Social sustainability issues: a comprehensive insight

Climate change continues to transpose the dynamics of our planet, questioning the long-term survival of our species. Sustainability has become indispensable to enhancing the overall quality of life, securing our ecosystem, and preserving the natural resources for future generations. 

The sustainable development goals as put down by the United Nations in 2015 necessitate global efforts to ensure success by 2030. Social sustainability is a vital part of sustainable development that is often ignored. This article gives you a comprehensive insight into social sustainability issues and how they can be mitigated for a better future.

Sustainability is simply defined as meeting the needs of the existing generations in a way that does not compromise the ability of future generations to do the same. It ensures the survival of our species ^[1] without having any form of a negative impact on the environment. 

Being one of the three pillars of sustainability, social sustainability includes acknowledging and managing the positive and negative impacts of businesses on people. It facilitates the capacity of the present as well as future generations to curate liveable and healthy communities. Social sustainability helps in the construction of a healthy community that can meet the needs of the present as well as future generations. Sustainability issues in a business deal with the impact of operations on society and people.

For companies, social sustainability issues include problems such as health, safety, diversity, wellness, human rights, equitable labor practices, empowerment, philanthropy, and more.

Social sustainability significantly impacts the quality of a company’s relationship with its stakeholders. Furthermore, the United Nations identifies social sustainability as crucial for any company. It is a constructive way for businesses to ascertain the impact that their operations have on the local communities, customers, employees, and other members of the value chain.

There are five dimensions of social sustainability that effectively determine whether a business enterprise is socially sustainable. These can also be regarded as the social sustainability issues that are being currently faced by the population.

• Quality of life: an extensive dimension that dwells deep into a variety of other aspects that have a considerable impact on the overall quality of living. Some examples are healthcare support, education, learning opportunities, employment, security, safety, and economic accommodation.
• Equality: the inability of a specific group of individuals to get equal access to facilities is one of the major social sustainability issues. It is imperative to help these groups scale all barriers and practice seamless control over their own lives. This dimension also involves the identification of the causes of inequality and constructing strategies of mitigation.
• Diversity: leveraging the benefits of diversity is one of the most important aspects of social sustainability. It involves identifying the needs of all diverse groups, assessing their requirements, and encouraging diverse perspectives in the communities.
• Governance and democracy: this dimension ascertains whether or not the required budget and resources are allocated to maintain the smooth operation of sustainability programs.
• Social cohesion: This dimension involves the participation enhancement of an individual in a target group. Moreover, it assists target groups in contributing to society by allowing them better access to civic and public institutions.

Social sustainability issues are focused on mitigating concerns like racism and discrimination in social communities, schools, and workplaces. Moreover, it helps in the creation of a diverse community that presents equal opportunities for healthcare to all.

• Healthy and interconnected communities:  social sustainability focuses on the construction of healthy communities through both formal and informal measures. Social sustainability is about communities that are interconnected, democratic, equitable, varied, and democratic ^[2] .
• Health and well-being:  social sustainability seeks to bridge the gaps of inequality and helps everyone get equal access to healthcare facilities. This contributes to the overall well-being of every individual.
• A perspective shift : being aware of social sustainability leads to a significant perspective shift. The population transforms from mere consumption and production to supporting the overall well-being of associations and community improvement.

Sustainability has been at the core of everything we do at Schneider Electric. Our ambitious and concrete targets are aligned to create a sustainable impact in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

Schneider Electric was one of the first names back in 2005 to monitor the impact of our business operations on the planet, people, and profit with our one-of-a-kind industrial barometer. 

Our solutions have helped our clients save 120 million tons in CO2 and provided over 30 million people with access to energy over the course of 15 years. In 2021, we were recognized by Corporate Knights as the world’s most sustainable company in the global top 100 rankings. With only 8 years left to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, it is exceptionally important to increase sustainability efforts and provide more people with access to energy and equal opportunities. 

The Schneider Sustainability Impact (SSI) 2021-2025 is dedicated to a better future. SSI contributes to every sustainable development goal as set by the United Nations. Accompanied by 11 global targets, our six long-term commitments enable us to take action with the help of our customers and local communities. 

With sustainability at the top of our priority list, we seek to empower everyone to make the most of energy and resources and bridge the gap between progress and sustainability.