A CASE FOR SMALL BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY

OUTLINE TITLE
Introduction
Summary – sustainability strategies are all about business survival.

Objective – identify many reasons why small businesses should care about sustainability, challenges / barriers to small business sustainability, steps towards sustainable practices

Scope ? to establish a review and sustainable starting point for any business considered a small business based on the U.S Small Business Administration / 13 CFR Part 121 Small Business Size Regulations
i. The overall objectives of the plan, including the anticipated benefits of its successful implementation upon the organization and its financial success, growth, image or ?brand,? shareholders and other stakeholders, etc., the natural environment, and society. Each objective should include a concrete description of what success will look like if the plan is ultimately successfully implemented
ii. An overall summary of the scope of the plan, such as whether it will initially be piloted in a receptive or highly visible segment or location of the organization and then rolled out according to a timetable, implemented in only selected areas or locations of the organization simultaneously, and if so, where and why, or whether from the start the plan will be an organization-wide one, and the overall timeframe anticipated for the full implementation of the plan

I. As a business priority, environmental management is on the rise.
A. Small organizations are guilty of significantly polluting the environment and engaging in practices that are simply not sustainable.
1. Small businesses employ almost half of all American workers, and small businesses represent 99.7% of all businesses in the United States.
2. Businesses can potentially cause damage to all areas of the environment.
B. Environmentally sustainable businesses may have a competitive edge when it comes to attracting customers and investors.
1. people, profits and planet ? not just profits.
2. small businesses have a unique opportunity to really give back to the community.
II. Is sustainability for small business good or bad?
A. The Big Green opportunity
1. Sustainability Imperatives
2. Easy Steps / Practices
3. More challenging / yet effective steps / practices
B. Barriers
1. The realisms of operating a small business / hardship

III. Developing a Plan
A. Develop an Action Plan
1. People Planet Profit
2. Resources / Tools available
3. Hire a Sustainability Consultant

iii. An overall summary of the scope of the plan, such as whether it will initially be piloted in a receptive or highly visible segment or location of the organization and then rolled out according to a timetable, implemented in only selected areas or locations of the organization simultaneously, and if so, where and why, or whether from the start the plan will be an organization-wide one, and the overall timeframe anticipated for the full implementation of the plan

B. Implementation of Plan
1. Vision Mission Case for Support
2. Develop Goals and Objectives
3. Research / Identify stakeholders
4. Initiate communication / relationship with stakeholders
5. Analyze cost
6. Create buy in
7. Leadership Role / communication
8. Assessment and continuous improvement
9. The plan should also include a final follow-up assessment of its effectiveness, scheduled for some time following the completion of the full implementation of the plan, which addresses not only the effectiveness of the plan in addressing the organization?s sustainability, but also the unintended consequences, positive and/or negative, and how they were/will be addressed, and the capture of any institutional knowledge (i.e., ?lessons-learned?) from the implementation of the plan that the organization can benefit from either leveraging or avoiding as the organization?s sustainability efforts are maintained and expanded going forward

Conclusion
Finally, should end with a description as to how the organization will plan to revisit their sustainability strategy and adjust it to keep it relevant as the initial plan is completed and the status of the organization, the environment in which it operates, and the nature of organizational sustainability continuously change
g. A Conclusion, including reflection on the value to you of developing this plan for the leadership of an organizational sustainability initiative.

Cases for review

http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/journal_archive/1561896X/74.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert_Blackburn/publication/38173939_The_Business_Case_for_Sustainability_An_Examination_of_Small_Firms_in_the_UK’s_Construction_and_Restaurant_Sectors/links/0deec524176def1189000000.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sander_Wennekers/publication/42241485_Entrepreneurship_small_business_and_economic_growth/links/00b49528640a12d499000000.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sharon_Danes/publication/232399148_The_Impact_of_Family_and_Business_on_Family_Business_Sustainability/links/541736350cf2218008bede50.pdf (Small family business burden ? Hire a consultant )

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jan_Lepoutre/publication/24125900_Investigating_the_Impact_of_Firm_Size_on_Small_Business_Social_Responsibility_a_Critical_Review/links/0046351da8c3de90d6000000.pdf

http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/42953429/A_business_oportunity_model_of_corporate_social_responsib.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1474220431&Signature=SckO22vwx%2Bsv%2Fms79UDYj7zlPvs%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DA_business_opportunity_model_of_corporat.pdf

http://thinkprayact.us/uploads/The_Social_Responsibility_of_Business_is_to_Increase_its_Profits__by_Milton_Friedman.pdf