Preface: Recognizing management in LCM

Baumann, Henrikke; Lindahl, Matthias; Scandelius, Christina; Schmidt, Kirsten; Sonnemann, Guido

doi:10.1007/s11367-017-1368-x

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The question arises how this holds up in a business context. LCM, in theory, suggests the involvement of all product chain actors, however this has rarely been the case in practice (Baumann et al, 2017;Nilsson-Lindén et al, 2018;Sánchez et al, 2004). We know from previous studies that the product chain position has relevance for company adoption of LCA (Berkhout & Howes, 1997), but it seems that companies have not chosen the path of product chain collaboration.…”

Section: Lcm-corporate-based and As Product Chain Collaborationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bey, ; Fava, ; Hunkeler et al, ; Linnanen, ; Remmen et al, ; Sonnemann, Gemechu, Remmen, Frydendal, & Jensen, ; Swarr & Fava, ). However, previous studies show that in practice, LCM has been a company internal activity as “corporate LCM” (Baumann, Lindahl, Scandelius, Schmidt, & Sonnemann, ; Nilsson‐Lindén, Baumann, Rosén, & Diedrich, ; Sánchez et al, ). However, recent developments reveal a new type of LCM practice, one in which multiple industry actors join product‐chain‐specific initiatives to make product chains more sustainable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Product chain collaboration for sustainability: A business case for life cycle management

2019

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Life cycle management (LCM) is frequently described as a holistic sustainability perspective along the product chain. It has mainly been a company internal practice. However, recent developments reveal a new type of LCM where companies collaborate in product‐chain‐specific initiatives. This raises questions concerning why corporations extend “corporate LCM” toward “product chain LCM”. Here, we explore rationales and challenges for corporations engaging in one such coalition: The Sustainable Transport Initiative. The study covers five companies in different product chain positions and practitioners in different corporate functions. The results show a broad range of rationales for engaging in product chain LCM, related both to self‐interest and a shared interest in the product chain. The importance of the “business case,” both for the individual companies and the product chain, is identified. The importance of sustainability managers as actors and as facilitators in discussions between managers from different corporate functions is also identified.

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Section: Lcm-corporate-based and As Product Chain Collaborationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Product chain collaboration for sustainability: A business case for life cycle management

2019

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“…However, studies on LCA and GHG accounting practices and their influence on firm decision‐making processes are lacking. Baumann, Lindahl, Scandelius, Schmidt, and Sonnemann () highlight the current need to go beyond examples of LCA applications and call for more systematized descriptions and analyses of LCA‐based practices in industry and society. Indeed, more contributions from perspectives borne from the social sciences have been called for (cf.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment calculative practices in the Swedish biofuel sector: Governing biofuel sustainability by standards and numbers

Lazarevic

Martin

2018

Bus Strat Env

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Since the introduction of the European Union's Renewable Energy Directive (RED), biofuel‐producing firms are required to perform life cycle assessment (LCA) based greenhouse gas accounting in order to fulfill part of directive's sustainability criteria. This paper adopts the concepts of “governing by standards” and “governing by numbers” to understand the LCA practices of biofuel‐producing firms and assess the critical moments of friction between these alternative modes of governance. We focus our analysis on the use of LCA in the Swedish biofuel industry, undertaking case studies on the use of LCA in four Swedish biofuel‐producing firms and semistructured interviews with industry associations and governmental bodies. Results indicated that the RED not only influences what biofuel sustainability entails but also structures the calculative practices used to measure it. At the same time, our results point to friction between achieving regulatory compliance and improving biofuel sustainability.

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“…In order to better understand the processes of adoption and adaptation of LCM, one has to recognize the managerial aspects of LCM (Baumann et al 2017). This means, for example, taking a practice perspective by focusing on the details of everyday activities (Nicolini 2012), and the shared routines of behavior (Whittington 2006).…”

Section: Responsible Editor: Julia Martínez-blancomentioning

confidence: 99%

LCM development: focusing on the LC promoters and their organizational problem-solving

Lindén

Baumann

Rex

2018

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose Life cycle management (LCM) implies a specific sustainability perspective which extends environmental management along the product life cycle, with the aim of decreasing negative environmental impact throughout the product chain. Research has identified that the adoption of LCM in the industry depends upon its situational adaptation to the organizational context. Even so, little is known about the specifics of this adaptation. With this paper, our aim is to add knowledge on LCM adoption and adaptation. Methods A systematic analysis of empirical material on life cycle (LC) activity in six multinational corporations (MNCs) is conducted, by applying a secondary analysis of qualitative data (Heaton 2008). In order to study instances of LCM adoption and adaptation, we focus on the acts and situations of LC promoters. The identified instances are analyzed through the lens of situated problem-solving (Kuhn and Jackson 2008). Results and discussion Sixty-seven instances of LC promotion were identified and analyzed, resulting in the identification of eight categories of problem-situations typically encountered by LC promoters. The identified problem-situations represent different situations when the organizational appropriateness of the LC approach is at stake and to which responses tailored to the organization are put forward by a LC promoter. The results bring to the fore the ubiquity of organizational and creative problem-solving, highlighting the role of LC promoters as change agents for LCM adoption, and depict the development of LCM as an emergent practice, rather than an implementation process. Conclusions This paper provides a first systematic analysis of LC promoters enacting a variety of responses to organizationally challenging LC situations, thus detailing the adaptation necessary for embedding LCM in the industry. Findings show that the development of LCM to a great extent is about the promotion of a LC approach, and that LC promoters need organizational knowing, in addition to LC knowing, to make the LC approach relevant to management and business.

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Preface: Recognizing management in LCM

Cited by 3 publications

References 17 publications

Product chain collaboration for sustainability: A business case for life cycle management

Product chain collaboration for sustainability: A business case for life cycle management

Life cycle assessment calculative practices in the Swedish biofuel sector: Governing biofuel sustainability by standards and numbers

LCM development: focusing on the LC promoters and their organizational problem-solving

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