Corporate Sustainability As A Challenge For Comprehensive Management
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Corporate Sustainability as a Challenge for Comprehensive Management by Klaus J. Zink Pdf
Sustainability has become a topic of global relevance: Corporations and other economically acting organizations increasingly need to realize economic, environmental and social objectives in order to survive. Supplementary to "classical" environmental management, realizing corporate sustainability requires comprehensive approaches which allow the integration of social and economic aspects. Such concepts can be found e.g. in international excellence models mainly based on a TQM thinking but also in the field of human factors in organizational design and management. Understood as systems approaches, they include the interests of all relevant stakeholders with a mid- or long-term time perspective and are thus highly linked with the principles of sustainable development. In this book internationally leading scientists discuss the issue of sustainability from their perspective, resulting in an innovative view on different management approaches under the umbrella of corporate sustainability.
Business and the Sustainability Challenge by Peter N. Nemetz Pdf
It is vitally important for businesses to have a holistic understanding of the many issues surrounding and shaping sustainability, from competitors to government and political factors, to economics and ecological science. This integrated textbook for MBA and senior-level undergraduates offers a comprehensive overview of the issues of sustainability as they relate to business and influence corporate strategy. It also features a wide range of cases and an extensive discussion of tools to incorporate sustainability issues into strategic decision making, helping instructors and students to build and then apply a solid understanding of sustainability in business.
Global Challenges to CSR and Sustainable Development by Stephen Vertigans,Samuel O. Idowu Pdf
This book examines and analyzes the challenges programmes for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development are facing in global management practice. It looks at the dichotomy of a general and popular demand for responsible and resilient management, and the counterplayers that impact the positive effect of such efforts. The book assembles latest research looking at the root causes for this opposition, and new case studies that showcase the dilemma and possible solutions to overcome it. Overall, the book juxtaposes short terminism within CSR programmes and longer term sustainable development, mis-allocation of resources and failed promises associated with CSR, and sketches pathways how CSR and sustainable development can be directed towards the most pressing issues.
Corporate Sustainability by Ann Brockett,Zabihollah Rezaee Pdf
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.
Corporate Governance and Sustainability by Suzanne Benn,Dexter Dunphy Pdf
In recent years, as corporations and governments have increasingly been confronted with managing the expectations of a society newly alerted to the social and environmental risks of economic development, recognition is dawning that achieving a sustainable world is dependent upon the democratic management and equitable distribution of these risks for now, and for the future. This book, the first to explore the themes of corporate governance and sustainability, argues that a better system of governance on a number of levels holds the key. Contributed to and edited by a distinguished international team, this book recognizes the complex and contested nature of both sustainability and governance, and that these key concepts have been redefined considerably over time. As sustainability poses new and major challenges for the theory and practice of corporate governance, this book, ideal for postgraduate students of business and management, identifies and addresses these challenges.
Author : John Zinkin Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG Page : 360 pages File Size : 53,9 Mb Release : 2020-08-10 Category : Business & Economics ISBN : 9783110670486
The Challenge of Sustainability by John Zinkin Pdf
The Challenge of Sustainability: Corporate Governance in a Complicated World reviews the evolution of five types of corporate governance and their different sustainability objectives. It discusses the challenges for boards in achieving sustainability from an environmental, economic, employment, and social perspective and introduces the concept of a political tragedy of the commons if boards do what is in the best interests of their profitability only, without considering their responsibilities and unintended consequences for their stakeholders. It explains how volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity complicate making sustainable decisions. This book explores ways of helping prevent such negative outcomes. John Zinkin asserts the director’s need to reconcile volatility with vision, uncertainty with understanding, complexity with courage and commitment, and ambiguity with adaptability. To prevent a potential political tragedy of the commons, the book suggests new decision-making processes; treating employees differently; and makes the case for reforming capitalism. It is aimed at managers, board members and all those who influence them, including shareholder activists, corporate legal personnel, politicians, activists and general readers interested in applying some of these suggestions in their roles as stakeholders, managers and directors.
