaning process/treatment for a month or more. Moreover, investigation showed that the poor condition of streams was in knowledge of South West Water but company took no action. It was mentioned by Salzmann et al., (2005) that sustainable companies do not provide harm to environment as well as people through their activities. But, the issue of South West Water caused environmental pollution in Devon and negatively impacted the lives of residents. This issue is a big question mark on the sustainability of South West Water. The reputation of South West Water was badly damaged due to this environmental issue and company was imposed a fine of £300,000. This issue not only caused harm to the environment but company’s relationships with its stakeholders were also negatively impacted.

 

2.2. Issue of sewage spills into sea and river

It was reported by The Guardian (2016) that South West Water failed to attain its performance targets and several environmental issues were caused by company. In addition, in 2016, South West Water spilled the sewerage in the sea water for more than six times. The company repeated same activity again and again in same year. The company failed to fulfill its commitment towards environmental safety. The sewerage spills in sea negatively impacted the marine life and caused pollution. It was also reported that the competitors of South West Water including Severn Trent as well as Anglian Water had fewer leaks, saved water and fulfilled their duties in efficient way. But, South West Water failed to keep the environment safe. According to BBC News (2015) sewage was present in River Menalhyl that was caused by South West Water. In addition, South West Water discharged various poisonous materials into the river. Moreover, South West Water caused pollution due to various several sewage blockages. Due to these issues, the water quality of river was negatively effected along with plant as well as animal lives. This issue indicates that South West Water failed to manage its negative impacts on planet and people. Thus, there is a question mark on sustainability of South West Water.

3. Recommendations for South West Water

It was mentioned by Carroll and Shabana (2010) that different environmental issues and problems faced by companies can damage their reputation and exert negative impact relationships with stakeholders. That is why; it is highly important for companies to take corrective measures and make plans for meeting the corporate social responsibility. Likewise, it is important for South West Water to resolve the identified sustainability issues. It can focus on several recommendations, as below:

3.1. Focusing on stakeholders engagement

It was mentioned by Schaltegger et al., (2012) that business concerns can decrease their environmental risks if they align sustainability objectives with the expectations of stakeholders. In addition, the stakeholders include governments, customers, suppliers as well as civil society concerns and community. This can be done by focusing on stakeholder engagement. It was stated by Aras and Crowther (2009) that companies can make effective relationships with stakeholders through proper communication and interaction. In this way, the needs and expectations of stakeholders can be easily understood by companies. For example, PepsiCo is focusing on stakeholder engagement since 2010 for making sustainability strategy and it discloses various sustainability challenges to the stakeholders to get recommendations. Likewise, it is recommended for South West Water to get engaged with its stakeholders to get response about spills, sewage issues and pollution problems. In addition, it must be ensured by South West Water that no environmental issue will be caused in future. In the view of Dahlsrud (2008) those companies that focus on sustainability and provide relevant information in the reports have tendency to get high stock performance and returns. This indicates that South West Water should focus on sustainability reporting to increase its performance.

 

 

3.2. Focusing on innovation

It was mentioned by Dangelico and Pujari (2010) that product and process innovation play an important role in making a company sustainable. In addition, companies should invest money in research and development to find new and sustainable methods for performing business activities. It is highly recommended for South West Water to focus on innovation to eliminate the environmental issues caused by it and to become sustainable. South West Water can focus on recycling of waste material by focusing on innovation. In this way, company will not require to spill its waste material into river or streams. Moreover, it is also recommended to use new methods for sewage cleaning and treatment, and opening blockages. South West Water can focus on advanced technology for developing a new sewage system or modifying the current one. For example, in case of computer technology businesses, Dell uses recyclable materials for producing different products and focuses on energy efficient systems for production.

3.3. Environmental management systems

It was mentioned by Darnall et al., (2007) that there are different environmental management systems as well as standards that companies should comply to become sustainable. In addition, such standards are helpful for companies to become environmentally efficient and decrease the risks. Moreover, one of the most commonly accepted standard ISO 14001. It contains principles and guidelines for companies to become sustainable. It is recommended for South West Water to comply with these standards to become sustainable.

3.4. Customer services and awareness

It is highly useful for companies to take care of their customers and provide them assistance at the time of need (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2014). Different environmental issues are faced by South West Water in past and there is probability of reoccurrence. Such issues can cause harm to the people and planet. That is why; it is highly recommended for South West Water to use spread awareness among customers that how they can remain safe if an environmental problem takes place in future. For this, South West Water can run several campaigns on social media.

 

 

4. Conclusion

It can be concluded from the above discussion that it is quite challenging task for the companies to become sustainable. There are several risks associated with company’s operations that can cause harm to the stakeholders. The environmental issues faced by South West Water due to negligence and poor maintenance. It is highly recommended for South West Water to resolve the issues by focusing on environmental management systems, innovation as well as stakeholders’ engagement and sustainability reports. In this way, South West Water can become sustainable and successful in highly competitive business environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

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BBC News. 2015. South West Water fined over River Menalhyl pollution. [Online]. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-18536974 [Accessed: 23 Feb 2017]

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Carroll, A. and Buchholtz, A., 2014. Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. London: Nelson Education.

Carroll, A.B. and 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), pp.85-105.

Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dahlsrud, A., 2008. How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15(1), pp.1-13.

Dangelico, R.M. and Pujari, D., 2010. Mainstreaming green product innovation: Why and how companies integrate environmental sustainability. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(3), pp.471-486.

Darnall, N., Henriques, I. and Sadorsky, P., 2008. Do environmental management systems improve business performance in an international setting?. Journal of International Management, 14(4), pp.364-376.

GOV.UK. 2016. Largest fine for South West Water after pollution of Devon stream. [Online]. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/largest-fine-for-south-west-water-after-pollution-of-devon-stream [Accessed: 23 Feb 2017]

Salzmann, O., Ionescu-Somers, A. and Steger, U., 2005. The business case for corporate sustainability:: literature review and research options. European Management Journal, 23(1), pp.27-36.

Schaltegger, S., Lüdeke-Freund, F. and Hansen, E.G., 2012. Business cases for sustainability: the role of business model innovation for corporate sustainability. International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 6(2), pp.95-119.

South West Water. 2017. [Online]. Available at:  http://www.southwestwater.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=128 [Accessed: 23 Feb 2017]

The Guardian. 2016. South West Water faces £1.7m fine over sewage spills. [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/01/south-west-water-sewage-spills-ofwat-severn-trent-anglian-water [Accessed: 23 Feb 2017]