IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i8p2741-d161760.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From Global Goals and Planetary Boundaries to Public Governance—A Framework for Prioritizing Organizational Sustainability Activities

Author

Listed:
  • Helena Ranängen

    (Department of Business Administration and Industrial Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 971 87 Luleå, Sweden)

  • Mathias Cöster

    (Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University, 751 05 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Raine Isaksson

    (Department of Engineering Sciences, Quality Sciences, Uppsala University, 751 05 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Rickard Garvare

    (Department of Business Administration and Industrial Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 971 87 Luleå, Sweden)

Abstract

Background: A particular challenge in the work to realize the global goals for sustainable development is to find ways for organizations to identify and prioritize organizational activities that address these goals. There are also several sustainability initiatives, guidelines and tools to consider when planning, working with and reporting on sustainable development. Although progress has been made, little has been written about how organizations rise to and manage the challenge. The paper explores how organizations address sustainable development, which sustainability aspects they prioritize and whether previous research can improve the priority process by using materiality analysis approach. Methods: A case study approach was chosen. Data was collected by interactive workshops and documentation. The participating organizations were two Swedish municipalities; Results: The municipalities have introduced a number of sustainability aspects into their organizational governance, especially in terms of society, human rights and the environment. A materiality analysis was conducted to determine the relevance and significance of sustainability aspects. The result shows that climate action, biodiversity and freshwater use are aspects that should be prioritized; Conclusion: The materiality analysis methodology chosen for prioritizing of sustainability aspects was useful and easy to work with. However, the sustainability aspect matrix and the risk assessment have to be updated regularly in order to form an effective base for the materiality analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Helena Ranängen & Mathias Cöster & Raine Isaksson & Rickard Garvare, 2018. "From Global Goals and Planetary Boundaries to Public Governance—A Framework for Prioritizing Organizational Sustainability Activities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-26, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:8:p:2741-:d:161760
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/8/2741/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/8/2741/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Font, Xavier & Guix, Mireia & Bonilla-Priego, Ma Jesús, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility in cruising: Using materiality analysis to create shared value," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 175-186.
    2. David Griggs & Mark Stafford-Smith & Owen Gaffney & Johan Rockström & Marcus C. Öhman & Priya Shyamsundar & Will Steffen & Gisbert Glaser & Norichika Kanie & Ian Noble, 2013. "Sustainable development goals for people and planet," Nature, Nature, vol. 495(7441), pages 305-307, March.
    3. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    4. Armando Calabrese & Roberta Costa & Francesco Rosati, 2015. "A feedback-based model for CSR assessment and materiality analysis," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(4), pages 312-327, December.
    5. Lueg, Rainer & Radlach, Ronny, 2016. "Managing sustainable development with management control systems: A literature review," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 158-171.
    6. Jay Whitehead, 2017. "Prioritizing Sustainability Indicators: Using Materiality Analysis to Guide Sustainability Assessment and Strategy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 399-412, March.
    7. Friederike Neugebauer & Frank Figge & Tobias Hahn, 2016. "Planned or Emergent Strategy Making? Exploring the Formation of Corporate Sustainability Strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(5), pages 323-336, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Love Westin & Jacob Hallencreutz & Johan Parmler, 2022. "Sustainable Development as a Driver for Customer Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Addisu A. Lashitew, 2021. "Corporate uptake of the Sustainable Development Goals: Mere greenwashing or an advent of institutional change?," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 184-200, March.
    3. Björn Mestdagh & Olivier Sempiga & Luc Van Liedekerke, 2023. "The Impact of External Shocks on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Linking the COVID-19 Pandemic to SDG Implementation at the Local Government Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Radoslaw Wisniewski & Tomasz Kownacki & Aneta Nowakowska-Krystman & Anna Wierzchowska & Piotr Daniluk & Krzysztof Puwalski, 2025. "The Attitudes of Generation Z Women to Sustainable Development—Aspects of SPET," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-35, August.
    5. Miguel Soberón & Teresa Sánchez-Chaparro & Julia Urquijo & David Pereira, 2020. "Introducing an Organizational Perspective in SDG Implementation in the Public Sector in Spain: The Case of the Former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-20, November.
    6. Göran Ingvar Broman & Karl‐Henrik Robèrt, 2025. "Operative System for Strategic Sustainable Development—Coordinating Analysis, Planning, Action, and Use of Supports Such as the Sustainable Development Goals, Planetary Boundaries, Circular Economy, a," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 4759-4774, August.
