Socio-environmental Performance Research Articles

Transforming E-Waste into Opportunities: Driving Organizational Actions to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals

With technological advancements, there has been a significant increase in the generation of electronic waste (e-waste), leading to severe environmental consequences. Inadequate e-waste management poses obstacles to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and results in detrimental effects such as pollution, health risks, and resource depletion. Recycling and reusing are vital due to the presence of toxic and valuable elements in e-waste. However, several barriers impede effective management, including limited collection points, insufficient awareness, and inadequate policies. For this reason, this paper aims to propose drivers for developing and improving organizational actions that enhance e-waste management, enabling companies to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. Content analysis was employed as the research method to identify booster elements and systematize e-waste management drivers. Thirty-six booster elements related to SDGs 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, and 17 were identified based on 30 relevant scientific articles from Scopus and 16 sustainability reports from well-ranked companies on the New York Stock Exchange. The systematized drivers encompass recycling and treatment techniques, sustainable manufacturing and consumption, e-waste management technologies, and cooperation networks. The scientific contribution of this work lies in incorporating empirical elements into the literature and enriching the theory of sustainable practices in the electronic equipment industry. In an applied manner, this article contributes to managers who can use the proposed drivers to improve the management of e-waste, thus reducing costs and enhancing the socio-environmental performance of their companies.

Threats from Shareholder Activism and Implications on Corporate Socio-Environmental Performance

Threats from Shareholder Activism and Implications on Corporate Socio-Environmental Performance

An analytical framework to measure the social return of community-supported agriculture

ABSTRACT The lack of objective sustainability indicators and measurements leaves the performance of agricultural systems under-valued, limiting the possibility of communicating any evidence about promoting economic, social, and environmental values to food system stakeholders. In this study, a cost-benefit analysis based on the social return on investment (SROI) was designed and applied to five community-supported agriculture (CSA) initiatives. CSA are local food supply chains that have become popular in recent years, characterized by features such as member volunteer commitment, reduction of synthetic inputs in food production, and shortening of the supply chain to reduce costs and environmental impact. Social and environmental outcomes related to the wider spread of impacts were comprehensively assessed in the study. A participatory assessment with CSA representatives resulted in the incorporation of several ecosystem service (ES) indicators identified from the literature. Findings revealed that the case studies analyzed are characterized by a limited but positive socio-environmental performance compared to conventional food supply chains, thereby demonstrating that they can create real value in terms of social gains and mitigation of environmental impacts.

Developing a multidimensional performance measurement framework for international construction joint ventures (ICJVs): the perspective of Ghana-hosted ICJVs' practitioners

PurposeInternational construction joint ventures (ICJVs) will fully realize their potential for success and effectively monitor performance when an adequate and suitable performance benchmark is established. However, existing studies fall short of adequately providing a mutually acceptable benchmark for assessing the performance of ICJVs. This study aims to develop an adequate and suitable performance measurement framework for ICJVs.Design/methodology/approachA twofold structured questionnaire survey, supplemented by semi-structured interviews, was used to collect data from the practitioners of ICJVs hosted in the developing country of Ghana. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and a hybrid-fuzzy logic approach.FindingsA list of 30 performance indicators (PIs), defined by project performance, perceived satisfaction, company/partner performance, socio-environmental performance and performance of ICJV management, was validated and proved to be significant. Only 22 out of the 30 PIs, focusing on project efficiency, societal improvement and organizational goals are realized by the ICJV practitioners. Further, suitable determinants and viable quantitative ranges for measuring each PI are established to prevent different interpretations of the meanings of PIs and objectively express the level of success in quantitative terms. The results call for further investigation of the convergence between the practice of and research into some PIs (e.g. socio-environmental performance) and a range of different performance levels (PLs) in a more scientific manner.Practical implicationsThis study not only advances the knowledge base and practice of performance measurement in ICJVs but could also assist stakeholders and decision-makers to assess, compare and monitor the performance of different ICJV projects on common grounds objectively.Originality/valueThis study not only comprehensively assessed PIs – what to measure – but also systematically determined suitable determinants – how to measure – for each PI.

