A business case for sustainable development

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to show that there is a business case for sustainable development and how this concept interacts with corporate social responsibility. Although SD was originally a macroeconomics concept it is more and more implemented by businesses. Companies has started to include sustainable development goals in their corporate social responsibility strategies which are even sometimes replaced by sustainability strategies. By analogy to CSR it is shown that development of such strategies is not only a strategic necessity but also it could contribute to the competitive advantage of these companies. Theoretical considerations have been illustrated by presenting some examples from practice as well as the results of the desk research on corporate sustainability.

Keywords

• sustainable development
• business case
• corporate social responsibility
• competitive advantage