The Sustainable Business Challenge by Jan-Olaf Willums Pdf
"Two decades ago, in the late 1970s, environmental concerns were only beginning to surface in the world's boardrooms. Today, environmental stewardship is part of every board member's vocabulary. So what issues will be on the corporate board agenda twenty years from now? How fully will environmental and social questions be integrated into the fabric of an enterprise? That depends on those entering the corporate world now: by the time today's business students have gained senior positions, concepts such as eco-efficiency and the "social licence to operate" should be common currency. Therefore, environmental concerns will be high on the list of recruitment and career development requirements of 21st-century corporations. So how well prepared are today's business students? The Sustainable Business Challenge began with a collaboration between the WBCSD and the international student organization AISEC to discover precisely that. Environmental staff from the WBCSD's member companies, business professors and members of environmental NGOs were asked to help compile a document of what every student should know. A version was posted on the Internet along with a certificated exam, The Sustainable Business Challenge Exam, and was greeted with much enthusiasm from around the world. This success prompted great demand for an accompanying book. Based on the original Internet background document, The Sustainable Business Challenge is now available. The Sustainable Business Challenge is the most comprehensive and up-to-date primer available on issues of corporate sustainability and of environmental issues that affect business. All the key topics are addressed thoroughly and succinctly:What does sustainable development mean and what are its implications?What are the important issues for business regarding climate, water, fisheries, agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, energy, transport and waste?What are the key topics on today's board agenda?What do businesses need to know about emerging themes such as product stewardship, sustainable consumption, global trade, and risk and uncertainty?What are the tools for managing the sustainable corporation?What about concepts for the next century, such as eco-efficiency, by-product synergy, the "triple bottom-line"?In order to put these issues – and many more – in context, they are all viewed from the perspective of the fictional "SDX Corporation" (a US multinational manufacturing corporation) as they get to grips with the policy implications of environmental issues throughout 1999. We eavesdrop on an imagined dialogue as a large corporation questions its future, via board papers, internal memoranda, letters and press clippings. This takes "The Sustainable Business Challenge" above the realm of an environmental management textbook, presenting instead the story of a corporation's search for sustainability. A final chapter takes us to 2020 and imagines what will be on the board's agenda by then. The Sustainable Business Challenge is unique in the breadth of its scope, yet doesn't over-simplify the issues. It is thoroughly revised and up to date (it includes discussion on the implications of the Kyoto negotiations), and includes contributions from John Elkington (SustainAbility), Rick Bunch (World Resources Institute) and numerous others. Anyone – business students, managers, heads of SMEs – looking for a single resource that presents all the key environmental issues as they affect business, now and into the next century, need look no further than The Sustainable Business Challenge."--Provided by publisher.
The Role of Corporate Sustainability in Asian Development by Gilbert Lenssen,Jay Hyuk Rhee,Fabien Martinez Pdf
This book examines the challenges faced by seven multinational companies - Intel, Lenovo, Samsung Electronics, ZTE, BMW Hyundai Motor Company, Mahindra and Mahindra - in their endeavour to contribute to the economic, environmental and social development of Asia. The lessons learned from the examination of these business practices may directly contribute to an increase in the practice of sustainable management and may as such contribute to positive economic, environmental and social impact of companies in this region. The cases are highly relevant for management theoreticians seeking to deepen our understanding of corporate sustainability in an area where scholars, practitioners and policy-makers can expect new questions, problems and challenges in the years ahead. The book is also of high interest to policy review agencies, policy makers and welfare economists seeking to support the development of a comprehensive sustainability framework for managing social and environmental issues in the context of Asia.
Human Factors for Sustainability by Andrew Thatcher,Klaus J. Zink,Klaus Fischer Pdf
This book deals with the central question of how human factors and ergonomics (HFE) might contribute to solutions for the more sustainable development of our world. The contents of the book are highly compatible with the recent political agenda for sustainable development as well as with sustainability research from other disciplines.The book aims to summarize and profile the various empirical and theoretical work arising from the field of “Human Factors and Sustainable Development” in the last decade. The book gives a systematic overview of relevant theoretical concepts, their underlying philosophies, as well as global application fields and case studies.
