• Analyses the impact of the social and environmental footprint behind everyday products and services such as the food we eat, the homes we live in, transport choices, what clothing we wear, and the holidays we take
• Uses real world practical business case examples from developed and developing countries to discuss key issues such as climate change, water scarcity, deforestation, and labour exploitation.
• Covers the current debates regarding sustainable businesses today, and considers the international practices used

       
Doing business impacts both people and the planet. Managing and enhancing the relationship businesses have with the environment and society they interact with is what sustainable business is about. More generally, sustainability issues are increasingly prominent in all aspects of human life - our work, education, what we buy, and how we spend our free time. Awareness of the environmental and social footprint behind everyday products and services such as the food we eat, the homes we live in, transport choices, what clothing we wear, and the holidays we take is growing. For the businesses that produce these products and services, there is increasing pressure to demonstrate they are managing their footprint sustainably. This is intensified by environmental risks, such as resource scarcity and erratic weather from climate change, becoming more urgent. Similarly, social problems such as child labour, poor working conditions, and human trafficking are becoming more visible to the consumer. 
    
In this Very Short Introduction Dorothy Maxwell discusses how businesses manage these increasingly complex sustainability challenges. Using examples from household name companies, she considers the ways in which the challenges have been met so far, and the future for sustainable business.