Sustainability Development Assignment: Role of SDG in Woolworths

Question

Task: Prepare a research report on sustainability development assignment illustrating the role of sustainable development goals within Woolworths.

Answer

Background of the Research on Sustainability Development Assignment
Sustainable development promotes every individual to conserve and boost the resource base by steadily evolving the methods in which they use and improve technologies. Hence, every nation must be approved to get their basic needs of food, employment, sanitation, water and energy. Sustainable Development Goals are said to be imperative as it saves the budget of nations, fulfills the people’s needs, protects natural resources, facilitates in the collaboration within the people and natural resources and safeguards natural resources for coming generations (Morton et al., 2017). Hence, the research topic is based on the efforts of Woolworths to make a positive impact on the customer and communities wherein a strategic relevance of SDG in Woolworths has been focused. In order to conduct the present research, a specific SDG goal has been taken into consideration, i.e., Ethical Sourcing of products.

Problem Statement
Unethical practices can take several forms that include forced labour, slavery and human trafficking. Forced labour is supplying labour without consent by threats or force, while slavery cites the treatment of another human being as if they were personal assets to be sold, bought or even destroyed, and human trafficking is the buying of individuals by dishonesty, forcefully or threat into slavery, forced labour or other types of exploitation (Achilles, 2017). However, considering these unethical practices in business, Woolworths needs to focus on specific SDG, i.e., ethical sourcing that focuses on ensuring the products being sourced acquired in a sustainable and responsible way, wherein the employees involved in making them are treated honestly and safe, and that social and environmental impacts are taken into consideration throughout the process of sourcing (Dnb.com, 2020).

Research Objective

• To evaluate the role of SDG within the retail organisation
• To recognize the effect of SDG within the product and services of Woolworths
• To investigate the impacts of SDG on consumers of Woolworths
• To evaluate the SDG policy of Woolworths and its effect on the community

Research Questions
1. What is the role of SDG within the retail organization?
2. How does SDG affect the innovation of product and services of Woolworths?
3. What are the impacts of SDG on consumers of the firm?
4. How does the SDG policy of Woolworths affect the community?

Literature Review
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are commonly known as the Global Goals, were implemented by all the member states of the United Nations in 2015 as a global call to act towards the end of poverty, safeguard the environment and make sure that all people enjoy prosperity and enjoy peace by 2030 (Murray, 2012). For the present research paper, Ethical Sourcing has been taken into consideration under SDG.

Role of Ethical Sourcing within the retail organization
Public sector organizations like Woolworths have the responsibility of assuring that products they are buying are sourced in a sustainable and responsible way and that the labours involved in the creation of these products are ensuring them that they are secure and in a fair environment and are not under any pressure or are not forced to work. The critical role of ethical souring is to build a positive social and environmental impact as well as improving the reputation of the brands the business produces. Lambrechts (2021) states that ethical sourcing mainly focuses on ecological and social effects as well as human rights and ensures that employees are getting a fair wage, their working conditions are clean and safe and all environmental and social factors of production and the surrounding communities are measured.

Effect of SDG within the product and services of Woolworths
As per the studies, it has been found that the consumers are increasingly concerned regarding how the products that are generally sold by the firm are manufactured and what they use to manufacture the products (Huibrechtse, 2018). Achieving the SDG will formulate a world that is more equitable, sustainable and prosperous and responsible for integrating environmental, social and ethical operations in their business. Hence, the SDG's impact will generally be highlighted on the manufacturing of products wherein the consumer will find responsible sourcing. Soonsiripanichkul and Ngamcharoenmongkol (2019) assert that responsible sourcing makes sure that the business proactively sources products and services sustainably and ethically.

Impacts of SDG on consumers of Woolworths
As per the researches, it has been found that the consumers and investors are immensely turning out careful of the ethical manufacturing and sustainability of the products and are more probable than ever prior to finance in more socially sustainable products and services. However, it will also involve the consumers engaging by raising awareness and education to monitor sustainable development impacts on consumers. As per Chan et al. (2018), in the present scenario, the consumers are more aware of the environment and of what their buying mean for the people and planet generating them, ethical sourcing has relatively of a buzzword. The process of ethical souring assures that the products and services are acquired through sustainable and liable methods and has benefits for the business as well as the consumers. As ethical sourcing mainly focuses on environmental impact, human rights and social impact, consumers primarily focus on sustainable business operations and support the firm for business advancement as well as uplifting the community.

Methodology
This section of the research will focus on the method of conducting further study to collect data and analyze it accordingly for the expected outcome. Methodology in research is said to be the path that helps to choose a suitable and sound method that is appropriate for the research study as it gives the guidelines to make the project manageable, effective and smooth.

Research Philosophy
The research philosophy that is suitable for the present research paper is Interpretivism philosophy, as it is vital for the researcher to discover the differences of reliable sources for the data collection. This philosophy generally focuses on the mean9ing and might utilize different methods to reflect other factors of the issue.

