Problem:
While it is true that sustainable business practices include energy usage and pollution, there are many more areas to sustainability that companies can practice. Sustainable business practices are practices that work to improve the environment and the surrounding communities in all areas. Finding ways to reduce emissions, starting programs that help the local economy, like only using local suppliers, or giving back to the environment by planting trees or other similar initiatives are sustainable business practices. Starbucks is a good example of a company that has multiple sustainability initiatives in-place. They support local farmers, and have programs in place that creates sanitary drinking water in parts of the world where polluted water is the norm. Other sustainable companies practice sustainability both inside and outside of the company. Internally, companies make sure that all areas are hazard-free, and go the extra mile on providing safety for both customers and employees. Other companies involve the local community, and when they have multiple positions open in the company, particularly when expanding operations, they hire from the local community, first. Sustainability can really include any of the steps that the company takes to show that they are preserving, giving, and protecting their employees, the customers who support them, and the environment itself.