IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i16p4307-d256096.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Waqas Nawaz

    (Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Education City, Doha 34110, Qatar)

  • Muammer Koç

    (Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Education City, Doha 34110, Qatar)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Waqas Nawaz & Muammer Koç, 2019. "Exploring Organizational Sustainability: Themes, Functional Areas, and Best Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-36, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:16:p:4307-:d:256096
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/16/4307/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/16/4307/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paúl Sarango-Lalangui & José Álvarez-García & María De la Cruz Del Río-Rama, 2018. "Sustainable Practices in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-15, June.
    2. Gabriel Eweje, 2011. "A Shift in corporate practice? Facilitating sustainability strategy in companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(3), pages 125-136, May.
    3. Dalwon Kang & Sihyun Kim, 2017. "Conceptual Model Development of Sustainability Practices: The Case of Port Operations for Collaboration and Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Alamo Alexandre da Silva Batista & Antonio Carlos de Francisco, 2018. "Organizational Sustainability Practices: A Study of the Firms Listed by the Corporate Sustainability Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, January.
    5. M. Vermorken & A. Szafarz & H. Pirotte, 2010. "Sector classification through non-Gaussian similarity," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(11), pages 861-878.
    6. Robert G. Eccles & Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(11), pages 2835-2857, November.
    7. Eva Collins & Juliet Roper & Stewart Lawrence, 2010. "Sustainability practices: trends in New Zealand businesses," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(8), pages 479-494, December.
    8. Fabricio Carlos Schmidt & Roselaine Ruviaro Zanini & André Luis Korzenowski & Reno Schmidt Junior & Karl Benchimol Xavier do Nascimento, 2018. "Evaluation of Sustainability Practices in Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises in Southern Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-11, July.
    9. Ian Sealy & Walter Wehrmeyer & Chris France & Matt Leach, 2010. "Sustainable development management systems in global business organizations," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(11), pages 1083-1096, September.
    10. Aisma Linda Kiesnere & Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2019. "Sustainability Management in Practice: Organizational Change for Sustainability in Smaller Large-Sized Companies in Austria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-40, January.
    11. Carol A. Adams & Carlos Larrinaga‐González, 2007. "Engaging with organisations in pursuit of improved sustainability accounting and performance," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(3), pages 333-355, June.
    12. Schalock, Robert L. & Verdugo, Miguel & Lee, Tim, 2016. "A systematic approach to an organization’s sustainability," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 56-63.
    13. Anselm Schneider & Erika Meins, 2012. "Two Dimensions of Corporate Sustainability Assessment: Towards a Comprehensive Framework," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 211-222, May.
    14. Gerardo Luís Angulo Cuentas & Jaime Alberto Camacho Pico & Astrid Jaime Arias, 2015. "Frameworks to Identify Best Practices at the Organization Level: An Analysis," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 861-875, August.
    15. Wing Chow & Yang Chen, 2012. "Corporate Sustainable Development: Testing a New Scale Based on the Mainland Chinese Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(4), pages 519-533, February.
    16. M. López & Arminda Garcia & Lazaro Rodriguez, 2007. "Sustainable Development and Corporate Performance: A Study Based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 285-300, October.
    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. Fayez Nahedh Alsehani & Ainuddin Wahid Bin Abdul Wahab & Liyana Shuib, 2023. "Exploring Social Media and Organisational Sustainability Performance Goals: Themes, Functional Areas, and Practices Learning from the Preceding Decade," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, January.
    2. 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.
    3. Michele Molin & Lisa Pizzol & Marco Pesce & Alessandro Maura & Matteo Civiero & Elisa Gritti & Simone Giotto & Alberto Ferri & Lorenzo Liguoro & Carlo Bagnoli & Elena Semenzin, 2023. "An integrated decision‐making framework for corporate sustainability," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1145-1160, May.
    4. Abdullah Almuqrin & Ibrahim Mutambik & Abdulaziz Alomran & Justin Zuopeng Zhang, 2023. "Information System Success for Organizational Sustainability: Exploring the Public Institutions in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-25, June.
    5. Salma Khalil & Ayman Ismail & Seham Ghalwash, 2021. "The Rise of Sustainable Consumerism: Evidence from the Egyptian Generation Z," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-25, December.
    6. Rafael Henríquez-Machado & Andrés Muñoz-Villamizar & Javier Santos, 2021. "Sustainability through Operational Excellence: An Emerging Country Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-17, March.
    7. Vincent Leow Chee Ho & Lim Jian Yi & Noorsidi Aizuddin Bin Mat Noor & Rohaya Binti Abdul Jalil, 2024. "Assessing the Listed Property Companies Readiness Towards Environmental Social Governance Implementation in Malaysia," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(7), pages 2514-2524, July.
    8. Chi-Yen Yin & Hsiao-Hsin Chang, 2022. "What Is the Link between Strategic Innovation and Organizational Sustainability? Historical Review and Bibliometric Analytics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-23, June.
    9. Agnes Pranugrahaning & Jerome Denis Donovan & Cheree Topple & Eryadi Kordi Masli, 2020. "Corporate Sustainability Assessments in the Information Communication Technology Sector in Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-22, November.
    10. Sara Scipioni & Meir Russ & Federico Niccolini, 2021. "From Barriers to Enablers: The Role of Organizational Learning in Transitioning SMEs into the Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-31, January.
    11. Agnes Pranugrahaning & Jerome Denis Donovan & Cheree Topple & Eryadi Kordi Masli, 2023. "Exploring Corporate Sustainability in the Insurance Sector: A Case Study of a Multinational Enterprise Engaging with UN SDGs in Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-22, May.
    12. Magdalena Graczyk-Kucharska, 2023. "Sustainability in the Development of Green Organizations Based on the Example of Manufacturing Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-15, October.
    13. Avinash Kumar Singh & Devendra Kumar Pathak & Sabyasachi Patra, 2023. "An integrated systems thinking approach for achieving sustainability in project‐based organizations," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 501-535, May.
    14. Seungbeom Kim & Yooneun Lee & Byungchul Choi, 2021. "Adoption of Satellite Offices in Response to a Pandemic: Sustainability and Infection Control," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-18, July.
    15. José Pedro Carreón-Gutiérrez & José Manuel Saiz-Álvarez, 2019. "Product Newness, Low Competition, Recent Technology, and Export Orientation as Predictors for Entrepreneurial Growth Aspirations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-20, October.