Research Philosophy
Research Approach
For the present research study, the deductive approach will be suitable for conducting research as it focuses on scientific examination. This approach helps the researchers to examine what others have done, studies existing theories of whatever process has been completed earlier by the different authors, and then test hypotheses that come out from those theories.

Research Design
The research method that has been used for this research paper is the qualitative method, wherein the secondary research method has been used for further data collection and analysis. Hence, qualitative research includes gathering and evaluating data that are non-numerical to interpret conceptions, experiences and viewpoints. It can be utilized to collect thorough perceptions into a topic issue or produce new notions for research. Hence, qualitative research can help the researchers to obtain the feelings and thought of analysis that allows for the development of an understanding of the meaning that business and the people assign to their experiences. However, qualitative information is related chiefly to descriptive judgmentpracticing the concept words rather than numbers. As such, the overall data collection process has been conducted through a qualitative method of research.

Data Collection
The data collection method is regarded as one of the critical factors for the research paper that helps to analyze the overall study for expected outcomes or findings. Hence, the data collection method that has been used for the present research paper is the secondary data collection method wherein secondary sources such as the website of the company, annual report, online portals, websites, newspaper and journals have been used for data collection. The reason behind choosing this method is because it is worthwhile as it is cost-effective and better than the primary research method, and it delivers a base for any research project. Analysis of the current landscape of accessible data prior to shifting on to primary research methods can save money as well as time that might be effectively spent elsewhere. Moreover, it can be said that for the data collection process, research material published in research reports and similar documents has been taken into consideration. These records have been accessed by the company's websites, business journals, newspapers, public libraries, data acquired from already filled in surveys etc. However, most data in the secondary research is accessible readily and are many sources from which appropriate information can be used and collected, unlike primary research, where data needs to gather from scratch.

Ethical Consideration
Research ethics are significant for several reasons as it promotes the objectives of the study like enhancing knowledge and encourages the values needed for collaborative work, such as fairness and mutual respect. It also enables significant moral and social values, such as the principle of causing no harm to others. However, in the present research paper, an ethical consideration has been chiefly focused on wherein the confidential information of the firm has not been disclosed while conducting the secondary research; the access prohibition has been accepted. All the collected data has been reviewed for the final process of research wherein de-identified data has been collected, accessible information for the study has been taken into considerations, and ethical approval relying on the nature and source of data has been acknowledged in the overall analysis.

Analysis and Findings
Analyzing the data collected for the assessment, it has been found out that sustainable development goals are essential for Woolworths. The secondary sources have been used to manage the data required for the analysis. Secondary sources that were used to collect information are an organizational record of Woolworths, website information, and different journals and newspaper articles. Analysis of all the data collected from the secondary sources has revealed that there are several sustainable development goals of Woolworths, but this report has been focused on one of the SDG of Woolworths, and that is ethical sourcing. This is one of the sustainable development goals of Woolworths that acts as a driver of value creation for addressing the issues related to the sustainability of the company. This is because Woolworths believes that in order to have a good business; a company should encompass the issues that affect the consumer, employees, stakeholders, and the shareholders of the company. With the adaptation of ethical sourcing as their SDG, Woolworths has been successful in maintaining consistency in its sustainability by managing an ethical approach towards its global supply chain (Woolworths Holdings Limited, 2021). This is because of the vision of the company to become the most sustainable seller in the southern hemisphere. With the implementation of an ethical sourcing policy in the business process of Woolworths, the company has been able to manage and develop a sustainable approach towards its supply chain management. The incorporation of ethical sourcing has enabled Woolworths to launch the primary connect platform for their supply chain (Woolworths Group, 2020). Through this platform, Woolworths will aim towards benefiting the ecosystem as well, which will allow them to fulfill their corporate social responsibility as well. Since Woolworths has the most significant supply chain in the world, it is essential for them to establish a supply chain that is efficient enough to deliver their products throughout their Australian network. The scale of their supply is enormous, and due to this reason, it is vital for them to incorporate SDG in their supply chain as well. Along with that, the supply chain management is also responsible for the management of their logistic department, their operation, management of import and export process of the goods, allocation and monitoring of distribution center and the transportation of their products to a different location. This is the reason why Woolworths have incorporatedsustainabilitydevelopment goals in their business process. The ethical sourcing policy of Woolworths aims at earning the trust of their consumers by taking responsible actions towards the elements related to their business directly or indirectly (Shayan, 2016).

The ethical sourcing policy covered the areas like corruption, labour rights, collectivebargaining, safe working condition, employment, and so on (Woolworths Limited, 2014). However, there are several challenges in the incorporation of ethical sourcing in the supply chain of Woolworths. They can be several internal issues like inadequate monitoring of the supply chain that can disrupt the flow of supply in the market. The suppliers of Woolworths may not have enough infrastructures to support the policy of Woolworths, which can prove to be an issue while incorporating SDG. External issues can also affect the SDG of Woolworths, such as local custom regulations, policies of the market, and other aspects of the market that is related to the supply process of Woolworths.