Optimal mechanism design of public policies for promoting electromobility: A dynamic programming formulation

Electromobility is considered a promising future of road transportation, driving the current industrial and market shift to the era of Electric Vehicles (EVs). As electromobility’s ecosystem depends on electricity generated by the energy sector, decision-makers face the tedious task of enacting policies that alter the transport and energy sectors simultaneously to promote EVs. This paper proposes an Optimal Mechanism Design framework for planning the shift to electromobility from the urban level. The framework fuses concepts of Mechanism Design, optimization methods and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), incorporating all important elements for a comprehensive and sound policy-making procedure, such as market dynamics and the associated financial, social and technological dimensions for the transport and energy sectors. The policies considered incorporate EV promotion incentives, taxation, charging infrastructure, electricity taxation and infrastructure such as power plants and Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to support the growing energy needs. Market mechanisms comprise direct links between policy actions and sustainability outcomes. The framework identifies and optimizes these mechanisms to maximize the CBA sustainability indicators. The framework is applied to Nicosia, Cyprus’s capital, where accelerated EV adoption appears to maximize the transport sector's socioenvironmental sustainability and the energy sector's financial sustainability. On the other hand, delayed EV adoption maximizes the energy sector's socioenvironmental sustainability and the transport sector's financial sustainability. Taxation policies are used to limit EV penetration, whilst funding incentives are used to accelerate EV adoption. The results provide decision-makers with a new tool for optimally planning EV adoption using a policy mixture that optimizes financial and socioenvironmental performance.

Environmental-, social-, and governance-related factors for business investment and sustainability: a scientometric review of global trends.

Consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors can contribute to the environmental and economic performance of organizations in terms of investment and sustainability. This article thoroughly reviews the following factors influencing decisions regarding ESG policy by businesses: economic performance, environmental sustainability, pollution and waste, corporate social responsibility, gender, and governance structure. Moreover, we review the impact of these factors considering ESG disclosure, the global pandemic, religion, governing board and size, national interest, and technological advancements. The literature reports that ESG disclosures of environmental, economic, and social sustainability performance can strengthen business sustainability and performance. Religion-based businesses demonstrated better socio-environmental performance but not governance. An independent governing board has a positive impact; however, dual-gender boards negatively impact ESG disclosure. Significant diversification potential in ESG investments was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adopting an ESG policy enhances the innovation capacity, innovative activities, value creation, and financial performance of businesses. Overall, the social and environmental performance demonstrated a significantly positive relationship with business sustainability, indicating that business economy and creating value for society are mutually dependent. The literature summary presented in this review will help future research on ESG factors that influence business investments and sustainability.

A Framework Proposal to Assess the Maturity of Green IT in Organizations

Green IT has been gaining relevance in organizations that seek to mature their IT projects, processes and strategies in a sustainable way, encompassing the set of strategies, practices and policies related to Information Systems, IT infrastructure, acquisition, use and disposal with a focus on economic and socio-environmental performance. Thus, this article aims to propose a Green IT Maturity framework. A systematic literature review led to the development of a Green IT practice checklist, which was qualitatively analyzed and categorized into six dimensions, culminating in a Green IT maturity framework proposal. The results provide a structured instrument to facilitate the Green IT identification and implementation of practices in organizations. The findings can guide the Green IT implementation and sustainable initiatives across the organization from six dimensions: organizational, technological, economic, environmental, social and marketing. The framework enables the development diagnosis and assessment of Green IT practices present in the organization. It also works as a guide in the search and monitoring of Green IT practices that can be used, improving the sustainability levels of organizational operations.

The assessment of socio-environmental performance change: A Benefit of the Doubt indicator based on Directional Distance Function and Malmquist productivity index

This study develops an enhanced composite indicator to assess the social and environmental (socio-environmental) performance of firms over time using the ‘Benefit of the Doubt’ (BoD) model specified with the directional distance function and the Malmquist productivity index. The new approach integrates both social and environmental benefits and burdens based on international standards and guidelines. This methodology enables the assessment of change in the socio-environmental performance of firms, as well as their classification in four categories based on the evolution of their technical efficiency and innovation capabilities. In addition, this paper identifies innovative firms in terms of socio-environmental achievements.

Socio environmental responsibility practices and organizational performance in public companies

Purpose: Analyze the relationship between socio-environmental responsibility practices in the economic and financial performance of companies listed in [B3].
 Methodology: Social and environmental information found in the annual sustainability reports published in accordance with the GRI 4 (Global Reporting Initiative) standard were used. For economic performance, the metrics EBITDA and ROA were considered, while for financial performance, market-to-book and Tobin's Q were used, collected on the Economática® platform. Binomial logistic regression was used to evaluate 220 observations corresponding to the period from 2014 to 2018.
 Results: It was not possible to verify the relationship between the disclosure of socio-environmental practices on economic performance, measured by the companies' accounting result variables. However, it suggests that there is a negative influence of the disclosure of information on socio-environmental practices on the financial performance measured by market variables.
 Study Contributions: Despite the demands made by the set of stakeholders on companies for the practice of socioenvironmental actions, the market does not favorably recognize the organizational effort. The results point to indications that investors may consider organizational investments in socioenvironmental practices as undesirable.

