An Approach to Sustainability Risk Assessment in Industrial Assets

Fco Javier García-Gómez,Víctor Fco Rosales-Prieto,Alberto Sánchez-Lite,Cristina González-Gaya,José Luis Fuentes-Bargues

doi:10.3390/su13126538

Abstract

Asset management, as a global process through which value is added to a company, is a managerial model that involves major changes in strategies, technologies, and resources; risk management; and a change in the attitude of the people involved. The growing commitment of companies to sustainability results in them applying this approach to all their activities. For this reason, it is relevant to develop sustainability risk assessment procedures in industrial assets. This paper presents a methodological framework for the inclusion of sustainability aspects in the risk management of industrial assets. This approach presents a procedure to provide general criteria, methodology, and essential mandatory requirements to be adopted for the identification, analysis, and evaluation of sustainability aspects, impacts, and risks related to assets owned and managed by an industrial company. The proposed procedure is based on ISO 55,000 and ISO 31,000 standards and was developed following three steps: a preliminary study, identification of sustainability aspects and sustainability risks/opportunities, and impact assessment and residual risks management. Our results could serve as a model that facilitates the improvement of sustainability analysis risks in industrial assets and could be used as a basis for future developments in the application of the standards to optimize management of these assets.

Highlights

The growing recognition of the importance of the environment and sustainability worldwide has led to the development of new forms of investment that apply socially responsible criteria
The inherent risk related to each sustainability impact under evaluation is calculated by means of combining the two following elements, as determined for the occurrence of the most critical associated event:
Relevant sustainability aspects are subjected to control by the company to mitigate their inherent risk

Summary

Introduction

The growing recognition of the importance of the environment and sustainability worldwide has led to the development of new forms of investment that apply socially responsible criteria. This path began to take shape with the creation of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) [1]. Its objective is the introduction of environmental, social, and corporate governance factors, the so-called Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria [2], in investment decision making, in order to manage extra-financial risks more efficiently and promote the sustainability of underlying investments. ‚. Environmental criteria (E) are related to the care and conservation of the environment.

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Discussion

Conclusion