The impact of the current food system on the climate crisis challenges its actors to takeactions towards sustainability. The increasing pressure in transforming the food system requires changes at the organisational level, which sparks research interest in understanding what factors influence the integration and strengthening of sustainability in food-producing companies. This study aims to explore the organisational change process of sustainability implementation and the influence of organisational and external factors. This thesis should contribute to the field of research by analysing food-producing companies on their sustainability transition to conclude what factors drive the sustainability integration and strengthening in their organisations. Reflections on organisational change management and corporate sustainability lay the theoretical foundation for this thesis. The research follows a qualitative methodology that explores change drivers for sustainability change by conducting semi-structured interviews with six sustainability professionals. A thematic analysis of the data highlights the different approaches to sustainability of the organisations. The findings are summarised in a sustainability change framework presenting influencing factors on organisations’ sustainability transition and key drivers for sustainability change. The key findings indicate that a sustainability-oriented culture, passionate leadership, long-term commitment to sustainability, sustainability training and education, collaborative communication, sustainability measurements, the inclusion of sustainability in daily work, and a sustainable and professional brand are the key drivers to sustainability integration and strengthening.

In a world of growing environmental concern, financial markets are increasingly investing their capital in the transition towards a more sustainable economy. Government initiatives, such as the 2019 European Green Deal, support this shift by aiming to further steer capital flows in this direction. This thesis explored what motivational factors drive the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns in private equity firms which implement a buyout strategy and operate in Sweden. Additionally, this thesis sought to highlight what influence the regulatory environment has on this integration. The data was collected by interviewing representatives from seven private equityfirms and utilising a secondary data analysis of their company reports. The results showed a high degree of sustainability integration in the private equity industry. The analysis further revealed that while intrinsic motivators, predominantly emerging from partners' beliefs, are the primary drivers for some private equity firms, the majority are influenced by extrinsic motivators, with investor demand being the predominant factor. Additionally, we could identify the emergence of industry standards through governmental and non-governmental frameworks. From a practical standpoint, the thesis highlights the necessity of integrating sustainability to maintain legitimacy in the market and secure continuous funding.

Bakgrund: Hållbarhet har fått en ökad betydelse i dagens samhälle och det blir allt viktigare för organisationer tar beslut som bidrar till en ökad nytta för samhället, både socialt och miljömässigt. Den pågående Covid-19 pandemin har medfört nya förutsättningar för företag och många har behövt tillta åtgärder för att anpassa sig till denna mer ostabila omgivning. Ett sätt för företag att leda medarbetare i den riktning organisationen önskar gå är genom effektiva styrnings- och kontrollsystem. Tidigare forskning indikerar på att det finns en avsaknad av studier som fokuserar på integrationen av hållbarhet i ekonomistyrningen under en kris. Därmed är det av intresse att studera hur integrationen av social och miljömässig i ekonomistyrningen påverkas av en kris.  Syfte: Studien har för avsikt att öka förståelsen för hur integrationen av social och miljömässig hållbarhet i företags ekonomistyrning har påverkats av en kris. I denna studie utgörs krisen av den pågående covid-19 pandemin.  Metod: Denna studie är en kvalitativ tvärsnittsstudie med en realistisk inriktning och en abduktiv ansats. Studiens empiri har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex respondenter från företag i olika branscher samt genom dokumentstudier.  Resultat: Studien resultat påvisar att företag använder sig av både formella och informella styrmedel för att integrera social och miljömässig hållbarhet i ekonomistyrningen. Det empiriska materialet och analysen indikerar på att företagen inte har förändrat integrationen av social och miljömässig hållbarhet under denna kris. En redan starkt förankrad integrering och fortsatt lönsamhet är de mest framträdande anledningarna till att företagen har varit motståndskraftiga mot de eventuella förändringar som covid-19 pandemin hade kunnat resultera i. / Purpose: The study aims to contribute to a better understanding of how the integration of social and environmental sustainability in companies' management control is affected by a crisis. In this study, the crisis is the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.  Background: Sustainability has become increasingly important in today’s society and it is becoming more important for organizations to make decisions that contribute to increased benefits for the society, both socially and environmentally. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has created a new environment for companies, and they have needed to take measures to adapt to this more unstable environment. A way for companies to lead employees in the direction the organization wishes to go is through the use of effective management control systems. Previous research indicates that there is a lack of studies regarding integration of sustainability in management control systems during a crisis. Therefore, it is of interest to study how the integration of social and environmental sustainability in management control systems is affected by a crisis.  Methodology: This cross-sectional study has a qualitative approach based on a realistic perspective. The empirical data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with six respondents from companies in different industries and as well by studying different documents.  Result: The result of the study show that companies use both formal and informal control to integrate social and environmental sustainability in their management control systems. The empirical material and the analysis indicate that companies have not changed their integration of social and environmental sustainability during this crisis. An already strong integration and continued profitability are the most prominent reasons as to why the covid- 19 pandemic has not affected the integration.