Evaluate one organisation's approach to sustainability measurement Essay

Evaluate one organisation's approach to sustainability measurement - Essay Example The company is the leader in the grocery markets in UK and has also established itself as the leading grocery and retail merchandiser across several parts of the world. Tesco is the fifteenth largest company among all the companies in the world and is listed in the London stock Exchange. The company is also included in the list of FTSE 100 companies in the UK market. Tesco runs its operations through the supermarket chains, departmental stores, cash and carry outlets and warehouses. Apart from the grocery items, Tesco also offers its customers with the electronic products, computer software, books, furniture, music CDs and DVDs, other items of merchandise, etc. The increase in the supermarket chain and departmental stores with the increase in retail merchandizing activities of Tesco have seen the number of stores of the company grow from 500 stores in 1990 to more than 2500 stores in the next two decades. The company employs around 5.5 lakhs employees in the areas of operation and cu stomer service. The company pays due attention to the sustainability of the leadership position that it has attained over the years. The actions of sustainability measurement have helped the company to retain its position and brand image in the market (Tesco, 2013, p.1). This has paved the path of sustainable growth of Tesco as a multinational company in the world. Environmental and social risks The direct and indirect environmental and social risks for Tesco have been explained as follows. In order to identify and analyse the environmental and social risk exposures of the company, the industry risk as well as the company specific risk should be taken into account. The retail market and industry has undergone a shift to the low demand of the consumers due to the macro-economic fluctuations and events of recession. Tesco faces the risk exposure related to the compliance and regulations for the retail market chains on activities that would lead to environmental pollution, disposal of wastes, etc. The social risks are also involved in the operations of Tesco due to probable negative impacts on the environment and society due to the disposal of wastes in the operations of the company. The social risk forms a major part of the risk exposures in the operations of Tesco as the perception of the society to the operation of the company indirectly affects the sale and revenue earnings of Tesco. The operations of Tesco lead to the perception of brand image of the company. Any impression of loss of faith among the members of the society and the consumers has significant impact in the international operations of the company (Epstein, 2008, p.46). The discrepancies in the operations of the company not only expose the company to environmental and social risk but also increase the risk of value chain system in the company. The financial risk exposures of the company originate from the volatility of the stocks in the retail industry. The volatility of the index leads to the fl uctuation of stock prices of Tesco. This would expose the company to risk of degradation of the valuation of the company. Financial risks related to the company may arise due to the discrepancy in financial reporting of the company. The deviation from the guideline in the financial reporti