Sustainable development HM case study PDF

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Sustainable development, group L

Case study; environmental policy of H&M. H&M is one of the best global brands in the market, with a brand value estimated to the double of average apparel and placing in 21st position among best global brands according to Interbrands yearly presentation. We have decided to conduct a research on H&M due to their interesting statement of their responsibility, ”Conscious, our vision is that all business operations shall be run in a way that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable”. With such strong brand recognition environmental responsibility and strategy becomes important to maintain a strong position in the market place and to keep reputation at its top. For example H&M is the world’s largest user of organic cotton, cooperating with World Wildlife Foundations and furthermore signed the Bangladesh Factory Safety Agreement, all to promote and support natural resources, improvement of global water supply and employee situations. H&M put heavy emphasize on transparency when it comes to their environmental policy. We think that this is due to their strong market position and their low prices they will always be studied by their competitors and other market actors in search for deficiencies and they try to respond to all accusations with responsible behavior before any news even hits the media. Which raises us to our question if H&M really can apply their sustainability policy in all of their suppliers and subsidiaries without any shortcomings? And how can such a large enterprise really guarantee stakeholders, customers and the society that all of the policy is followed by the whole H&M in a global perspective? Particularly we are addressing these questions with their incredibly “low-price strategy” in consideration. H&M are accused of not keeping fair terms with their suppliers, pushing factories into producing large quantities, in the least amount of time at the lowest cost regardless of the working conditions. Furthermore that this process contributes to lack of control in fabrication and the spending of natural resources and in the long run pushing competitors to cheat with their control of production due to the race for market shares. This is a topic that H&M work to contradict and therefor this is a problematic question that we would like to look closer into and analyze in order to determine if there is a possibility that the arguments of the competitors hold for deeper interrogation of the problematic topics. Our purpose with this assignment is to both obtain a picture of how H&M works in a global perspective in sustainable development, environmental issues and strategies as well as assess the accusations from the past both in the media and from competitors and then to form our own commentary and conclusion of the situation. We would like to especially address their behavior on natural resources and the impact on the environment and furthermore if their price strategy and large market share also has a negative effect in pressing competitors to cheat in their work in sustainable development.

Sources: http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/2013/HM http://about.hm.com/AboutSection/en/About/Sustainability.html http://www.ecouterre.com/is-h-m-new-lower-priced-clothing-encouraging-disposable-fashion/ http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/20/cotton-production.aspx...