The three pillars of sustainability is a very important concept. Before the lesson on sustainability, I had a very narrow view, only looking at the environment when someone brought up sustainability. To me this diagram effectively illustrates what sustainability really is, especially for a business.

However, today there is a very strong focus on the environment, this is because of the impact our increased consumerism and globalization has had on the planet. This means that most businesses have started to associate sustainability with the environment. Unfortunately, often these events can be taken as marketing stunts such as Coca Cola’s Polar Bear Fund. The fund aims to provide $2 million over the next 5 years but for a multi-billion dollar company that has continually supported the polar bears, this does not seem to be enough.

Is this okay?

Yes, I feel this is justifiable because the end justifies the means and even the motive. If large firms continue to try and become more environmentally sustainable even with profit motives behind them, they are still achieving some good and benefiting the global community to some scale.