BUSW 335 Case Study

Dr. Doreen McGunagle, Dr. Laura Zizka, Dr. Patti Clark, and Dr. Michael Essary (2020) Excerpted from

published case.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Case Study

This case study analyzes the sustainability initiatives linked to the Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations and specifically applied to the

airlines industry. You can choose any International airlines that you wish to analyze for this case

study. You have been hired by their leadership team to take an integrated management

approach that addresses the sustainability initiative of the company.

Overview

For a company to succeed, sustainability needs to be integrated into the strategy of the

organization. This integration can be done through the management of social, environmental, and

economic initiatives. The most sustainable companies are those with fully integrated

sustainability into their strategy, products, operations and marketing. Embedding sustainability

into a company’s strategy and operations deliver a value for people, planet and the bottom-line.

In today’s complex environment, the growing environmental and social challenges, corporate

strategy and management needs to build a more sustainable and successful organization. The

Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) offer targets that assist uncover new value creation

and value propositions on how the organization can provide products and services to your

customers (UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2019).

Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainability is a strategy that can help organizations meet the current needs without

compromising the needs of future generations (United Nations, 1987). In 2015, the Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs) set a global agenda that has been adopted by many countries. The

Dr. Doreen McGunagle, Dr. Laura Zizka, Dr. Patti Clark, and Dr. Michael Essary (2020) Excerpted from

published case.

vision of SDGs is to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and

prosperity. As part of their strategy, organizations can use SDGs in sustainable development that

aligns with their goals (Chakravorti, 2017).

There are seventeen goals that were proposed by the UN. The SDG goals include: end

poverty, zero hunger, promote health and well-being, Quality education, Gender equality,

Sustainable management of water and sanitation, Access to sustainable energy, Full and

productive employment, Sustainable industry that fosters innovation, Reduce inequality,

sustainable cities, Sustainable consumption and production, Combat climate change, Use of

marine resources for sustainable development, Protect and promote sustainable terrestrial

ecosystems, promote peaceful inclusive society, and Global Partnership for sustainable

development (United Nations, 2015). While meeting all 17 SDGs is the ideal situation, a more

realistic option is to link some of the most pertinent SDGs to specific industries, in this case, the

airline industry. In this manner, industries have a starting place to begin implementing the SDGs

without the pressure of trying to address all SDGs at one time. Table 16 shows the 7 SDGs most

suitable for the airline industry. These SDGs are representative of the three sustainability pillars.

Table 16

SDGs for Aviation Industry

Social 5

Gender

Equality

Promote gender equality in the workforce by hiring

more women in male dominated jobs. Commit to gender

pay parity.

Social 10

Reduced

Inequalities

Promote culture of diversity, maintain supplier

diversity, facilitate cultural understanding, provide

travel for those disabled or have medical conditions

Economic 8

Decent Work

and Economic

Growth

Rank high on national lists for employee engagement,

provide competitive benefits and compensation, share

profits with employees, invest in employee training and

development

Dr. Doreen McGunagle, Dr. Laura Zizka, Dr. Patti Clark, and Dr. Michael Essary (2020) Excerpted from

published case.

Economic 9

Industry

Innovation

and

Infrastructure

Invest in innovative technology, enhance safety, and

customer experience

Environmental 7

Affordable

and Clean

Energy

Increase share of renewable energy, foreign direct

investments in infrastructure and technology to

sustainable development

Environmental 12

Responsible

Consumption

and

Production

Work with suppliers to increase efficiency of aircraft,

recycling inflight, domestic and global locations,

comply with regulations on air quality, aircraft drinking

and waste

Environmental 13

Climate

Action

Reduce carbon emissions, improve fuel efficiency,

support alternative aviation fuels

Source: United Nations, 2015

Develop a global social impact report that outlines the following:

1. Overview of company that includes current mission & vision statements

2. Create a new vision for sustainability, environmental, and community engagement

3. Develop a mapping of the operations using a minimum of 4 SDGs

4. Current Sustainability Initiatives of the airlines

5. Economic analysis, see examples of topics from table 1

6. Social analysis, see examples of topics from table 1

7. Environmental analysis, see examples of topics from table 1

Table 1 Examples of topics for social impact report

Economic

 Community

donations

 Integrated

sustainability and

financial reporting

 proportion of senior

management hired

from local

community

 social cost of carbon

(SCC)

Social

 access to services by

the disabled or poor

 anti-sexual

harassment policy

 antitrust practices

 approach to

stakeholder

engagement

 employee relations

 employee

training/development

 board diversity

 Charitable donations

 community outreach

Environmental

 Air pollution

 Affordable and clean

energy

 Reduction of energy

consumption

 Reduction of air

emissions

 Environmental

friendly designs

 Recycling

Dr. Doreen McGunagle, Dr. Laura Zizka, Dr. Patti Clark, and Dr. Michael Essary (2020) Excerpted from

published case.

 Impacts on local

culture

 Skills management

programs life-long

learning

 Supplier diversity

 Support for

community services

References

Chakravorti, B. (2017) How companies can champion sustainable develop. Harvard Business

Review. Reprint H0319V, published on HBR.org on March 14, 2017. Retrieved from

https://hbr.org/2017/03.

Sustainable Development Goals (2019) Knowledge platform. Retrieved from

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs

United Nations (1987) Our Common Future: The Brundtland Report. Retrieved from

https://www.are.admin.ch/are/en/home/sustainable-development/international-

cooperation/2030agenda/un-_-milestones-in-sustainable-development/1987--brundtland-

report.html

United Nations (2015) Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Retrieved from

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/21252030%20Agenda%20for

%20Sustainable%20Development%20web.pdf