Sustainability Performance Measurement Research Articles

Sustainability performance measurement – a framework for context-specific applications

Purpose Researchers and practitioners have recently been interested in corporate sustainability performance (CSP). However, knowledge on measuring CSP is limited. Many CSP-measurements are eclectic, without guidance for contextual applications. This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework that categorizes, explains and evaluates measurements based on their accuracy and precision and provides a guideline for their context-specific application. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a systematic literature review of an initial sample of 1,415 papers. Findings The final sample of 74 papers suggested four measurement categories: isolated indicators, indicator frameworks, Sustainability Balanced Scorecards (SBSC) and Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems (SPMS). The analysis reveals that isolated indicators are inaccurate and imprecise, limiting their application to organizations with delimited, specific measurements of parts of CSP due to the risk of a GIGO-effect (i.e. low-quality input will always produce low-quality output). CSP-indicator frameworks are imprecise but accurate, making them applicable to organizations that handle a more significant amount of CSP data. They have a risk of greensplashing, i.e. many indicators not connected to the industry, organization or strategy. In contrast, SBSCs are precise but inaccurate and valuable for organizations desiring a comprehensive strategic management tool with limited capacity to handle sustainability issues. They pose a risk of the streetlight effect, where organisations do not measure relevant indicators but what is easy to measure. Originality/value The ideal CSP-measurement was identified as SPMSs, which are both precise and accurate. SPMSs are useful for organizations with complex, comprehensive, connected and tailored indicators but are methodologically challenging.

A multi-criteria model for measuring the sustainability orientation of Italian water utilities

This article investigates the influence of socioeconomic context and stakeholder pressure on water utilities' sustainability performance and disclosure. The Urban Water Cycle Services (UWCS) framework has been adapted to the Italian context and integrated with a social equity variable, which enhances the framework's ability to account for the distinctive characteristics and mission of water utilities in measuring sustainability performance. The sample comprises 17 Italian utilities providing water services that released a sustainability report in 2021. The results show that the socioeconomic context and stakeholder pressure influence how water utilities align with economic, environmental, and social sustainability goals. Listed multi-utility companies are strongly influenced by private shareholders, pushing them towards financial sustainability, while small public water utilities are more sensitive to the needs of their disadvantaged users, especially in low-income contexts. The findings of the study have interesting theoretical, managerial and policy implications.

Comprehensive literature review on stakeholder prospects, responsibilities, and quality performance measurement in sustainable supply chain governance

The sustainable Governance of supply chains has become essential for businesses trying to balance economic success and ecological and ethical imperatives in an era of increased environmental awareness and social responsibility. Many stakeholders are pressuring companies to integrate sustainability into their supply chains as environmental degradation and social inequality worsen. Therefore, it is essential to include non-traditional supply chain stakeholders, such as competitors and non-governmental organizations, in supply chain operations to produce an SSCG. This comprehensive literature review synthesizes and examines the current body of information on stakeholder prospects, responsibilities, and measuring quality performance in sustainable supply chain governance. Therefore, this study's primary objective is to clearly show how SSC practices are related to stakeholder roles and responsibilities. A thorough literature examination was conducted, and 40 peer-reviewed journal publications from 2019 to 2023 were included. In this work, expectations, as stated in scholarly literature, are methodically categorized, and any gaps are reviewed critically. A reasonable explanation for stakeholders' discontent with the sustainability performance measurement and evaluation methods used nowadays is that, as the literature review demonstrates, stakeholder expectations have yet to be considered. The findings indicate that many external and internal supply chain stakeholders drive, enable, or check the application of sustainable supply chain Governance techniques.While governments and non-governmental organizations are essential drivers of sustainable supply chain Governance techniques, research can also help with their implementation. Furthermore, proactive interaction with external supply chain stakeholders improves organizational learning by boosting understanding and awareness of sustainability and developing knowledge.