Business & Sustainability by Gabriel Eweje,Martin Perry Pdf
This volume aims to assist readers to navigate the conceptual maze surrounding discussions of business and sustainability by offering critical reflection on the state of business action for environmental sustainability and providing evidence about what is actually taking place in real localities and businesses.
Corporate Sustainability Management in the Energy Sector by Oliver Salzmann Pdf
Oliver Salzmann provides a comprehensive view on corporate sustainability management in companies such as Shell and RWE and develops a model for the systematization of strategic, thus profit-oriented, corporate sustainability management.
Managing the Business Case for Sustainability by Stefan Schaltegger,Marcus Wagner Pdf
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.
Strategic information systems management for environmental sustainability : enhancing firm competitiveness with Green IS by Löser, Fabian Pdf
During the last three decades, information and communication technologies have fundamentally changed the way we work, live and communicate. The ubiquity of internet services, which become increasingly interactive and complex, together with enhanced connectivity, facilitated by innovative mobile devices, induces an ever-rising demand for computing, storage and data transmission capacities. Today, information systems (IS) constitute the backbone of the globalized economy and are indispensable for modern business and production processes. At the same time, environmental sustainability has evolved as the most pressing societal challenge of the 21st century, in particular due to the looming threats of climate change. By virtue of their global influence and reach, business companies significantly contribute to the creation of environmental problems, but owing to their organizational knowledge, capabilities and resources, they also have the capacity and ability to play a key role in shaping the path towards a more sustainable development. The companies leading the way have noticed that corporate sustainability is not necessarily a burden that negatively impacts their bottom line. If strategically managed, environmental product and process innovations can decrease operational costs, enhance corporate reputation, and differentiate from competitors. With regard to environmental sustainability, IS play a contradictory role: on the one hand, the manufacturing, operation and disposal of information technology (IT) infrastructure are responsible for serious environmental impacts: from the mining of conflict minerals to carbon dioxide emissions that equal those of the airline industry to enormous amounts of toxic e-waste. On the other hand, IS are perceived as key enablers of a "green" economy: environmental management systems and the reengineering of business processes can substantially reduce the environmental impacts of business organizations, while technological innovations provide opportunities to decrease the ecological footprint of end-user products and services. Many organizations have started to implement first environmental measures to decrease IT energy consumption and to reduce operational costs, mostly in an unstructured and uncoordinated manner though. Although Green IS practices feature a considerable potential to increase corporate environmentalism while creating promising business opportunities, the adoption of enterprise-wide cross-functional initiatives aimed at implementing Green IS has been rather slow. Economic uncertainties regarding the long-term effects of Green IS adoption and the lack of appropriate management frameworks have been identified as main inhibitors of an encompassing implementation of Green IS initiatives throughout the enterprise. In this context, this thesis addresses relevant research gaps, contributes to theory development in the evolving Green IS research discipline, develops practice-oriented management frameworks, and emphasizes the importance of following a strategic approach to leverage the competitive potential of Green IS. This cumulative thesis comprises an introduction that includes a literature review and a pre-study, four theory-based conceptual research articles, and two empirical studies, one of them building on qualitative, exploratory case study research whereas the other relies on quantitative data which has been analyzed with structural equation modeling. This thesis targets four specific research goals to advance theory-building in Green IS research and to promote the adoption of Green IS in practice. First, this thesis clarifies and defines the central terms and key concepts Green IT, Green IS, Green IS strategy, and Green IS practices drawing on a transdisciplinary research approach. Second, the most important challenges and inhibitors of Green IS adoption are identified and characterized. In particular, the lack of management frameworks, which encourage a