The Corporate Social Responsibility Price Premium as an Enabler of Substantive CSR (WITHDRAWN)

While consumers’ willingness to pay a CSR-price premium is a key economic driver of CSR investments, the literature is relatively silent on whether and how the CSR-price premium affects firms’ choice between symbolic and substantive CSR engagement. To shed light on this question, I propose a game-theoretical framework that accounts for both supply- and demand-side factors influencing CSR engagement decisions and socio-environmental performance. Using this model, I establish sufficient conditions under which the CSR-price premium functions as an enabler of substantive CSR investments. I also examine how social performance monitoring, product differentiation, and competitors’ CSR engagement choices moderate this enabling effect of the CSR-price premium. My framework suggests that social performance monitoring may either strengthen or weaken the enabling effect of the CSR-price premium, depending on the social performance of substantive CSR, as well as on demand-side conditions. Product differentiation, in turn, nonlinearly impacts the effect of the CSR-price premium, depending also on the CSR engagement choices of competitors. This paper contributes to the literatures on substantive versus symbolic CSR, stakeholder monitoring, and the relationship between competition and social performance.

Application of fuzzy systems to support the development of a socioenvironmental sustainability index applied to river basins

ABSTRACT Socioenvironmental indexes are important mechanisms for the communication of information in a summary form. They may also be a sound source on the quality of life of human beings. In this sense, the objective of this research is to create a socioenvironmental sustainability index (SSI) applied to river basins that integrate socioenvironmental information from the river basin of the Una River in São Paulo (Brazil) by creating a fuzzy inference system in a geographic information system environment. From the results obtained, only two sub-river basins of the Una River are classified as regular. They are in the urban area to the north of the study area. The other sub-river basins are classified as in poor conditions, that is, with high socioenvironmental vulnerability. They correspond to 81% of the study area. This poor classification is justified by the low income and the high rate of illiteracy in the study area. Both factors presented very poor values. The urban area, compared to the rural area, showed a better socioenvironmental performance. It is partly justified by the access of the population in these areas to education and better work opportunities.

Socioenvironmental impacts of biogas production in a cooperative agroenergy condominium

The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of biogas production implemented by family farmers organized in a cooperative agroenergy condominium. Evidences of changes in socioenvironmental performance were obtained through field observations and queries to the farmers. Observed ‘change coefficients’ were inserted into multicriteria indicators, weighted by their spatial scale of occurrence in the rural establishments, and impact indices were calculated for a set of seven characterization aspects (technological efficiency, environmental quality, productive process, employment, income, health, and management, and administration), integrated in 23 criteria and 123 indicators. The resulting impact indices of the implementation of the cooperative agroenergy condominium pointed out to positive performances in most of the criteria, with occasional transitory negative indices in specific indicators, related to farmers' particular contexts. Statistically significant positive results were obtained for seven of the ten Ecological impact criteria, as follows (i) use of agricultural inputs and resources; (ii) energy consumption; (iii) self-generation, utilization, reuse, and autonomy in the agricultural area; (iv) energy security; (v) emissions to the atmosphere; (vi) soil quality, and (vii) water quality. In the Socioenvironmental impacts dimension, statistically significant positive results were found for the following criteria: (i) productivity; (ii) productive integration in the concept of biorefinery/Ecopark; (iii) training; (iv) qualification and availability of work; (v) income generation; (vi) waste disposal, and (vii) institutional relationship. The agroenergy condominium contributed to reducing environmental impacts, promoting productive efficiency and improving income generation in the cooperating family farms.