Leagile supply chains and sustainable business performance: application of total interpretive structural modelling

This study aims to develop an integrated model for the leagile (lean + agile) supply chain strategy to achieve sustainable business performance across the triple bottom line, including economic, environmental, and social performance. We draw upon a literature review and experts’ opinion, using total interpretive structural modelling (TISM), to determine interrelationships among leagile supply chain practices and sustainable business performance measures. To this end, first, unique and common practices of lean and agile supply chain strategies, i.e. leagile building blocks, are identified through a synthesis of the literature. Second, semi-structured interviews with four experts are conducted to gain an understanding of the mutual relationships among the leagile building blocks and to meticulously adjudicate their interactions with sustainable business performance measures. Validated by two independent researchers and literature enfolding, the final TISM model provides a 10-level hierarchical representation of the leagile supply chain strategy for sustainable business performance.

Sustainable performance measurement through digital transformation within the sustainable development framework: The mediating effect of supply chain concentration

AbstractThis study establishes a conceptual framework, “digital transformation – supply chain concentration – sustainable performance”, to address the existing knowledge gap and elucidate the nuanced connections between digital transformation, supply chain concentration, and sustainable performance. Indeed, the existing body of literature does not offer detailed analyses of the pathways and effects concerning the interplay among the three dimensions within the sustainable development framework. The model's foundation is rooted in stakeholder theory. By examining a sample of 3947 listed Chinese firms, this study's results highlight a noteworthy link between digital transformation and enhanced sustainable performance, assessed through the triple bottom line framework, thus helping to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs), such as the eighth and ninth SDGs. This improvement is attributed to reducing supply chain concentration and promoting a diversified supply chain configuration. Furthermore, the correlation between digital transformation and sustainable performance settings demonstrates significant heterogeneity. This study enhances stakeholder theory by demonstrating that digital transformation and supply chain concentration contribute to sustainable performance, supporting the eighth and ninth SDGs and offering managers a pathway for sustainable development. It also calls for policies that promote digital transformation and diversified supply chains to improve societal welfare and sustainability practices.

A Need for Standardized Approaches to Manage Sustainability Strategically

This study aims to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with measuring and assessing sustainability impacts and investigate digitalization’s role in addressing these challenges. The study gathers stakeholders’ perspectives on strategically managing sustainability and employs a qualitative research approach, utilizing semi-structured face-to-face interviews with seven industry participants. The findings reveal that the measurement and assessment of sustainability impacts pose significant challenges due to the lack of standardized approaches and the diversity of evaluation methods. Companies have started to address these challenges by applying digitalization to standardize and streamline sustainability measures. Digital platforms and technologies are being developed to collect, analyze, and report sustainability data, providing a foundation for reliable and comprehensive sustainability reporting. This study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the need for standardized approaches and digital platforms for measuring and assessing sustainability impacts. The findings emphasize the importance of integrating sustainability into corporate strategies, as well as the role of digitalization in enabling companies to focus strategically on the most important societal goals. The study also underscores the need for clear definitional parameters and accurate measurement of sustainability performance. Overall, this research highlights the potential of digitalization in driving meaningful change and promoting sustainability in economic, environmental, and social domains.

Improvement of the sustainable performance in a textile company using the lean-green methodology

The textile industry represents one of the greatest threats to the environment. It is the second most polluting industry, generating hazards with its solid waste, gas emissions, water pollution, among others. The objective of this research was to assess the effects of the implementation of the Lean Green methodology within the textile industry to optimize the sustainable performance of the companies and to address the problems of the sector mentioned above. The case study selected was the dyeing area of a Peruvian textile company where the Lean Green methodology was implemented in a sequential design of six phases to then evaluate its effects on sustainable performance. The findings show that the implementation of the proposed model improves water consumption by 18% and electricity consumption by 43%, which has a positive economic impact. Not only in the environmental area, there is also a 120% increase in productivity. The value of this proposal lies in the fact that it can be replicated in other companies in the sector, both locally and regionally. It was also proposed to include the operational criterion in the measurement of sustainable performance for a better dimensioning of the improvement.

