Module title:
Sustainable Business Practice
Module code: FBUS4004
Assignment title:
Sustainable Business Practice
Assignment format: Coursework
Word/time limit: 3000 words
File type .docx file
Percentage of final grade This assignment is worth 100% of your final grade for this module.
Submission deadline See module iLearn page for date of submission
Grade release You will normally receive your provisional grade and feedback within 20 working days of the submission deadline

Assessment Brief

Useful terms:
Learning outcomes (LOs) The skills and knowledge that you should be able to show in your work.
Rubric/Marking Matrix
A set of rules or guidelines used to grade or assess work.

Task summary:

In this assignment, you will write a professional email to the leadership team of an organisation. The aim is to show your understanding of sustainability and responsible business practice.
Your email should include the following four parts:
• Part 1: Explain what global sustainability means and why it is important for the organisation.
• Part 2: Describe and analyse social, political, economic, and environmental factors that may affect how the organisation manages sustainability.
• Part 3: Explain the importance of business ethics and responsible management in supporting sustainable business practices.
• Part 4: Reflect on how sustainability is managed in different business sectors (up to 750 words, LO4).
You must use academic sources to support your work. These should be included as in-text citations in your writing, with a reference list at the end of the assignment.
Assignment instructions:

First, choose one type of organisation from the list below. This is the organisation you will focus on throughout your assignment:
• Oxfam (oxfam.org.uk); which is an international charity or not-for-profit organisation focused on poverty reduction, social justice, and sustainable development
• Innocent Drinks (innocentdrinks.co.uk); which is a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) and a UK-based drinks company with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and ethical sourcing
• Nike (nike.com); which is a large national or multinational organisation and a global sportswear company with extensive sustainability and corporate responsibility strategies.
Your answers should clearly show that you understand sustainable business practices and how they apply to the organisation you have chosen. You should relate your discussion to real business activities and consider how sustainability can support long-term success.

Part 1: Global Sustainability and Why It Matters (up to 750 words, LO1)
In the first part of your professional email, explain what sustainability means and why it is important for the organisation you have chosen (Oxfam, Innocent Drinks, or Nike).
You should include:
• Explain what sustainability means (definition)
• Why sustainability is important for businesses today (for example long-term success, reputation, customers, employees, and society).
• A brief overview of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a discussion of one SDG that is relevant to your chosen organisation.
• An explanation of two current global sustainability issues and why they are important for the organisation (for example climate change, waste, fair pay, or ethical sourcing). Make sure you clearly link sustainability to the organisation you have chosen and support your points with academic or reliable business sources.

Part 2: Factors That Affect Sustainability (up to 750 words, LO2)
Businesses are affected by what is happening around them at local, national, and global levels. In this section, you will look at how different external factors affect how your organisation works sustainably.
You need to identify and explain:
• One social factor
• One political factor
• One economic factor
• One environmental factor You must include:
• One local factor
• One national factor
• One global factor
You must present this section by using the table below:
Factor type Level (local, national, global) What is the factor? How does it affect the organisation’s sustainability?
Social
Political
Economic
Environmental
For each factor, you should:
• Clearly say whether it is a local, national, or global factor.
• Briefly describe what the factor is.
• Explain how it affects your chosen organisation and whether it is an opportunity or a challenge for sustainability.

Part 3: Business Ethics and Responsible Management (up to 750 words, LO3)
In this part of your email, explain why it is important for leaders to behave ethically and responsibly to support sustainability.
You should include:
• A clear explanation of what is meant by business ethics and responsible management.
• The benefits of ethical and responsible behaviour for the organisation (for example trust, good reputation, motivated employees, and long-term success).
• Examples of how leaders in your chosen organisation could act ethically and manage responsibly to make the organisation more sustainable. Link your answers clearly to Oxfam, Innocent Drinks, or Nike.

Part 4: Reflection on Sustainability in Different Business Sectors (up to 750 words,
LO4)
Different business sectors manage sustainability in different ways, but they can learn from each other.
In the final part of your professional email, you will compare sustainability practices in two business sectors using the organisations below as examples.
What you need to do:
1. Explain the main sustainability challenges faced by the sector of your chosen organisation:
a. Oxfam – charity / not-for-profit sector
(e.g. funding, ethical supply chains, social impact, environmental responsibility)
b. Innocent Drinks – food and drink SME sector
(e.g. packaging waste, carbon emissions, responsible sourcing)
c. Nike – global sportswear and manufacturing sector
(e.g. labour rights, global supply chains, environmental impact)
2. Compare this with one other sector: choose one of the other organisations and explain how sustainability is managed differently in that sector.
3. Identify similarities and differences between the two sectors, focusing on:
a. Environmental impact
b. Ethical responsibilities
c. Stakeholder expectations
d. Resources available to support sustainability
4. Explain what the two sectors could learn from each other to improve sustainability.

End your email by clearly summarising the key message about sustainable business practice that you want the leadership team to remember.

Learning outcomes (LO)

By completing this assessment, you will have shown and be assessed on all four of the learning outcomes:
LO 1: Demonstrate knowledge of the context of sustainability and the various impacts this has across the globe.

LO 2: Identify the social, political, economic and environmental factors that influence sustainable business practice, locally, nationally and globally.

LO 3: Understand the role of business ethics and responsible management in embedding sustainable business practices.

LO 4: Reflect on approaches to sustainable business practice across different sectors.

You will be graded based on how well you meet these learning outcomes. Your marker will use a rubric/marking matrix to grade your work, and you can find this by clicking on the submission portal.

Guidelines and policies

You can find links to more useful information about the assignment and university policies below.
Word/time limit policy Click here to view the Arden University word count/time limit policy

Referencing guidelines
Please follow the referencing guidelines that are appropriate for your degree programme. If you are unsure which you should be using, please contact your module team.
Click here for Harvard referencing guidelines

Academic integrity and misconduct policy Click here to view Arden University’s policy on academic integrity and misconduct

Statement on use of artificial intelligence on assessment Click here to view Arden University’s statement on the use of artificial intelligence on assessment

Support information Click here to view guidance on how to apply

for short-term extensions
Click here to view guidance on how to apply for extenuating circumstances
Please click here for link to academic skills team support