The emergence of business sustainability: educational, practical and research implications

Business sustainability is gaining considerable attention from global investors, regulators, public companies, the business community, academicians and the accounting profession as more than 12 000 public companies worldwide are issuing sustainability reports on some or all five – economic, governance, social, ethical and environmental (EGSEE) dimensions of sustainability performance – and this trend is expected to continue. This chapter examines the increasing focus on business sustainability and its implications for business practice and research. Although more companies are paying attention to sustainability reporting, the business community still lacks a systematic approach to reporting corporate sustainability in a holistic and effective manner. At the same time, proper measurement of sustainability performance, as well as accurate and reliable reporting of sustainability performance, remain major challenges for organizations of different types and sizes. Different dimensions of business sustainability performance are considered in an isolated fashion, and research still lacks examination of the integrated effects of both financial and non-financial dimensions of sustainability performance and disclosures/reporting. Furthermore, the integration of sustainability education into business curricula deserves more attention from educators.