    7. Suárez-Eiroa, Brais & Fernández, Emilio & Soto-Oñate, David & Ovejero-Campos, Aida & Urbieta, Pablo & Méndez, Gonzalo, 2022. "A framework to allocate responsibilities of the global environmental concerns: A case study in Spain involving regions, municipalities, productive sectors, industrial parks, and companies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    8. Natacha Klein & Tomás B. Ramos & Pauline Deutz, 2022. "Advancing the Circular Economy in Public Sector Organisations: Employees’ Perspectives on Practices," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 759-781, June.
    9. Thaís Vieira Nunhes & Merce Bernardo & Otávio José de Oliveira, 2020. "Rethinking the Way of Doing Business: A Reframe of Management Structures for Developing Corporate Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-32, February.
    10. Simona Cosma & Andrea Venturelli & Paola Schwizer & Vittorio Boscia, 2020. "Sustainable Development and European Banks: A Non-Financial Disclosure Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-19, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ingrid Boas & Frank Biermann & Norichika Kanie, 2016. "Cross-sectoral strategies in global sustainability governance: towards a nexus approach," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 449-464, June.
    2. Saidu Musa & Nusirat Ojuolape Gold & Hope Osayantin Aifuwa, 2020. "Board Diversity and Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from Industrial Goods Firms," Business & Management Compass, University of Economics Varna, issue 4, pages 377-398.
    3. Karen Holm Olsen & Fatemeh Bakhtiari & Virender Kumar Duggal & Jørge Villy Fenhann, 2019. "Sustainability labelling as a tool for reporting the sustainable development impacts of climate actions relevant to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 225-251, April.
    4. Lauriane Mouysset & Luc Doyen & François Léger & Frédéric Jiguet & Tim G. Benton, 2018. "Operationalizing Sustainability as a Safe Policy Space," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-9, October.
    5. Nur Izzah Hamna A. Aziz & Marlia M. Hanafiah & Shabbir H. Gheewala & Haikal Ismail, 2020. "Bioenergy for a Cleaner Future: A Case Study of Sustainable Biogas Supply Chain in the Malaysian Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-24, April.
    6. Cesar Saenz, 2019. "Creating shared value using materiality analysis: Strategies from the mining industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1351-1360, November.
    7. Ilenia Ascani & Roberta Ciccola & Maria Serena Chiucchi, 2021. "A Structured Literature Review about the Role of Management Accountants in Sustainability Accounting and Reporting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-25, February.
    8. Tan Yigitcanlar & Md. Kamruzzaman, 2015. "Planning, Development and Management of Sustainable Cities: A Commentary from the Guest Editors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-12, November.
    9. Schöll, Michaela, 2017. "Three Essays on Sustainable Supply Chain Management – Towards Sustainable Supplier Selection and Sustainable Sourcing," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 172463.
    10. Suparak Suriyankietkaew & Phallapa Petison, 2019. "A Retrospective and Foresight: Bibliometric Review of International Research on Strategic Management for Sustainability, 1991–2019," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-27, December.
    11. Nessa Winston, 2022. "Sustainable community development: Integrating social and environmental sustainability for sustainable housing and communities," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 191-202, February.
    12. Mehdi Amini & Carol C. Bienstock & John A. Narcum, 2018. "Status of corporate sustainability: a content analysis of Fortune 500 companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1450-1461, December.
    13. Maite Cubas‐Díaz & Miguel Ángel Martínez Sedano, 2018. "Measures for Sustainable Investment Decisions and Business Strategy – A Triple Bottom Line Approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 16-38, January.
    14. Virginia Navajas-Romero & Rosalía Díaz-Carrión & Antonio Ariza-Montes, 2019. "Decent Work as Determinant of Work Engagement on Dependent Self-Employed," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, April.
    15. Betzabe Ruiz-Morales & Irma Cristina Espitia-Moreno & Victor G. Alfaro-Garcia & Ernesto Leon-Castro, 2021. "Sustainable Development Goals Analysis with Ordered Weighted Average Operators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-27, May.
    16. Chris De Gruyter & Graham Currie & Geoff Rose, 2016. "Sustainability Measures of Urban Public Transport in Cities: A World Review and Focus on the Asia/Middle East Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, December.
    17. Turkan Muge Ozbekler & Yucel Ozturkoglu, 2020. "Analysing the importance of sustainability‐oriented service quality in competition environment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1504-1516, March.
    18. Patrik Baard, 2016. "Risk-reducing goals: ideals and abilities when managing complex environmental risks," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 164-180, February.
    19. Beibei Guo & Jinchuan Ke, 2020. "The Impacts of High-speed Rail on Sustainable Economic Development: Evidence from the Central Part of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-19, March.
    20. Mariappanadar, Sugumar & Maurer, Iris & Kramar, Robin & Muller-Camen, Michael, 2022. "Is it a sententious claim? An examination of the quality of occupational health, safety and well-being disclosures in global reporting initiative reports across industries and countries," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(2).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:8:p:2741-:d:161760. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.