holistic implementation that follows a strategic rationale, the complexity of strategic Green IS alignment, the multi-dimensional performance impacts of cross-functional initiatives and, above all, the uncertainty relating to the business case of Green IS practices, are identified as the most pressing challenges. Third, current actions of business firms to address these challenges are examined. Building on exploratory case study research, distinctive Green IS strategies are identified in managerial practice. Most notably, the empirical insights from quantitative survey research suggest a positive relationship between Green IS adoption and firm competitiveness, thus decreasing the economic uncertainty which inhibits the implementation of far-reaching environmental initiatives. Fourth, practice-oriented management frameworks are developed. The fine-grained Green IS strategy concept advises the formulation of strategies addressing the corporate, competitive, and functional management level. The proposed typology of four Green IS strategies illustrates distinct strategic options, from which executives can choose under consideration of their competitive targets and the firm-specific context. To allow for consistency of Green IS strategies, the presented alignment framework facilitates coherence with economic and environmental corporate goals. Furthermore, the actors, roles and responsibilities relevant to the alignment process are described. In addition, a management framework for the holistic adoption of Green IS, which specifies decisive management areas and distinguishes between three degrees of environmental impacts, is presented along with a comprehensive catalogue of Green IS implementation measures. As a consequence, this research offers both empirical insights and conceptual models to advance the adoption of Green IS initiatives, thus meeting the challenges of climate change and turning corporate sustainability into a business opportunity. Informationssysteme (IS) zeigen in Bezug auf ökologische Nachhaltigkeit gegensätzliche Eigenschaften. Einerseits verursachen die Herstellung, der Betrieb sowie die Entsorgung von Informationstechnologie (IT) – Infrastrukturen schwerwiegende negative Umweltauswirkungen: Vom Abbau von Konfliktmineralien über Kohlendioxidemissionen bis hin zu beträchtlichen Mengen giftigen Elektroschrotts. Andererseits werden IS als Schlüsseltechnologien für eine nachhaltige Wirtschaft gesehen. Umweltmanagementsysteme und die Umgestaltung von Geschäftsprozessen können den ökologischen Fußabdruck von Organisationen bedeutend verringern. Zudem eröffnen technologische Innovationen neuartige Möglichkeiten, die Umweltauswirkungen von Produkten und Dienstleistungen über den gesamten Lebenszyklus hinweg zu senken. Zahlreiche Organisationen haben damit begonnen, einzelne Green-IT-Maßnahmen zu implementieren um den Energieverbrauch und operative Kosten zu senken. Allerdings verfolgen die meisten Unternehmen hierbei keinen strukturierten oder strategischen Ansatz. Obwohl Green-IS-Initiativen beachtliche Potentiale zur Verbesserung der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit von Organisationen bieten und gleichzeitig vielversprechende wirtschaftliche Chancen eröffnen, schreitet die Umsetzung von bereichsübergreifenden Green-IS-Maßnahmen in Unternehmen nur langsam voran. Ökonomische Unsicherheiten in Bezug auf die Rentabilität derartiger Maßnahmen sowie der Mangel an adäquaten Management-Frameworks werden in diesem Zusammenhang als zentrale Hinderungsgründe für eine strategische und ganzheitliche Umsetzung von Green-IS-Initiativen identifiziert. Diese Dissertation adressiert diese Hinderungsgründe, schafft Schlüsselkonzepte für den neuen Green-IS-Forschungszweig, entwickelt praxisorientierte Management-Frameworks und hebt die Bedeutung eines strategischen Ansatzes bei der Implementierung von Green IS hervor. Diese Forschungsarbeit offeriert empirische Einblicke wie auch konzeptionelle Modelle um die Umsetzung ganzheitlicher Green-IS-Initiativen in Organisationen voranzutreiben. Unternehmen haben somit die Chance, den Herausforderungen des Klimawandels verantwortungsvoll zu begegnen und gleichzeitig durch eine nachhaltige Unternehmensführung Wettbewerbsvorteile zu generieren.
The Psychology of Green Organizations by Jennifer Lynn Robertson,Julian Barling Pdf
As the 21st century advances, the global challenges and consequences posed by climate change are becoming increasingly apparent. Although organisations are considered significant contributors to climate change, they also have the potential to affect it positively through their employees. As a result, understanding how employees' pro-environmental initiatives can positively affect climate change has increasingly become the focus of inquiry among researchers. In this book a number of researchers review leading research in different areas of organisational environmental sustainability.
