A role for corporate sustainability strategy in the Garden City

Abstract

This paper discusses the response of the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation to the sustainability agenda. The Heritage Foundation owns and manages the Letchworth Garden City Estate which includes housing, commercial premises, farms and community facilities within the world‘s first Garden City. The Heritage Foundation is adopting a sustainability strategy to actively manage its sustainability impacts. The paper discusses the rationale for a corporate sustainability approach rather than a corporate social responsibility or environmental management approaches. It explains the role of a sustainability management system in implementing a sustainability strategy and the opportunities that such strategies may offer organisations and their local communities. Businesses are facing increasing scrutiny from their external stakeholders, including the communities within which they operate. Many organisations face significant challenges in developing an appropriate response. The adoption of a focused sustainability strategy can help organisations identify and manage their significant environmental, social and economic impacts more effectively and demonstrate their performance in these areas.