Deck 1: Introduction to Sustainable Business

Question 1

Sustainability requires today's generation to steward __________ for the benefit of future generations.

A) Success
B) Entrepreneurship
C) Natural resources
D) Products and services

Answer 1

Natural resources

Question 2

The triple bottom line consists of ______, _______, and _______ metrics of organizational success.

A) Competition, innovation, risk
B) Risk, reward, opportunity
C) Management, operations, marketing
D) Social, economic, environmental

Answer 2

Social, economic, environmental

Question 3

Sustainable business is characterized by the trend of measuring and managing success in terms of _____, ______, and ______ performance.

A) Risk, marketing, financial
B) Social, economic, environmental
C) Operations, supply chain, leadership
D) Employee, supplier, managerial

Answer 3

Social, economic, environmental

Question 4

Small and Mid-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are responsible for _____ of global industrial pollution.

A) 60-70%
B) Very little
C) Disposal
D) Outsourcing

Question 5

Global human population and per capita consumption levels are _______.

A) Optimistic
B) Decreasing
C) Uncertain
D) Increasing

Question 6

Developed economies are responsible for substantially greater levels of ______ than developing economies.

A) Income equality
B) Inequality
C) Aggregate consumption
D) Insider trading

Question 7

Natural capital is the ______ of natural resources upon which human life and economic activities depend.

A) Deficit
B) Available stock
C) Management
D) Stewardship

Question 8

A negative externality is created when an organization's activities generate a risk that is shifted to a third-party without that party's _______ or _______.

A) Forethought, intention
B) Consent, compensation
C) Disapproval, regret
D) Knowledge, injury

Question 9

Ray Anderson founded one of the world's largest carpet manufacturing companies, and launched "Mission Zero," a campaign to ______ the company's environmental impacts.

A) Monitor
B) Partially reduce
C) Completely eliminate
D) Market

Question 10

According to the 2012 WWF Living Planet Report, humanity's projected resource consumption levels "______ our planet's capacity to sustain us."

A) Underscore
B) Provide
C) Exceed
D) Are less than

Question 11

The human population's ______ now surpasses the available biocapacity of the planet.

A) Productivity
B) Resilience
C) Genius
D) Ecological footprint

Question 12

Global primary production and processing sectors generate $7.3 trillion in ______ annually.

A) Profit
B) Revenue
C) Shareholder dividends
D) Externalities

Question 13

The Global Living Planet Index is a(n) ______ assessment of the vitality of the planet given the impact of _____.

A) Financial, the economic recession
B) Invalid, climate change
C) Science-based, human activity
D) Economics-based, natural events

Question 14

Sustainability is a global megatrend, driven by ______ forces.

A) Technological
B) Social and political
C) Economic and environmental
D) All of the above

Question 15

The general trend in sustainable business practices is to ________.

A) Do less bad and more good
B) Increase managerial control
C) Leverage assets
D) Externalize risk

Question 16

Overconsumption of natural resources occurs when ______ exceeds ______.

A) Yield, harvest
B) supply, demand
C) Ecological footprint, biocapacity
D) Carbon emissions, regulatory limits

Question 17

The world's food supply depends upon productive fisheries, about half of which are _____.

A) Abundant
B) Fully exploited
C) Unknown
D) Over-regulated

Question 18

Environmental, social, and governance issues have become ______ to investors.

A) Enablers
B) Irrelevant
C) Material
D) Opaque

Question 19

Shareholder resolutions concerning environmental, social, and governance issues ______ from 1999 to 2009.

A) Plateaued
B) Increased
C) Decreased
D) Ceased

Question 20

Business representatives attending the Rio+20 Summit on Sustainability voted to _______ certain statements of principle and action related to sustainable business.

A) Oppose
B) Repeal
C) Amend
D) Support

Question 21

Five stages of sustainable business maturation, from basic to advanced, are defined by the following motives: profit, philanthropy, _______, _______, and _______.

A) Management, innovation, strategy
B) Media, projects, investments
C) Investment, risk, profit
D) Marketing, control, responsibility

Question 22

Internalizing a risk means that the party who creates a risk ultimately _____ for it.

A) Gets compensated
B) Gets insurance benefits
C) Takes responsibility
D) Gets sued

Question 23

The "gearing up" metaphor represents these four successive attitudes toward the business case for sustainability:

A) Complying, benchmarking, partnering, integrating
B) Opposing, accepting, complying, exceeding
C) Discussing, planning, implementing, reviewing
D) None of the above

Question 24

As organizational commitment to sustainability matures, old priorities such as legal compliance are ______ while new priorities are added.

A) Abandoned
B) Included
C) Ignored
D) Controlling

Question 25

Sustainability initiatives were initially challenged because they were perceived as ______ to core business activities, they proceeded _______ in fits and starts, and existing incentive structures made these initiatives appear _______.

A) Senior, wholesale, strategic
B) Peripheral, incrementally, uneconomical
C) Prior, rapidly, lucrative
D) Detrimental, long term, outdated

Question 26

The "gearing up" metaphor describes organizational _______.

