As corporations have attained an increasing focus in the sustainability debate, so have the expectations of their sustainability performance. Rather than having a sole focus on an ad hoc mix of philanthropic actions, researchers now begin to call for businesses to recognize their role in broader societal sustainability challenges. This paper aims to explore the perceived drivers and barriers of corporate sustainability (CS) when a company seeks to take a societal perspective on its contributions to sustainable development. A case study has been conducted on a management consultancy firm to address this, with empirical data stemming from semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. A systematic literature review was furthermore carried out to study the drivers and barriers identified in prior research, thus obtaining a methodological triangulation. The data was moreover analyzed with theoretical underpinnings from the field of transition management (TM). In doing so, it was possible to begin closing the gap between previous research on the drivers and barriers of CS and those that emerge when moving beyond traditional CS efforts. More specifically, a business transition management (BTM) framework was discussed in relation to the results from the case company, trying to assess whether the elements included align with the identified drivers; and to discuss whether the strategies within could combat the perceived barriers. When analyzing the empirical data and comparing it with the findings from the literature review, many similarities could be found. Client expectations, leadership, organizational culture, and communication were all essential aspects within the case company, and so were they in the literature review, thus, validating much of the findings in previous literature. A key difference, however, appears to be the complexities associated with these when taking a wider, societal perspective on sustainability. Relating this perspective to the activities carried out by employees is perceived to be difficult, and the business case is not fully recognized. It was suggested that aspects from the BTM framework could be utilized to combat the barriers associated with increasing complexities, such as the empowerment of visionary employees with a deeper insight into the complexities in question. The findings of this research endeavor have been complied in a proposed model to widening the perspective of CS efforts. Albeit not definite in its construct, it nonetheless begins to reflect on the interlinkages between TM and previous research on CS drivers and barriers. Additional drivers and barriers can be identified, and the differences between traditional CS initiatives and those that embrace a societal perspective should be further clarified. Still, this model provides a good starting point for further research on this phenomenon. / Allteftersom företag har fått en större roll i hållbarhetsdebatten så har också förväntningarna på deras hållbarhetsarbete ökat. I stället för att enbart fokusera på en ad hoc-blandning av filantropiska åtgärder– såsom slumpmässigt utvalda donationer, marknadsföring och svag hållbarhetsrapportering – börjar forskare nu uppmana företag att erkänna sin roll i bredare samhällsutmaningar för hållbarhet. Denna uppsats syftar till att utforska de upplevda drivkrafterna och barriärerna när ett företag försöker ta ett samhällsperspektiv på deras bidrag till hållbar utveckling. En fallstudie har genomförts på ett konsultföretag för att undersöka detta, med empiriska data från intervjuer och ett frågeformulär. En systematisk litteraturgranskning genomfördes dessutom för att studera de drivkrafter och barriärer som identifierats i tidigare forskning vilket medförde att metodologisk triangulering kunde uppnås. Vidare så analyserades empirin med underlag från Transition Management (TM). På så sätt kunde klyftan mellan dessa forskningsområden börja överbryggas. Mer specifikt så diskuterades ett ramverk för Business Transition Management (BTM) i förhållande till resultaten från fallföretaget, för att därigenom bedöma om detta överensstämmer med de identifierade drivkrafterna och för att diskutera om strategierna inom det ramverket skulle kunna bekämpa de upplevda hindren. Vid analysen av empirin så uppvisas många likheter med de drivande faktorerna och barriärerna som kan identifieras i litteraturöversikten. Kundernas förväntningar, ledarskap, organisationskultur och kommunikation visade sig vara viktiga aspekter inom fallföretaget, vilket de också var i litteraturgranskningen. Således valideras mycket av resultaten i tidigare litteratur. En skillnad verkar emellertid vara komplexiteten i samband med dessa när man tar ett bredare samhällsperspektiv på hållbarhet. Att relatera detta perspektiv till de anställdas projekt upplevs som svårt, och affärsmöjligheten med detta är ännu inte helt erkänt. Aspekter från BTM-ramverket antyds kunna användas för att bekämpa de hinder som är förknippade med den ökande komplexiteten, såsom att framhäva visionärer inom företaget. Slutsatserna av denna forskningsinsats har sammanställts i en föreslagen modell, där övergången till ett bredare hållbarhetsperspektiv presenteras. Trots att modellen i sig inte är vetenskapligt beprövad ännu, så bidrar den ändock med en reflektion kring sammanlänkningarna mellan TM och tidigare forskning om hållbarhetsarbetens drivande faktorer och barriärer. Ytterligare drivkrafter och barriärer kan identifieras, och skillnaderna mellan traditionella hållbarhetsinitiativ och de som omfattar ett samhällsperspektiv bör klargöras ytterligare. Trots detta så ger denna modell en bra utgångspunkt för ytterligare forskning om det undersökta fenomenet.