Measuring Sustainability Performance in Non-profit Organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Measuring Sustainability Performance in Non-profit Organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Corporate sustainable development performance through top management team's transactive memory system and organizational resilience: A moderated mediation analysis

Addressing the measurement of corporate sustainable development performance (SDP) in economic, social, and environmental dimensions is a pressing global challenge. This study investigates the intrinsic impact mechanisms of the top management team's transactive memory system (TMT TMS) on SDP within Chinese manufacturing firms. It extends the analysis by introducing opportunity alertness (OA) as a moderating variable and organizational resilience (OR) as a mediating variable. Notably, OA was found to have a moderating mediation effect on the TMT TMS-OR-SDP pathway. Data from 294 executives was collected through non-probability convenience sampling. Initially, exploratory factor analysis was conducted utilizing SPSS; confirmatory factor analysis was performed with the aid of AMOS. Additionally, hierarchical regression and the SPSS PROCESS macro were employed to test the hypothesized models and paths of influence. The results illuminate the positive impact of TMT TMS on SDP through the enhancement of OR, a relationship further strengthened by OA. This study adds to the theoretical understanding and offers practical insights for optimizing TMT TMS and OA to achieve corporate sustainable development.

User-Centered Development of an Online Dashboard Tool for Economic Sustainability for Small and Medium Enterprises

This study aimed to improve an existing static benchmarking tool for the economic sustainability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the wine sector to develop and elevate it into a dynamic online dashboard decision support system (DSS) for economic sustainability. Development was conducted in line with a user-centered-development process in four main steps. In the first step, producers’ expectations for an optimal tool were elicited using a qualitative approach of 24 in-depth interviews with long-term users of the existing PDF reports. Among the 10 requirements, producers requested an overall summary assessment of the most important KPIs of their business (including the provision of ideal values), intuitive visual presentations, long-term time developments, flexible reference groups, and short comments. Based on the wine producers’ systemized responses, the first version of the online benchmarking tool was designed and implemented in cooperation with experienced online designers and programmers. In the third step, a usability test was conducted to elicit options for further improvements that were implemented before the fourth step, the release of the final version to the industry. The systematic development process outlined and established here and the released DSS tool that is publicly available with open access provide valuable insights for institutions planning similar future dashboards for other sectors, particularly for SMEs. This constitutes an important step toward the development of more holistic support tools for sustainability performance measurement across all pillars of sustainability moving forward. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the DSS developed represents the first online dashboard tool for economic sustainability for SMEs globally and in the wine sector.

ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY COMPLIANCE PERFORMANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES

Today, the concept of sustainability is becoming increasingly important and a strategic priority for businesses. Measuring the sustainability performance of companies operating in the IT sector, which is experiencing rapid digital transformation, is of great importance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the sustainability compliance of companies listed on the BIST Information Technology Index using Entropy-based Grey Relational Analysis. Objectively measuring sustainability performance will facilitate decision-making for both companies and investors. In this study, weights of predetermined sustainability criteria are first calculated using the Entropy method. Then, Grey Relational Analysis is applied to analyze companies' sustainability performance and obtain rankings. According to both the raw scores and the results of the Grey Relational Analysis, Logo, Kafein and Alcatel companies were identified as the companies with the highest performance. The consistency of these results shows the validity of the applied method.

Sustainable Performance Measurement in Public Sectors - A Systematic Literature Review

This paper provides a systematic review of the literature on how sustainable performance is measured and reported in the public sector. Analyzing 22 studies published in a period of 5 years (from 2017 to 2021), the author addresses two simple but meaningful questions: How is the recent stream of literature on environment sustainability reported on in the public sector? And, what are the common measurement methods for the phenomenon? The findings indicate that public organizations mostly choose to adopt the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to report their sustainable or environmental performance; and given the crucial role, researches on environmental and sustainable performance of public sectors are still much lagging behind compared to the private sectors. The author also proposes several insights for public organizational performance improvement.

Sustainability performance efficiency in the banking sector

Traditional sustainability reporting is based on an internally developed methodology and does not fully cope with the sustainability performance evaluation, especially from an external perspective. This study aims to fill this gap by offering a tool that may be used to assess the company’s performance based on the results presented to external users. For this purpose, a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) is proposed, that enables a comparison of the sustainability performance disclosed in non-financial reports in the banking industry in Poland, Croatia, and Romania. The findings of our study identify differences between the efficiency of sustainability performance in the banking sectors of all three countries. The proposed approach to compare hard-to-compare sustainability performance may significantly contribute to the decision-making process for stakeholders and, therefore, to the advancement of sustainability performance measurement research.

