Ever wondered what the circles of Sustainability mean? And why are they overlapping? And what is the importance of the overlapped areas?
Every one of us understands the definition of Sustainability under the Bruntland Commission’s report. However while implementing the spirit of that definition; According to Tahir J Qadir, a prominent Sustainability Management Consultant based in Dubai, UAE, we arrive at these three circles of Sustainability. One of the circle represents Business (Profit), which is the entity itself, the second one represents the Environment (Planet), which are the environmental matters and issues linked to our business, and the third one represents Social (People), which is the impact our business has on the communities and people living in those communities. Then comes the overlapping sections which are termed as socio-economic for the overlapping sections of business and social circles, Socio-Environmental for the people and environmental overlapping section, and Eco-Efficiency for the Environmental and business overlapping section. Then there is acommon overlapped section which is shared by all three circles and that’s what is usually referred to as “Sustainability”. In a nut shell all three overlapping functions work together to achieve Sustainability and a Sustainable business.
In simple terms, Socio-Economicmeans to carry out the business while understanding and fulfillingour social responsibilities. The parts of the profits are directed towards the social issues and the overlapping part ensures that it’s a win-win option for the business as well as for the people. That’s where the role of Inclusive Business comes in.
Moreover, the business would be able to benchmark itself against the poverty index for that area/region and also against the unemployment index/rate and can profile these achievements by various means thereby improving its image and increasing its market share.
However care should be taken to initiate the process of creating/developing the local resource at an early stage of the project so that it is ready by the time the business needs it. This means that under the existing processes within the business, a process reflecting the inclusive business should be developed.
The inclusive business concept can be applied to all sectors and sub-sectors of all the industry segments under an economy and if applied with sincerity can achieve amazing results.
About CEIC Sustainable Solutions
CEIC Sustainable Solutions is one of the leading Sustainability Management Consulting companies in Dubai, Middle East specializing in the development, implementation and auditing of Quality and EHSS management systems and the only company providing Responsible Care Management related services. We have the right and expert solution for our clients’ performance management systems and Responsible Care program needs with the relevant manpower to execute the project in the highest professional manner.
CEIC Sustainable Solutions has been providing sustainable management services for more than three years. We are based in Dubai, UAE and are in easy reach of our valued clients. We also offer consulting to assist our clients in planning, development, design, operation and maintenance of performance management systems including Quality Management, Asset Management, Business Continuity Management, Audits, Sustainability Management Systems, Responsible Care, Process Safety Management, Greenhouse Gas Management and Environment, Health, Energy Management Service and Security (EHSS) Management Systems.
