Retailer's CSR/Sustainable Practices

For this assignment, students will research the retailer's current CSR policies and Sustainable practices as defined below.

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policies - Identify the retailer's business policies that confirms their responsibility to act ethically - usually by following government regulations as well as their own company's mission/vision statements (please include this). These policies identify how the retailer conducts their day to day business (transparency) and should be measured for performance adherence - what they have done in the past. Identify how these policies might impact their customer's loyalty and brand/retailer value as well as your opinion/analysis of these policies.

Sustainable practices - Identify what the retailer is doing to preserve and protect resources - practices that will improve the future - the world we live in and our society. These practices can impact any or all the 3 points of the sustainability model - societal (how they create better job opportunities for their employees or their supply chain such as the implementation of Fair Trade, working conditions, personal growth opportunities - anything related to standards of living, education, jobs, equal opportunity but with the future in mind rather than what they practice in their day to day business practices), environmental strategies (preserve & protect the environment, new strategies that help to minimize pollution, regenerate our natural resources or create even a better planet than what it was before), and economic development (programs that improve the economics of the community through philanthropy but also as related to improvements in their business operations such as cost savings, higher profits, how the minimize operational mistakes). Many practices have improvement goals attached to timelines so please include this information. Again, identify how these practices might impact their customer's loyalty and brand/retailer value as well as your opinion/analysis of these practices.

For both of the above - how does the retailer also influence and impact their policies and practices with their supply chain business partners. Also, discuss how these policies and practices impact their success, profitability, and market competitiveness.

CSR or Sustainable Practices Recommendations: Include recommendations for added or expanded CSR policies and Sustainable practices. Make sure to include new industry strategies, industry innovations and best practices to address their triple bottom line - societal, environmental, and economic performance. Recommendations should not only improve the retailer's competitive edge to provide the right product, at the right time, and the right place, for the right cost, while it meets and exceeds their customers' expectations. A minimum of 3 recommendations should be included.

The assignment should be professionally written and thoroughly researched. In addition to the retailer's website, please use a minimum of 3 additional resources. Resource options will be covered in class. Make sure that all articles are current - no more than 6 months old as conditions are constantly changing around the world. Information should be fact-based with in-text cites on all statistics (MLA format.