Thesis for my Master of Business Administration degree at Wilkes University. The topic is on small and large businesses and their ability to be environmentally sustainable and social responsible. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental, Social, Governance Performance Indicators were the highlight of the research.

1. What’s Sustainable About This:
Business Alongside
Corporate Social Responsibility
Jon P. Petrochko
Wilkes University
Jay S. Sidhu School of Business and Leadership
Capstone Presentation

2. Overview of
Presentation
• Introduction to Topic
• Research Methodology
• Small Businesses
• Large Businesses
• Analysis, Challenges,
and Opportunities
• Conclusion

3. Introduction of CSR
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Environmental, Social, Governance
Performance Indicators
• 3 P’s – Profit, People, Planet
• What’s sustainable about
sustainability?
• Financial performance, societal
acceptance, and environmental
sustainability

4. Why Is This Being Researched?
• To link my M.B.A together with
my Sustainability Management
Certificate
• Love for the environment
• To find out and dive deep into
if it is feasible and worth being
a sustainable company, or if it
is just a trend
• Examine successful Small and
Large Businesses to see what
they do with sustainability, and
social responsibility

5. Research Methodology
• Google
• United Nations
• Government Sites
• Small Business Administration
• EPA
• Scholarly Articles
• Third-Party Organizations
• ISO, LEED, GRI
• Company Research

6. Small Businesses
• BrightWorks
• Sustainability Consulting Firm
• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services/Construction
Industry
• Green Spaces
• Green Coworking Spaces
• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Industry
• AE-Works
• Architecture, Engineering, and Security Risk Management
• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services/Construction
Industry

7. Small Business Case Study
• Small Businesses account for 54% of Sales in the
United States
• Around 28 million Small Businesses
• Employ 55% of Americans
• 52% are home-based
• Small Business Administration – Sustainability
Issues
• Air pollution prevention, Green power, and
Renewable Energy
• Paper, Waste, Water conservation
• Top Ten States for Small Businesses
• CA, TX, FL, NY, IL, PA, GA, OH, MI, and NC

8. Large Businesses
• Procter and Gamble
• Consumer Goods Company
• Goods-Producing Industry
• Patagonia
• Clothing Company
• Retail Trade/Goods-Producing Industry
• Tesla
• Automaker Company
• Goods-Producing Industry

9. Large Business Case Study
• Corporations, subchapter S corporations, and
partnerships with assets greater than $10 million
– I.R.S.
• Employ 500 or more is considered a large
organization
• About 15,000 large businesses
• Third-Party Credentials like LEED, ISO, GRI are
important
• RE 100, Habitat for Humanity, California Transparency
Act
• Supply Chain Management, Fair Labor, Climate,
Water, Waste

10. Analysis
• They both have advantages and disadvantages
• Largest problem with this study is the
inconsistencies from small to large companies
and with current sustainability information
• CSR may not always be used for the right
reason – manipulation and mistrust
• ‘To lose trust is very simple, however it is
extremely difficult to regain; It can take 20
years to gain a reputation, but 5 minutes to
ruin it’ – Warren Buffet

11. Analysis Continued…
• Three main ideas – Commitment,
Internal Structures and Procedure, and
External Collaboration
• Different obligations depending on size
of organization
• Key Success Factors – Environmental,
Social, Economic
• Regulation compared to assistance
• Government mandates
• Third-Party Organizations

12. Analysis Continued…
• Triple Bottom Line – Social, Environmental,
Financial
• Stakeholder engagement can turn goals into
long term goals that will add a competitive
advantage to the organization
• Internal Stakeholder, External Stakeholders,
and Institutional Forces
• Gain and retain efficient and effective
contracts
• Reactive and Proactive Firms
• Reactive – ‘end-of-the-pipe’ method
• Proactive – takes environmental issues
head-on

13. Analysis Continued…
• High Sustainability Firms Compared to Low
Sustainability Firms
• 32.4% more likely to succeed compared to 2.7%
with training
• Employee Awareness Programs
• Environmental performance is linked to higher
efficiency in organizations
• Generally, large companies are performing CSR and
ESG the same, while small companies have more room
to practice environmental and social initiatives

14. Opportunities and Challenges
Opportunities
Growth
• Financial Growth
• Customer Growth
Positive Social Acceptance
Location
Hot Topic
Innovation
Challenges
Financial Obligation
• Economic trade-offs
Is it beneficial?
Location
Is it a trend?
Culture, norms, and standards

15. Conclusion
From all of my research, Financial
performance is important in small
and large organizations to stay in
business.
None of that correlates to
successful organizations choosing
to be environmental sustainable
and socially responsible.
It comes down to the individuals
wanting to be environmentally
sustainable, socially responsible,
and economically sound in their
organizations.