Exploring Relationship Between Controllable Metrics and Socio-Environmental Performance Indicators in Responsible Tourism Context Using Temporal Causal Model

This study explores relationship between the controllable issues in responsible tourism and the key socio-environmental performance indicators, using the Temporal Causal Modeling (TCM) approach. TCM uses an autoregressive approach to build a causal model for a specified set of target series from a set of candidate inputs. Unlike the conventional time series, modeling TCM does not use an explicit predictor. TCM is likely to identify the controllable inputs that have maximum impact on key performance indicators. The study used 5-year time series data (2014-2018) on socio-environmental performance indicators in Indian tourism context and normalized controllable metrics related to responsible tourism. The analysis identified restoration programmes, recycling & reusing products, biological conservation, ecological carrying capacity and ethno-cultural advocacy as controllable metrics of responsible tourism and found to share significant relationship with 10 socio-environmental key performance indicators. The analysis identified restoration programmes, recycling & reusing products, biological conservation, ecological carrying capacity and ethno-cultural advocacy as controllable metrics of responsible tourism and found to share significant relationship with 10 socio-environmental key performance indicators.
 Key words: Responsibility; Sustainability; Causal; Indicators; Controllable; Tourism.

Planejamento estratégico federal brasileiro de hidrelétricas e os indicadores de desempenho socioambientais

This article identified and evaluated the use of socio-environmental key performance indicators during the federal strategic planning of hydroelectric plants, through the assessment of the strategic planning of the Brazilian Energy Matrix. It has also identified the use of these indicators during the subsequent stages of the projects. It is observed that the studies of the Ten-Year Energy Expansion Plan – PDE were developed based on specific methodologies that used socio-environmental assessment indicators, defined by Technical Notes. The evaluations were developed as a criterion for projects selection when defining the PDE composition, however, present information from the indicators by the set of expected UHEs, instead of presenting them individually, allowing UHEs of low socio-environmental performance to be compensated by more efficient UHEs. Large part of the indicators addressed are absolute, not taking into account the power generated versus the socio-environmental impact. The indicators used to obtain socio-environmental assessment, in strategic planning, are not necessarily the same used during the subsequent phases of the project. This fact resulted in a data inconsistency, as by disclosing only the consolidated information from the whole group of hydroelectric plants, it is not possible to have a detailed view from the indicators of each project, as well as its performance. The article highlights the importance of an integration of socio-environmental indicators during the strategic planning stages along with the environmental licensing phase, for the performance assessment of hydroelectric projects over time. Although socio-environmental indicators are used, there is an underutilization of it with regard to the communication of the performance of the enterprises, as well as for the decision-making process of resources allocation and solutions of problems related to socio-environmental origin, in Brazilian federal strategic planning of hydroelectric projects.

Public Sector Social-environmental Diagnosis Model: application in a federal autarky, Rio de Janeiro

Abstract: The Brazilian public administration system has thousands of organizations and departments at federal, state, and municipal levels, distributed throughout the national territory. These conduct activities that can have significant social and environmental impacts. The present research aims to propose a sustainability index through the Public Sector Social-environmental Diagnosis Model (DISASP). This model is based on the Environmental Management Accounting System developed by researchers from the Federal University of Santa Catarina. The proposed model complements this system by including the guidelines of the Environmental Public Administration Agenda, a Ministry of the Environment program that encourages socio-environmental management practices in the government sector. The DISASP method was tested in a federal autarky in the city of Rio de Janeiro. For institutional diagnosis, seven managers were sent a questionnaire containing 124 questions with eight thematic axes: Rational Use of Natural Resources and Public Goods; Adequate Waste Management; Quality of Life in the Work Environment; Awareness and Training; Sustainable Public Procurement; Sustainable Construction; Social and Environmental Responsibility; and Institutional Management. A “weak” sustainability index was obtained, indicating the need for this sector to improve its socio-environmental performance. The study indicated that DISASP adequately fulfilled its role as an instrument for assessing socio-environmental practices in the public sector. Future studies should extend application of the DISASP method to the autarky under study at various points in time, as well as apply it to other public agencies.

Supplier socioenvironmental compliance: A survey of the antecedents of standards decoupling

Abstract Socioenvironmental performance of suppliers is a matter of critical concern in buyer-supplier relationships. Studies have shown that many times adoption of socioenvironmental standards (SES) by the suppliers remains ceremonial and does not translate into concrete performance. This phenomenon called ‘decoupling’ has serious implications for both buyers and suppliers, and the need arises to understand the underlying dynamics of SES decoupling. This paper builds on a systematic review of the literature to discuss the antecedents of decoupling. The paper has three main contributions. First, it identifies the antecedents of SES decoupling; second, it develops a taxonomy of the antecedents, and finally, it develops a model comprising a set of propositions explaining how the identified antecedents bring about decoupling. The framework developed in this paper can help buyers and supplier in preventing decoupling and developing integrated systems at suppliers’ end. Overall, the framework is useful for making decisions regarding supplier selection, retention, development, and prevention of supplier opportunism.

