Author: Marco-Lajara, Bartolomé Publisher: IGI Global ISBN: 1668474247 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 355
Book Description
The world is currently witnessing a change in the business paradigm in which economic, social, and environmental variables are taken into account. In this sense, sustainable companies focus on the development of a profitability formula that, through the connection with stakeholders and the natural environment, operates in harmony with social and economic progress. In this sense, the concept of corporate sustainability refers to the attempt by companies to balance social, economic, and environmental objectives. It requires a strong orientation towards the future as well as an awareness of the need to preserve the existence and well-being of the human species. In this way, companies seek to ensure long-term business success while contributing to the economic, social, and environmental development of the territories in which they operate. Corporate Sustainability as a Tool for Improving Economic, Social, and Environmental Performance provides a guide for study, reflection, and critique to understand corporate sustainability while offering the basis for comprehending this phenomenon in different sectors of the economy. The book also sheds light on the new currents and challenges of the discipline. Covering key topics such as big data, ethical business, and strategic management, this premier reference source is ideal for business owners, managers, entrepreneurs, government officials, policymakers, researchers, academicians, practitioners, scholars, instructors, and students.
Author: Stefan Schaltegger Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1351280511 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 626
Book Description
The difficulties in moving towards corporate sustainability raise the question of how environmental and social management can be integrated better with economic business goals. Over the last decade, the relationship between environmental and economic performance, and more recently the interaction between sustainability performance and business competitiveness, have received considerable attention in both theory and practice. However, to date, only partial aspects of the relationship between sustainability performance, competitiveness and economic performance have been studied from a theoretical as well as an empirical perspective. And, to date, no unique relationship has prevailed in empirical studies. A number of explanations have been put forward to explain this, including methodological reasons, such as the lack of statistical data, the low quality of that data, or the fact that such data is often available for short time periods only. Other theoretical explanations have been developed, such as the influence of different corporate strategies or the relatively small influence of environmental or sustainability issues as one factor among many on the economic or financial success of firms. So, how should the business case for sustainability be managed? This is the starting point for this book, which compiles insights on a large number of aspects of the link between sustainability performance, business competitiveness and economic success in an attempt to provide a comprehensive and structured view of this relationship. The book provides an unrivalled body of knowledge on the state of theory and practice in this field and identifies prospective future fields of work. The book includes: conceptual frameworks for the interaction of social, environmental and economic issues in business environments; case studies of companies that have successfully integrated social, environmental and economic issues; analyses of the causal and empirical relationship between environmental and/or social performance, business performance and firm-level competitiveness; concepts and tools useful for improving business value with proactive operational strategies; assessment of the factors influencing operational sustainability strategies and their economic impact; and comparisons of interactions between sustainability performance and firm competitiveness across industry sectors and countries. Managing the Business Case for Sustainability is the definitive work in its field: the most comprehensive book yet published on the theory and practice of managing sustainability performance, competitiveness, environmental, social and economic performance in an integrated way. It will be essential reading for managers, academics, consultants, fund managers, governments and government agencies, NGOs and international bodies who need a broad and comprehensive overview of the business case for sustainability.
Author: Marc J. Epstein Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1351276425 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 346
Book Description
The ultimate "how-to-do-it" guide for corporate leaders, strategists, academics, sustainability consultants, and anyone else with an interest in actually making sustainability work for organizations. An updated edition of a landmark book at a time when a growing number of corporate leaders are asking for urgent help in "getting this done".
