Exploring Organizational Sustainability: Themes, Functional Areas, and Best Practices

Abstract

Most of the sustainability management models proposed in the literature are based on conceptual designs, which limits their potential to be applied in practice. In order to develop a holistic tool for organizational sustainability management, it is imperative to account for, and integrate, the sustainability best practices in the conceptual models. The primary objective of this work is to explore the organizational sustainability themes, functional areas, and the corresponding best practices of the most sustainable organizations. Based on the results, we aim to propose a framework which can support the theoretical models. The starting set of 100 most sustainable organizations is obtained through a well-defined sustainability ranking, Global 100. A systematic method is developed and applied to screen the organizational reports between 2012 and 2016. As a result, 61 reports of 20 organizations are selected for review. We used grounded mechanism to conduct the review. The results of the review indicate that the most sustainable organizations rely on the following nine themes to advance their sustainability performance: (i) resource optimization and minimization of waste and emissions; (ii) business and operational excellence; (iii) corporate citizenship and social development; (iv) research and innovation; (v) procurement, supply chain, and logistics; (vi) governance; (vii) sustainability management tools; (viii) employee relations; and (ix) health, wellness, safety, and security. In addition, there are around 38 functional areas which are of great significance to sustainability managers from an applied perspective and to researchers for constructing sustainability management models.

Rethinking the Way of Doing Business: A Reframe of Management Structures for Developing Corporate Sustainability

“…According to the authors, this field have been opened to accept discussions on its most varied aspects. As pointed out in the introduction section of this study, over the years several definitions and interpretations regarding CS emerged [21,29], some with joint emphasis on the environmental and social pillars and others focused on only one of them [21].…”

“…The benefits of adopting sustainability strategies are often related to pollution prevention, reduction of harmful emissions and waste minimization [25]; cost reduction resulting from progress on eco-efficiency issues and product innovation [26]; better relation with regulators and other stakeholders, through legal compliance and retention of customers that recognize environmental values [26,27]; and contribution to fulfill social needs [28]. The search for obtaining benefits from a more sustainable performance encompasses risk management and planning in a long-term perspective [28,29].…”

“…Governance mechanisms should also promote good corporate citizenship, through which responsibilities and good practices are adopted with investors, customers, suppliers, society, the environment, regulatory agencies, etc., considering the multiple aspects of the relationship with these stakeholders [88]. This systemic concern with transparent management and the organization's impacts on their stakeholders has a very significant positive impact on sustainability [29,89]. However, the company that aims to develop sustainability in its business should always seek new ways to complement CG mechanisms with actions of socio-environmental balance.…”

“…The knowledge management and innovation pillar should focus on the development of sustainability through the creation of a company with digital connectivity that constantly optimizes its operations in a 4.0 industry atmosphere [29]. 4.5 Measurement, disclosure and independent assurance of Corporate Sustainability Corporate Sustainability Performance (CSP) is an important element to the achievement of objectives for sustainable business development, such as those proposed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines for multinational enterprises, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), the United Nations Global Compact (UNCG) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) initiatives [88].…”

Product Newness, Low Competition, Recent Technology, and Export Orientation as Predictors for Entrepreneurial Growth Aspirations

“…Sustainable business development directly depends on sustainable management, defined by the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of both environmental and socioeconomic sustainability-related decisions and actions [37,38].…”