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Increasingly, firms like Patagonia, IKEA, General Mills, or Barilla actively seek to understand their interdependence with nature, build innovative capabilities, and generate more radical shifts toward sustainability. This creates exciting opportunities to investigate exactly how these companies obtain knowledge about ecosystem dynamics and processes and how they use it both to cope with climate change or declining ecosystem resilience and contribute to maintain or even strengthen ecosystems. Despite the considerable potential to advance research on organizational strategy and corporate sustainability, the notion of ‘ecological knowledge’ has yet to enter the scholarly work of management and business organization in a substantive manner. At present, we know almost nothing about the processes, mechanisms, and routines that enable an organization to, first, recognize the value of such knowledge and to, then, systematically access, co-create, integrate and utilize such knowledge into its broader knowledge and resource base. My dissertation attempts to fill this gap and opens up new directions for research on the role of ecological knowledge in corporate sustainability management. More specifically, I ask: What are the processes through which organizations can effectively access, co-create, integrate and utilize ecological knowledge with current organizational knowledge and strategies? I link strategic and organization-focused concepts of knowledge and the perspective of absorptive capacity with the notion of ecological knowledge from modern ecology, especially from the social-ecological systems literature, to shed light on the processes through which organizations can effectively access, co-create, integrate and utilize new ecological knowledge into their operational and strategic decision making. I adopt a qualitative, emergent, and inductive strategy drawing on a grounded research approach to gain an in-depth, cross-validated, and processual understanding of the mechanisms through which organizations can promote and enhance ecosystem health including biodiversity. I undertook my study on the organic agriculture sector, a sub-sector of the modern agriculture and agri-food industry. I collected data from nineteen agriculture and agri-food organizations based in British Columbia (BC), the westernmost province of Canada, using multiple data sources including in-depth interviews, observations, company documents, reports, newspaper articles and field reports. Based on my analysis, I develop a grounded theory about the processes through which organizations can successfully deepen their ecological knowledge and then utilize this knowledge to more sustainably manage their relationships with nature and contribute to protecting or even strengthening ecosystem functionality. With my dissertation, I address the call from scholars in Organization and the Natural Environment (ONE) and Corporate Sustainability for more transdisciplinary cross-fertilization as an essential approach to building compelling new theory and models in the field. First, my analysis offers a more fine-grained understanding of the types, components, dimensions, and characteristics of ecological knowledge. Second, my analysis uncovers a micro-level account of the processes by which individuals as critical actors identify, evaluate and make sense of the organization-environment interrelationships across various scales of time and space. I also identify the multiple personal characteristics of individual actors that influence these processes in various stages and circumstances. Third, my study offers insights into the factors that can strengthen an organization’s relational capacity to build mutual trust and collaboration with holders of ecological knowledge. Fourth, it sheds light on how firms engage with and motivate multiple community stakeholders in building a collaborative process of mutual learning, knowledge sharing, and knowledge co-creation to build joint capacity for coping successfully with many complex challenges of sustainability, thus contributing to the wellbeing of the entire social-ecological system. Collectively, these contributions provide a deeper and more holistic understanding of the processes of acquiring and co-creating ecological knowledge that can allow an organization to transition successfully towards greater ecological sustainability. My dissertation also offers numerous practically relevant insights for businesses facing the challenges of economic, social and environmental sustainability, as well as specific guidance on how companies can protect or enhance their supply of natural capital and contribute toward greater stability of the broader human-nature systems in which they are embedded. / Graduate / 2023-11-15

The text discusses the Framework for the Implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDD) proposed by the European Union. The directive, aligned with UN and OECD guidelines, imposes obligations on companies to ensure respect for human rights and the environment. The due diligence obligation involves identifying and addressing the negative impacts of business activities, establishing internal complaint mechanisms, and publicly communicating efforts. The directive emphasizes integrating these activities into corporate policies and strategic decisions throughout the value chain. Companies must assess and address negative impacts in their supply chains, with measures tailored to the severity, likelihood, size, resources, and capabilities of the undertaking. The text highlights the complexity of sustainability as a long-term, multifaceted process, calling for collective responsibility from various stakeholders to navigate challenges in ecological and digital transitions, social inclusion, and energy and food security.