A hierarchical component model for sustainable performance measurement of maintenance practices: A fourth-order PLS-SEM approach

Despite the growing recognition of the significant role played by effective maintenance practices in pursuing sustainability goals, a rigorous and validated method to assess and monitor its activities’ impacts on the triple-bottom-line is still lacking. To address this gap, this paper proposes a fourth-order Hierarchical Component Model (HCM) for sustainable performance measurement of maintenance practices based on PLS-SEM approach. To validate the model, Oil & Gas industry is surveyed, where a total of 207 responses are obtained from maintenance experts in the Gulf region. The results of the study support the indicators’ reliability as well as the first-order constructs’ internal consistency, convergent validity and discriminant validity. An embedded multistage approach for the higher-order constructs measurement models evaluation reveals that they exhibit satisfactory levels of quality. The structural model evaluation supports the significance of the hypothesized paths, a strong degree of predictive relevance, and the hypothesized mediation relationships proved significant. Finally, the total effect analysis demonstrates that “Energy Use” has the highest effect among first-order variables followed by “Material use”, ‘Costs & Returns”, “Emission & Pollution”, and “Effluents & Waste”. Furthermore, “Energy Use” related indicators have the highest weights among all indicators. This study provides empirical evidence on the causal background of the proposed model’s implicated elements on sustainable performance of maintenance. The findings offer guidance to practitioners in this area and useful insights to decision-makers, as it enables them to determine the inherent impacts of the model components on the overall performance and allocate resources efficiently to increase the maintenance sustainability level.

Integrated Model of Lean and Risk Mitigation for Sustainability Performance Measurement in the Lubricants Manufacturing Industry

Green companies are needed for manufacturing related to maintaining the business. Evaluating sustainability performance in manufacturing processes and proposing strategies for sustainable growth is important. This study measures the performance of manufacturing sustainability in the lubricating oil industry sector. Several previous studies on measuring sustainable manufacturing performance only considered lean and green aspects. This study fills the existing gap by adding a risk perspective in measurement. Several suggestions for improvement analyzed from measurements of sustainability performance and risk mitigation, are validated using the BORDA. The lean and green philosophy is applied with the Sustainable Value Stream Mapping approach. Meanwhile, risk mitigation is analyzed using the House of Risk approach. The results of the assessment of sustainability performance measurements are analyzed using the efficiency approach and BORDA for weighting. This research is expected to be able to provide suggestions for improvements for manufacturing that are efficient and feasible to implement. So that high sustainability performance can be achieved with low risk.

Lifecycle Analysis of Green Roofs in the Mediterranean Climate

Buildings account for a significant amount of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Electricity and fossil fuels are currently the primary sources of energy used for cooling and heating buildings, depending on the climate and location. Both energy sources are responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast, plants and vegetation absorb carbon dioxide and, thus, improve the quality of air. This effect indirectly influences climate change to lower energy demands and produce additional emissions due to rising energy consumption trends. Plants also reduce the ambient temperature by providing shade on roof surfaces. Hence, the large-scale deployment of green roofs reduces energy consumption, emissions, and costs. However, green roofs also impact the overall weight of a building and require additional construction costs. Therefore, the contribution of green roofs to the various structural and thermal performances of buildings varies for extensive intensive or semi-intensive systems. These interactions warranted a lifecycle analysis to optimize the extent of green roof applications. This approach highlighted sustainability performance measures, including energy, emissions, water, and waste. The presented study addressed a lifecycle analysis of green roof deployment during a hot summer in a Mediterranean climate zone. This climate applies to many areas that benefit from warming temperatures without extreme needs for cooling or heating. The emphasis on comparing two towns within the same climate zone facilitated a more detail-oriented approach to the lifecycle analysis. The results illustrated the energy consumption and associated release of greenhouse gas emissions related to structural and roofing materials and thermal operations throughout the service life of a building. The conclusions assessed the challenges and opportunities of green roof applications on new and existing buildings.