MEDICIÓN DE IMPACTOS SOCIOAMBIENTALES Y RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL ORGANIZACIONAL

Esta revisión de literatura sobre la Responsabilidad Social la presenta como medio para gestionar los impactos sociales y ambientales ocasionados por una organización. Por esta razón, es prioridad entender en este enfoque de gestión el compromiso que adquiere la organización y sus directivas, el desarrollo de estrategias de gestión responsables socialmente y armonizadas con prácticas responsables, y, por último, como medir el desempeño social y ambiental. En este sentido se proponen indicadores para el desempeño socioambiental en las organizaciones; armonizados con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible. Como resultado, se construye un cuadro de indicadores ajustable a las actividades de cualquier organización.

A New Extension to a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model for Sustainable Supplier Selection under an Intuitionistic Fuzzy Environment

The increase of environmental pollution has led to the rise of sustainable awareness in recent years. This trend has motivated various industries to recognize the importance of implementing sustainable supply chain practices to seek economic, environmental and social advantages. From a sustainability perspective, selecting a suitable supplier is the main component of modern enterprises. It is also a challenging problem since several criteria concerning supplier selection are interdependent with a complex character. Therefore, the contribution of this paper is a new extension to multi-criteria decision-making model (MCDM) under an intuitionistic fuzzy environment for sustainable supplier selection (SSS) based on sustainable supply chain management SSCM practices. It consists of intuitionistic fuzzy set theory (IFS) with a decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) combined with an analytic network process (ANP) to identify uncertainties and interdependencies among criteria as well as analyzing the criteria weights. We modified Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) to evaluate and rank the desired level of sustainable supplier performance. The suggested approach is conducted by a case study from the Thailand palm oil industry. Results show that the proposed model not only can find the most suitable sustainable supplier, but also the enterprises can aid their suppliers in improving sustainability by using the proposed method and can improve enterprises’ socio-environmental performance, which is key to achieving sustainable development.

Combining process analysis method and four-pronged approach to integrate corporate sustainability metrics for assessing international construction joint ventures performance

Abstract While the number of publications on international construction joint ventures (ICJVs) performance assessment has gained attention, yet it suffers from the lack of complete and standardized appraisal. The incomplete ICJV performance metrics and the neglection of corporate sustainability (CS) performance indicators in the ICJVs performance assessment are the prime reasons for its inadequacy. This paper systematically reviews the literature on ICJVs performance measurement and integrates CS indicators into ICJV performance assessment using a hybrid technique, fusing process analysis method and four-pronged approach. Based on 86 articles retrieved from Scopus and the Web of Science, the results point out that while traditional economic indicators account for more than half of the extracted indicators, environmental and social indicators have been partially considered in ICJVs performance measurement. Moving forward, organizations have embraced the CS agenda, and its integration into businesses has been intensively present. In this study, 36 performance indicators were identified and categorized into five major constructs, namely: project-based performance, company/partner performance, perceived satisfaction, performance of the ICJV management, and socio-environmental performance. The novel contributions include updating and aggregating the discrete ICJVs performance metrics and introducing a new dimension of performance assessment into ICJVs. This study offers potential avenues for future research by triggering a shift from the confined economic and incomplete ICJV performance appraisal to a more complete and standardized performance evaluation. Consequently, managers and practitioners can use the novel framework for assessing their performance and reporting purposes. This study can contribute to global sustainable development and corporate competitive advantage. Lastly, this study enriches both ICJV performance and sustainability literature by providing a systematic review of extant literature.

The Rise and Fall of CSR in Italian Local Government

CSR is an essential intangible business asset increasingly understood as a critical success factor in global markets. A new connotation of corporate responsibility, combined with a modern approach to CSR interpreted in a competitive key, can bring together economic and socio-environmental performance needs by providing adequate responses to a wide range of stakeholders. This, however, requires guaranteeing sustainability from an economic point of view as well as credibility in terms of the messages conveyed with the related communication tools. The Italian public sector has attempted to incorporate the managerial approach developed in the private sector, yet after a period of great attention to this issue, a gradual decline has manifested in the instruments supporting social responsibility and the importance they play in the internal programming, reporting, and communications cycle.