Human rights universality has been questioned due to the lack of accountability in both international human rights law and States’ domestic laws when companies violate human rights. In response, the European Commission has proposed a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CS3D), which imposes obligations on companies to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for human rights impacts. The aim of this study is to examine whether the credibility of human rights universality, as defined by Jack Donnelly, is strengthened by the implications of the CS3D. The study also analyzes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which the CS3D refers to when defining human rights impacts, and explores the legal implications of this on Swedish domestic law and international human rights law. This study uses a legal dogmatic and legal analysis method to interpret the implications of the CS3D. Throughout the study, a fictional Swedish company and its subsidiary in China are used as examples to illustrate the legal and international implications of the CS3D. The results of this study suggest that the implications of the CS3D contribute to strengthening the credibility of human rights universality, as it addresses the legal gap of accountability in both international human rights law and domestic laws of EU Member States. However, the CS3D could also be perceived as coercive on third States and their natural and legal persons, which may potentially undermine the credibility of human rights universality in the future.

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Purpose - The purpose of the current study was to gain a broader understanding of corporate sustainability strategy formulation and implementation in multi-business organizations. Specifically, regarding how to succeed with efficiency, alignment and consensus across strategic levels. Method - The study was conducted through a single case study in a multi-business organization operating in the defense sector globally. A qualitative method with 18 semi-structured interviews to collect data was used to gain a broad contextual understanding of the research questions. The data was inductively analyzed through thematic analysis. Findings - The primary findings of the study are 18 themes of drivers and challenges for successfully formulating and implementing corporate sustainability strategies in multi-business organizations. Considering the drivers and challenges, distinctions between the strategic levels were outlined, and predominantly indicated that the role of the corporate level enables the success. Additionally, a visual understanding of four contradictions that needs to be managed by the corporate level was provided - autonomy and compliance, cooperation and competition, exploitation and exploration, communication bottom-up and top-down. Theoretical and practical implications - The study has contributed theoretically by increasing the knowledge regarding drivers and challenges for formulation and implementation of corporate sustainability strategies in multi-business organizations. Further, the study contributes with managerial support by illustrating distinctions of the key drivers and challenges between the strategic levels, and by visualizing the strategic contradictions that needs to be balanced by the corporate level, to manage corporate sustainability strategies in multi-business organizations successfully. Limitations & Future research - The research concerned the strategic management process, with a focus on the internal organization, whereas the findings revealed the significance of incorporating an external perspective. Thus, future research could further investigate the exchange with external stakeholders. Moreover, this research was limited by being a single case study, and in future research it would be interesting to investigate other industries. / Syfte – Syftet med den här studien var att öka förståelsen kring formulering och implementering av hållbarhetsstrategier i fler-företagsorganisationer. Specifikt gällande hur man lyckas med effektivitet, en gemensam inriktning och konsensus, genom de strategiska nivåerna av ett sådant företag. Metod – Studien har genomförts som en fallstudie på en fler-företagsorganisation inom försvarsindustrin, som finns globalt över hela världen. En kvalitativ metod med 18 semi-strukturerade intervjuer för att samla in data användes för att öka den kontextuella förståelsen av forskningsfrågorna. Den insamlade informationen var sedan induktivt analyserad genom tematisk analys. Resultat – Resultatet av studien var primärt 18 teman av drivkrafter och utmaningar för att framgångsrikt lyckas med hållbarhetsstrategier i fler-företagsorganisationer. Gällande drivkrafterna och utmaningarna har också skillnader mellan de strategiska nivåerna blivit överskådliga, vilka tydligt visar på att företagsnivån spelar den mest avgörande rollen för att lyckas. Dessutom har en visuell förståelse för fyra strategiska motsägelser som behöver hanteras av företagsnivån blivit tillhandahållen – autonomi och efterlevnad, samarbete och tävlan, kortsiktighet och långsiktighet, kommunikation nerifrån-och-upp och uppifrån-och-ner.  Teoretiskt och praktiskt bidrag – Studien har bidragit teoretiskt genom att öka kunskapen kring drivkrafter och utmaningar för formulering och implementering av hållbarhetsstrategier i fler-företagsorganisationer. Vidare bidrar studien med praktiskt stöd genom att illustrera skillnader mellan de framträdande drivkrafterna och utmaningarna mellan dom strategiska nivåerna, och genom att visualisera de strategiska motsägelserna som behöver balanseras av företagsnivån, för att lyckas med hållbarhetsstrategier i fler-företagsorganisationer. Begränsningar och framtida forskning – Studien hade ett fokus på den interna organisationen gällande den strategiska lednings processen, men resultatet visade på att ett externt perspektiv också är högst relevant. Så, framtida forskning skulle vidare kunna undersöka utbytet med externa intressenter. Dessutom så har den här studien blivit begränsad av att vara en fallstudie på endast ett företag, framtida forskning skulle kunna vidare undersöka andra industrier.

