Business and Sustainable development in China
----------- How sustainable development involved in Chinese corporations and did they get benefit from this?
Sustainability and businesses
What is sustainability about? Sustainability---- is a one of the biggest and important topic in nowadays. Each country`s government and world big organizations such as WTO, UN also listed specific law and regulations on sustainable development. Before the mid-20th century sustainability is a topic, which nearly ignored by the people. Because with the fast developing of economy, in order to meet their own interest individuals and groups do whatever they want without considering future consequences. Until the energy crisis in 1973`s and continuous increasing of world population, the people and governments are start to waking up and growing interest in sustainability. So what is sustainability? In generally it is hard to give a specific and particularly definition to what sustainability is. The term of sustainable development was first proposed in 1987 in the Brundtland Commission`s report Our Common Future. It is defined as: To meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Then it is not hard to seen from this definition that sustainability is a long-term focus at the same time it is about take action. In different stages of sustainable development people have different understanding about the definition of sustainability. Introduction stage: after the research results from environmentalist, governments start to increase the regulation about environmental protection (this kind of regulation started from Western Europe countries). Such as add courses in schools about environmental protection; call for citizens “going green”; establish recycle system in public facilities etc. so in the very beginning of sustainable development whole society seen sustainability as environmental sustainable. Growing stage: with the generalization of sustainability the environmentalist bring a new concept on the table. They said: “ sustainable development is not only about the environment, it should include other elements in society; such as economy and social.” Let`s look back to the history, if we compare to the life standardization between people who are living now and people who are living before the industrial revolution there is a very big difference. We consume much more than the people who are living before it is a reality. So, before the huge industrial development people not using oil for their transportation, they not need to use more energy for huge manufacture in order to meet customer`s demand. It means that they not need to take a lot from environment. Here is the theory, as fewer as we take away from nature, as fewer as we should return instead. But after the industrial revolution, enormous manufacture system was established. People are living their billionaire dream and no one have time to think about environment even the governments, because every government needs big economy to support their country and power. It seams that our fast growing economy is hurting our environment. At the same time, our communities who are the major part of social need more and more products to satisfied their daily life. Figure 1.1 illustrates the interconnection of these components: economy, environment and social.
125730066040Economy
Environment
Social
Sustainability
00Economy
Environment
Social
Sustainability

Figure 1.1 Therefore, Sustainability should encourage economic growth, which should not just focus on quantity, but pay more attention on improving quality, instead of the old-fashioned patterns of production and consumption, with clean production and civilized consumption. Sustainability should aim to improve life quality, adapt to the pace of social progress, to create a social environment, where people