Preliminary Framework of Lean Healthcare Sustainability Performance Measurement for Health Sector

Introduction: Lean sustainability has gained prominence in the health sector for operational and business advantages. However, understanding the link between lean and healthcare sustainability, especially in social and environmental aspects, remains limited. This study introduces a preliminary framework for measuring lean healthcare sustainability in hospitals. The framework aligns Critical Success Factors (CSFs) with sustainability objectives and business strategies to ensure successful and enduring lean deployment. Methods: The study was conducted among 52 Lean Agile Hospitals in Malaysia using a cross-sectional approach. The validated questionnaire was employed for data collection. A reliability test and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) were also performed to assess and validate the framework using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Results: The content validation was 0.9, which indicates that the instrument is sufficient to measure the research objective. The data screening test was performed to eliminate problem observation. The overall reliability value was over 0.830 which depicts data consistency and stability. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin exceeded 0.6, Bartlett’s test was under 0.001 and factor loading was between 0.507 to 0.948, thus indicating a significant correlation matrix among at least some of the variables. Therefore, the latent factors were significant to specific items of the research. Conclusion: It is concluded that important CSF is aligned with the strategic level influence of lean deployment in healthcare, which has a specific impact on certain sustainability performance. Thus, this paper proposed a generic preliminary framework to measure lean healthcare sustainability.

A modified distance friction minimization model with optimistic–pessimistic target orientation for OECD sustainable performance measurement

A modified distance friction minimization model with optimistic–pessimistic target orientation for OECD sustainable performance measurement

Measuring sustainable ergonomics: A hybrid multi‐criteria perspective on ergonomics indicators

AbstractDecision making process comprises complexity due to holistically managed requirements. Since this process has diverse effects on stakeholders as decision makers, undoubtedly, the decisions become more significant for organizations having critical decisions in today's globalized sustainable world. If these decisions influence not only providing human well‐being but also improving the quality of working life through measuring the performance of business processes, their results should be monitored more systematically. Through this viewpoint, in this paper, the applicability of ergonomics indicators, as the fundamental part of a systematic approach integrating ergonomics and sustainability to monitor and evaluate processes of organizations, is queried within a hybrid multi‐criteria perspective, including five evaluation criteria consolidated for this paper, through a designed survey by asking practitioners as potential users of such an approach. The used methods, that is, BWM and PROMETHEE, enable presenting a base study to decide which ergonomics indicators are necessary for developing a systematic approach, indicating the prioritization of these indicators to be used as candidates for the approach. Results show that 15 ergonomics indicators can be candidates for facilitating sustainable process performance measurement in ergonomics. Importantly, this paper proposes guidance in making decisions for achieving well‐managed processes in organizations through ergonomics indicators evaluated on a hybrid multi‐criteria perspective.

A systematic literature review: Setting a basis for smart and sustainable city performance measurement

AbstractThe growing amount of data and the inventive solutions that arise from it create opportunities to construct and manage smart sustainable cities. Before attempting to establish appropriate solutions in this regard, it is crucial to clearly grasp what smart and sustainable cities are and the aspects around which they are built. The purpose of this study is to critically analyze and evaluate the studies that have been conducted on smart and/or sustainable cities and to provide a basis for the measurement of smartness and sustainability of cities. In this context, using Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology, the smart city, sustainable city, and smart sustainable city concepts are firstly defined. After that, the indicators for the assessment of the smartness and sustainability of cities and the selection processes of these indicators are analyzed. According to the analysis, the studies were grouped based on the use of (i) selection criteria, (ii) selection methods/tools, and (iii) models used and 14 criteria were deduced from the literature for the evaluation of performance assessment indicators: measurability, availability, completeness, relevance, independence, reliability, currency, responsiveness, simplicity, representativeness, cost‐effectiveness, consistency, comparability, and consensus. This study aims to support other studies and applications of authorities on creating and assessing a smart and sustainable city (i.e., the indicators) that want to join the 2030 Agenda but face problems regarding their cities' specific conditions. The first step towards creating a smart sustainable city can be taken by determining the most suitable indicators for the city.