Author: Lujie Chen Publisher: Linköping University Electronic Press ISBN: 9176859673 Category : Languages : en Pages : 67
Book Description
This dissertation approaches the question of sustainability and its influence on company performance, with special focus on the manufacturing industry. In the contemporary production environment, manufacturing operations must take into account not only profit, but also environmental and social performance, in order to ensure the long-term development of the company. Companies have to decide whether they should allocate resources to environmental and social practices in order to improve their competitive advantage. Consequently, in decision-making processes concerning operations, it is important for companies to understand how to coordinate profit, people, and planet. The objective of this dissertation was to investigate the current situation regarding manufacturers’ sustainable initiatives, and to explore the relationship between these sustainable practices and companies’ performance, including financial performance, operational performance, innovation performance, environmental performance, and social performance. First of all, a structured literature review was conducted to identify sustainable factors considered to be important in the decision making of manufacturing operations. The findings were synthesized into a conceptual model, which was then adopted as the basis for designing the survey instrument used in this dissertation. Drawing on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reports, empirical research was performed to explore the relationship between environmental management practices and company performance. Interestingly, the findings showed that many environmental management practices had a strong positive impact on innovation performance. Sustainability disclosures and financial performance were further analyzed using extended data from the GRI reports. The results also showed that several sustainability performance indicators, such as product responsibility, human rights, and society, displayed a significant and positive correlation with return on equity in the sample companies. In order to further explore the research area and to verify these findings, a triangulation approach was adopted and new data were collected via a survey conducted among middle and large sample companies in the Swedish manufacturing industry. The results indicated that the sustainable improvement practices had a positive impact on company performance. Some environmental and social improvement practices had a direct and positive correlation with product and process innovation. Furthermore, findings suggested that better cooperation with suppliers on environmental work could help to strengthen the organizational green capabilities of the focal companies. When considering the company’s general approach to implementing sustainable practices, some interesting findings emerged. There were limited significant differences in sustainable practices when comparing different manufacturing sectors, and different countries and regions. However, the results showed that Swedish manufacturing companies often place higher priority on implementing economic and environmental sustainability practices than on social ones. This dissertation contributes to the literature on manufacturing sustainability. The study expands the understanding of how environmental, social, or economic perspectives as a triple bottom line can influence company performance and to a certain extent the supply chain. Identifying and understanding such relationships gives companies the opportunity to integrate sustainability into their manufacturing operations strategy in order to sustain their manufacturing operations over the long term.
Author: Marc J. Epstein Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1351280104 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 354
Book Description
The best practices in corporate sustainability performance are no longer the exclusive domain of companies like Ben & Jerry's or The Body Shop, as they were a decade ago; now, large, multinational companies like G.E. and Wal-Mart are leading the way with significant financial and organizational commitments to social and environmental issues. However, good intentions aren't enough. Whether motivated by concern for society and the environment, government regulation, stakeholder pressures, or economic profit, managers and strategists need to continue making significant changes to more effectively manage their social, economic, and environmental impacts – and to remain competitive. The guidance they need to do that is in this book. Marc Epstein has produced the ultimate "how-to-do-it" guide for corporate leaders, strategists, academics, sustainability consultants, and anyone else with an interest in actually making sustainability work for organizations. With a growing number of corporate leaders asking for urgent help in "getting this done," the timing of the book could not be better.
Author: Mark W. McElroy Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1136329617 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 258
Book Description
Businesses around the world are increasingly turning to an exciting new branch of management known as corporate sustainability management (CSM) to help them better understand and manage their non-financial performance. Indeed, what we are witnessing is nothing less than the birth of a new management function. The main pillar of CSM is the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), which has been successful as an organizing principle but a disappointment in practice. This is largely due to the absence of 'sustainability context' in related measurement, management and reporting efforts, when for example the monitoring of a company's use of freshwater resources fails to take into account the size of related supplies. This book is the first to introduce a systematic means of including context in sustainability management and doing effective CSM. After making the case for why context matters, the book explains how to do context-based CSM by providing a stepwise, cyclical blueprint for how to practice it in any organization. This includes a template for context-based metrics compatible with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), as well as specific examples of metrics for each of the triple bottom lines. Practical examples of best practices are presented throughout, while simultaneously addressing key issues, such as how organizations can measure performance against context-based standards when consensus for such standards does not yet exist. Appendices include tools for developing and applying context-based metrics, as well as case studies taken from the practice of context-based CSM at two companies in the United States. This guide is the essential tool for business and organizational leaders in all sectors committed to improving their sustainability performance, with a particular emphasis on measurement, management and reporting.