A) Stasis
B) Acceleration
C) Culture
D) Transformation

Question 27

Even the most advanced level of private sector commitment to public health and environmental protection is driven by the traditional ______ motive.

A) Ethical
B) Defense
C) Profit
D) Competition

Question 28

When compared to traditional product market share, sustainable product market share growth is ______ in food production and construction market sectors.

A) Dominating
B) Diminishing
C) Losing
D) Slowly Growing

Question 29

According to the Rio+20 Summit on Sustainability, businesses should focus less on ______ and more on ______.

A) Philanthropy, Profit
B) Short-term competitiveness, long-term performance
C) Water issues, climate change
D) Fisheries, Rainforest conservation

Question 30

In the energy sector between 2002 and 2011, consumption of renewable energy grew by over _____, while non-renewable energy consumption ________.

A) 50%, slightly increased
B) 10%, increased
C) 400%, decreased
D) 30%, greatly decreased

Question 31

Between 2005 and 2011, ______ building construction grew by 1700% despite a 17% contraction in the overall construction market.

A) Traditional
B) International
C) Domestic
D) Sustainable

Question 32

Between 2002 and 2011, sales of ______ vehicles grew by 646%, while the overall vehicle market ______ by 15%.

A) Hybrid, decreased
B) Imported, decreased
C) Luxury, decreased
D) Hybrid, increased

Question 33

When compared to traditional products, sustainable products and services are _______ in market share of food, consumer products, construction, finance, energy, and transportation sectors.

A) Socially responsible
B) Relinquishing
C) About the same
D) Taking over

Question 34

During the global economic recession of 2007-2010, Socially Responsible Investing portfolios experienced ______.

A) Contraction
B) Asset growth
C) Stability
D) Instability

Question 35

The growing threat of natural resource shortage means businesses may face increased _______.

A) Marketing costs
B) Bids for supply contracts
C) Operating costs
D) Employee turnover

Question 36

Blue ocean strategy is the simultaneous pursuit of both ______ and ______.

A) Control, profit
B) Growth, direct competition
C) Water conservation, profit
D) Differentiation, low cost

Question 37

The aim of blue ocean strategy is _____ to out-perform the competition in the existing industry.

A) Always
B) More often than not
C) Not
D) Sometimes

Question 38

In construction, resource extraction, health care, IT, and tourism sectors, environmental changes and limitations will create risks as well as ______ of economic growth.

A) Contraction
B) Green shoots
C) Stagnation
D) Discounts

Question 39

Addressing the business implications of environmental limits will require private sector commitment to _______, _______, and _______.

A) Innovation, transparency, stewardship
B) Conservative values, foreign-investment, cost
C) Liberal values, employee retention, philanthropy
D) Growth, decision-making, quarterly earnings

Question 40

Water resources are _______ because of pressure from ______ and ______.

A) Threatened, environmental activists, regulators
B) Growing, competition, emerging markets
C) Threatened, overconsumption, pollution
D) Growing, shareholders, regulators

Question 41

There are opportunities for sustainable business leadership in most sectors of the economy, except for the ______ sector.

A) Chemicals
B) Finance
C) Tourism
D) None of the above

Question 42

This environmental issue has substantial implications for the private sector in the coming years.

A) Greenhouse gas emissions
B) Water shortage
C) Habitat loss
D) All of the above

Question 43

In the coming decade, global average surface temperatures, flooding, water consumption, habitat loss, chemical exposure, and electronic waste are expected to ______.

A) Decline
B) Increase
C) Stabilize
D) Improve

Question 44

The triple-_______ perspective means that companies should measure success in terms of profits and losses, the organization's impact on people, and the extent of pollution and resource depletion.

Question 45

Natural capital is the ______ of natural resources upon which human life and economic activity depends.

Question 46

When a company's actions, such as polluting a river, shift costs onto local communities without consent or compensation, this is called a(n) ______.

Question 47

Sustainable development is economic activity that meets the needs of ______ without compromising the ability of ______ to meet their own needs.

Question 48

According to the Global Living Planet Index, the available biocapacity of Earth is ______, and at the same time, humanity's ecological footprint is ______.

Question 49

The ______ for sustainability applies to small and mid-sized enterprises as well as larger companies.

Question 50

Globally, human population levels and aggregate consumption levels are ______.

Question 51

Compare and contrast how sustainability applies in practice between a small enterprise and a large multinational company.

Question 52

Evaluate Ray Anderson's "Mission Zero" plan for Interface, Inc. Provide specific examples of the success and/or failure of the Mission Zero plan.

Question 53

To what extent do primary production and processing sectors create externalities? In what ways do these externalities threaten natural resources?

Question 54

Do you think the international oil company, Statoil ASA, deserves to be called a sustainable business leader? Why or why not?

Question 55

Are the principles of balance and stewardship compatible with the pursuit of corporate profit?