    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. Andrea Lučić, 2020. "Measuring Sustainable Marketing Orientation—Scale Development Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-22, February.
    2. Małgorzata Okręglicka & Prabhat Mittal & Valentinas Navickas, 2023. "Exploring the Mechanisms Linking Perceived Organizational Support, Autonomy, Risk Taking, Competitive Aggressiveness and Corporate Sustainability: The Mediating Role of Innovativeness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, March.
    3. Gmelin, Harald & Seuring, Stefan, 2014. "Achieving sustainable new product development by integrating product life-cycle management capabilities," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 166-177.
    4. Veeravel, V & Murugesan, Vijaya Prabhagar & Narayanamurthy, Vijayakumar, 2024. "Does ESG disclosure really influence the firm performance? Evidence from India," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 193-202.
    5. Rezaee, Zabihollah & Tuo, Ling, 2017. "Voluntary disclosure of non-financial information and its association with sustainability performance," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 47-59.
    6. Anette Hallin & Tina Karrbom‐Gustavsson & Peter Dobers, 2021. "Transition towards and of sustainability—Understanding sustainability as performative," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1948-1957, May.
    7. Soytas, Mehmet Ali & Denizel, Meltem & Durak Usar, Damla, 2019. "Addressing endogeneity in the causal relationship between sustainability and financial performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 56-71.
    8. Alfonso Siano & Francesca Conte & Sara Amabile & Agostino Vollero & Paolo Piciocchi, 2016. "Communicating Sustainability: An Operational Model for Evaluating Corporate Websites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-16, September.
    9. Ramiz ur Rehman & Muhammad Zain ul Abidin & Rizwan Ali & Safwan Mohd Nor & Muhammad Akram Naseem & Mudassar Hasan & Muhammad Ishfaq Ahmad, 2021. "The Integration of Conventional Equity Indices with Environmental, Social, and Governance Indices: Evidence from Emerging Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-27, January.
    10. Mansi Jain & Gagan Deep Sharma & Mrinalini Srivastava, 2019. "Can Sustainable Investment Yield Better Financial Returns: A Comparative Study of ESG Indices and MSCI Indices," Risks, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-18, February.
    11. Ali Intezari, 2015. "Integrating Wisdom and Sustainability: Dealing with Instability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(7), pages 617-627, November.
    12. Lisa Planer-Friedrich & Marco Sahm, 2017. "Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility," CESifo Working Paper Series 6506, CESifo.
    13. Laura Mervelskemper & Daniel Streit, 2017. "Enhancing Market Valuation of ESG Performance: Is Integrated Reporting Keeping its Promise?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 536-549, May.
    14. Theerasak Nitlarp & Theeraya Mayakul, 2023. "The Implications of Triple Transformation on ESG in the Energy Sector: Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Findings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-26, February.
    15. Thaís Vieira Nunhes & Enzo Viviani Garcia & Maximilian Espuny & Vitor Homem de Mello Santos & Raine Isaksson & Otávio José de Oliveira, 2021. "Where to Go with Corporate Sustainability? Opening Paths for Sustainable Businesses through the Collaboration between Universities, Governments, and Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-31, January.
    16. Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2014. "Managing Corporate Sustainability and CSR: A Conceptual Framework Combining Values, Strategies and Instruments Contributing to Sustainable Development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(5), pages 258-271, September.
    17. Reginald Masocha, 2019. "Social Sustainability Practices on Small Businesses in Developing Economies: A Case of South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-13, June.
    18. Ayşe İrem Keskin & Banu Dincer & Caner Dincer, 2020. "Exploring the Impact of Sustainability on Corporate Financial Performance Using Discriminant Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-14, March.
    19. Sangki Lee & Insu Kim & Chung-hun Hong, 2019. "Who Values Corporate Social Responsibility in the Korean Stock Market?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-14, October.
    20. Olga Hawn & Aaron K. Chatterji & Will Mitchell, 2018. "Do investors actually value sustainability? New evidence from investor reactions to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(4), pages 949-976, April.

    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:11:y:2019:i:16:p:4307-:d:256096. 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.