Author: Paolo Tenuta Publisher: Springer Nature ISBN: 3031114914 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 92
Book Description
This book introduces readers to the main types of corporate sustainability practices. The first section examines both the ratings provided by international agencies and the various ESG (Environmental, Social and Government) indexes existing at 2021. In turn, the second part empirically investigates the relationship between the level of corporate sustainability and corporate financial performance among the large companies listed on the Milan Exchange FTSE-MIB 40 index for 2015-2019. The book offers a comprehensive overview of current sustainability concepts and practices and illustrates how various companies are seeking to integrate them in their competitive strategy. Further, it fills a gap in the extant literature by analysing the origins, historical evolution and structure of the main rating agencies and ESG indexes. In addition, the empirical analysis of corporate sustainability’s impact on companies’ financial performance reveals the importance of collegial leadership – a commonly found feature of Italian family businesses that has not been considered in previous studies – as a moderating factor for reconciling sustainability initiatives and performance at family-run firms.
Author: Laura Bini Publisher: Springer Nature ISBN: 3030249549 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 150
Book Description
This book proposes an integrated approach to sustainability reporting, the goal being to overcome certain limitations of the well-established additive approach, where the reporting of environmental, social and economic issues is sequential, but separate. It argues that, in order to successfully communicate its commitment to sustainability, a company should report on how environmental and social issues impact its way of doing business, namely its business model, contributing to value creation. Thus, a reporting framework for business models that encompasses sustainability is presented. In turn, a number of illustrative examples are examined to show how business model reporting could be optimally used to provide effective and integrated sustainability reporting. The book also offers a broad analysis of corporate sustainability reporting, which includes a discussion of the theoretical background, an explanation of why companies provide sustainability reporting, a description of the current regulatory framework for sustainability disclosure, and a review of sustainability reporting literature that shows the main characteristics of sustainability disclosure practices. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to all researchers and practitioners working for companies or organizations that aim to support, implement and improve their sustainability reporting, by adopting a more integrated approach that interconnects environmental and social aspects with the economic and financial results via the business model. The book also offers a valuable reference guide for social science researchers, including PhD students, interested in a discussion of the latest literature on sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and the communication of business models.
Author: Ann Brockett Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 1118238060 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 218
Book Description
Invaluable guidance for complete integration of sustainability into reporting and performance management systems Global businesses are under close scrutiny from lawmakers, regulators, and their diverse stakeholders to focus on sustainability and accept responsibility for their multiple bottom line performance. Business Sustainability and Accountability examines business sustainability and accountability reporting and their integration into strategy, governance, risk assessment, performance management and the reporting process. This book also highlights how people, business and resources collaborate in a business sustainability and accountability model. Looks at business sustainability and accountability reporting and assurance and their incorporation into the reporting process Focuses on how the business sustainability and accountability model are impacted by the collaboration of people, business, and resources Presents laws, rules, regulations, standards and best practices relevant to business sustainability performance, reporting and assurance Organizations worldwide recognize the importance of all five EGSEE dimensions of sustainability performance and accountability reporting. However, how to actually assess sustainability risk, implement sustainability reporting, and obtain sustainability assurance remain a major challenge and best practices are evolving. Straightforward and comprehensive Business Sustainability and Accountability hits on all of the hottest topics around sustainability including multiple bottom line (EGSEE) performance and reporting, related financial and non-financial key performance indicators (KPIs), business social responsibility and environmental reporting.
Author: M. A. Quaddus Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing ISBN: 1849807949 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 361
Book Description
Achieving corporate sustainability (CS) is one of the most difficult challenges facing organizations in the twenty-first century. This comprehensive Handbook examines the current status and future direction of sustainability frameworks and applications in the corporate environment. Internationally reputed scholars portray the frameworks of CS practices in contemporary businesses. They explore in detail these frameworks and the associated computer-based modelling tools that companies are using, or can use, to aid their decision-making with regards to CS and corporate social responsibility practices. The contributors expertly investigate the future direction of model-based applications in CS as well as related planning processes. This innovative and informative Handbook will provide a timely reminder to scholars, government agencies, international bodies, academics and practitioners that appropriate decision-making and a correct understanding of these complex problems are essential to the success of CS planning.
Author: Marco-Lajara, Bartolomé
Author: Stefan Schaltegger
Author: Marc J. Epstein
Author: Lujie Chen
Author: Marc J. Epstein
Author: Mark W. McElroy
Author: Paolo Tenuta
Author: Laura Bini
Author: Ann Brockett
Author: M. A. Quaddus