Business between Profitability and Sustainability

It has commonly been thought and said that the main goal of a company is to make profit and increase its value. If this is so, then the ways of achieving those goals are irrelevant. Are they really irrelevant? We are witnesses of excessive depletion of natural resources, climate change and a loss of biodiversity. Water, air, soil, light and noise pollution is increasing. We are also faced with the ignorance of human rights and income inequality. At the end the quality of life is worsening as well. The need of paradigm change from profitability to sustainability is self-evident. Sustainability is an integrative, holistic and long-term approach that advocates balance between economic, social and ecological dimensions of business, making companies responsible not only for monetary, short-term goals, but also for people and the planet. It is a known fact that many companies are mightier than numerous countries. But let us not forget that the reverse side of might is responsibility. Companies which choose the path of responsible business publish sustainable reports that reflect their efforts in respecting social and ecological business dimensions. Companies in Croatia accept this new understanding of business more and more. According to research results, they are aware of an increasing importance of social and ecological consequences of business, and the trend of sustainable reporting is on the rise. Top management has the most important function in implementing the sustainable company policy. Research shows that successful companies have a prominent role in pioneering the paradigm change. The aim of the paper is to raise awareness of sustainability in business, to reaffirm everlasting values such as respect of human rights and nature, to share examples from a small country, and to stimulate benchmarking and cooperation between international researchers.