Other strategic issues that are being faced by Woolworths for this SDG are the sustainability consequences related to social issues and economic issues. The social issue is related to the incorporation of all the practices and policies that safeguard the well-being and social welfare of the people involved with the business process of Woolworths (Kim et al., 2016). On the other hand, the economic issues of Woolworths are related to contributing to the national GDP of the country positively through their revenue. ?

Discussion
The report discusses the role of sustainable development goals in an organization and their importance. Sustainable development goals are essential for an organization because it helps an organization to formulate the purpose of their business. In this process that sustainable development goals can inspire the stakeholders of the company, and it can even foster the formation of the business strategy of the company. Furthermore, the role of SDG is to develop a sustainable positive change in the organization that will increase the value of the company's shareholders. SDG also promotes learning and adaptation through companies will be able to solve their complex issues by adopting new policies and methods in their business (Álvaro, 2017). This will help them to learn about new techniques and how to respond to issues and challenges.

Another research question that has been answered by the research is the impact of SDG on the consumers and the community of Woolworths. With the incorporation of ethical sourcing, Woolworths can improve their supply chain and reduce their cost and at the same time improve their brand image. This will ensure the availability of sustainable products at a lower price to the consumers because most of the time, consumers do not want to pay premium prices for sustainable products (McAvoy, 2016). The ethical sourcing SDG of Woolworth also affects the community because the ethical sourcing focuses on the human rights, environmental aspects, and social aspects of the community. It involves the payment of fair wages and salaries to their employees and the provision of safe and healthy working conditions so that there are no health-related issues among the employees (Biedron, 2018). This SDG of Woolworths also focuses on the usage of eco-friendly resources in their business process so that the environment is not hampered by their business operation.

The research could also identify several issues related to the adoption of the SDG by Woolworths in their business process. These strategic issues are faced by Woolworths at the time of implementation of SDG due to the changes that will take place due to the introduction of new practices and policies. All the strategic issues of Woolworths will be inclusive of a shift in focus, change in competencies, organizational modification, limitation of resources, and alliances (Ambler, 2021). All the strategic issues will be a result of the significant changes in the organization with the introduction. The available resources and data have been able to effectively explain the issues and challenges in the SDG and its importance and role in the organization.

Conclusion and Recommendation
In conclusion of the report, it can be said that the report gives a clear idea regarding the background of the research. The research has been based on the development of sustainability in an organization for which Woolworths has been chosen. The report focuses on finding how the SDG of Woolworths has an impact on the consumers and the community. Furthermore, the report has focused on a specific SDG of Woolworths, and that is ethical sourcing. The particular SDG was chosen because, in the present time, there are instances of slavery and forced labour. In the view of such issues Woolworths has focused on ethical sourcing as their SDG so that their products are sourced using sustainable and ethical procedures. The report has also set the objective of the research that the evaluation of the role of SDG in a retail organization. Recognition of Woolworths' SDG on its products, consumers, and the community and related to these objectives, the research question has also been formulated in this report.

The literature review in this report gives an understanding of the role of ethical sourcing in a retail organization like Woolworths. The vital role that has been identified in the literature review is the development of positive social and environmental influences and, at the same time, improving the brand image of the company. The impact of SDG can also be seen in the products and services of Woolworths and the provision of more sustainable products to the consumers. The consumers and the community id equally affects by the incorporation of SDG by Woolworths. Furthermore, the report also discusses the methodology used for conducting the research, and this involved the philosophy, approach, design, ethical consideration, and process of data collection.The report also discusses the findings of the research where the issues related to the ethical sourcing policy of Woolworths have been discussed.

After concluding the research analysis, it can be recommended that the incorporation of SDG is essential for any organization. The incorporation of a sustainable development goal will allow an organization to transform the world. Through the implementation of SDG, an organization can remove poverty, hunger, good foster health, gender equality, a better workplace, and so on. Such impact of SGDs makes it an essential component of business in present times where people are focused on development. There are steps that can be recommended for the implementation of SDG in an organization. The organization should promote the importance of education and awareness, make better communication strategies to reach the masses, foster collaborations, link their business activities with their SDGs, link the different SDGs with each other, make innovation and recognize and promote diversity. These recommended strategies will allow an organization to implement SDG in their business process and foster development successfully.

References
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Chan, S., Weitz, N., Persson, Å.,& Trimmer, C. (2018). Stockholm Environment Institute SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production -A Review of Research Needs 1 1 SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production A review of research needs Annex to the Formas report Forskningför Agenda 2030: Översiktavforskningsbehovochvägarframåt. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/sdg-12-responsible-consumption-and-production-review-of-research-needs.pdf

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