Because of global warming, companies have started to tackle sustainability issues within their operations, but major uncertainties exist on how to establish a quantitative baseline of the current environmental performance of companies. Numerous investigations have been made to assess the carbon footprint of companies with a variety of methods, tools and strategies. However, the lack of transparency in the methods used and the assumptions made could prevent companies to replicate methods and to analyse the results. Because of this, we will investigate how participatory modelling could be used to create a model of the carbon emissions of a company, but also how this method enables the company to understand the methods used and the results from the investigation. By doing this, we also aim to clarify how the process could be set up, which stakeholders that need to be involved and what data sources that could be used. The thesis was conducted as a single case study at a manufacturing company named DeLaval. A participatory modelling process with three major phases was carried out according to proposed methodologies in previous research. In the first phase, a conceptual model of the system accounting for the emissions was created. In the second phase, a quantitative model of the system was developed by gathering data and validating the calculation methodologies with operational stakeholders within the company. In the third phase, the results were verified, and the company could set up sustainability targets based on the findings. The outcomes of the case study showed that there are major benefits with applying participatory modelling because different perspectives throughout the organisation could be gathered efficiently to create a representable model of the company. The modelling strategy had more benefits in organisational areas characterised by high complexity with numerous of different stakeholders with different roles or by geographical distribution. To create the model, primary data consisting of master product data and transactional data was used, together with secondary data, consisting of carbon emission coefficients and gap filling data created by the modellers. By basing the calculations on the methodology set up by the GHG protocol and anchoring the root definition of the system with strategic stakeholders, the results were trusted by the organisation. / På grund av den globala uppvärmningen har företag börjat att hantera hållbarhetsutmaningar inom sin verksamhet, men stora frågetecken kvarstår gällande hur en kvantifierad bild av företagets nuvarande utsläpp ska beräknas. Flertalet studier har genomförts för att undersöka koldioxidavtrycket på företag, med flertalet olika metoder och verktyg. Metoderna och antaganden som gjorts har dock bristande transparens, vilket hindrar andra företag från att replikera beräkningarna och att göra analyser av resultatet. Baserat på detta kommer denna studie att undersöka hur participativ modellering kan användas för att skapa en modell av koldioxidutsläppen från ett företag, men också hur denna metod underlättar för företaget att förstå metoderna som använts och resultaten från undersökningen. Genom detta ämnar vi att bringa klarhet gällande hur processen kan se ut, vilka intressenter som ska vara delaktiga och vilka datakällor som kan vara användbara. Studien genomfördes som en enkel fallstudie på det producerande företaget DeLaval. En participativ modelleringsprocess med tre faser genomfördes i enlighet med etablerade modelleringsprinciper från tidigare studier. I den första fasen utvecklades en konceptuell modell av systemet för estimering av koldioxidutsläppen. I den andra fasen utvecklades en kvantitativ modell as systemet genom att samla in data och validera beräkningsmetoderna tillsammans med operative intressenter på företaget. I den tredje fasen verifierades resultaten och företaget hade möjlighet att sätta upp hållbarhetsmål baserat på resultatet. Utfallet av fallstudien visar att det finns stora fördelar med att använda participativ modellering eftersom olika perspektiv i organisationen kunde inhämtas på ett effektivt sätt för att skapa en representativ modell av företaget. Modelleringsstrategin hade större fördelar i delar av företaget som karakteriserades av hög komplexitet, med många olika intressenter med olika roller eller av geografisk utspriddhet. För att skapa modellen krävdes primärdata innehållande produktinformation och transaktionsdata samt sekundärdata, innehållande utsläppsfaktorer och överbryggande data skapad av modellerarna. Genom att basera beräkningarna på metodiken skapad av GHG protocol och förankra syftet med systemet tillsammans med strategiska intressenter, skapades en tillit till resultaten inom organisationen.

The theoretical and practical importance of working capital management (Sharma & Kumar, 2011) and its strong link with the firm’s financial stability (Wang et al., 2020, p. 2; Kamel 2015, p. 35) make it one of the most important functional areas of corporate finance. Although literature and the corporate world recognize corporate sustainability mainly through corporate social responsibility (CSR), ESG emerged in the recent past and quickly made its strong footfall as an indicator of corporate sustainability. Literature is evident that studies have mainly focused on studying both working capital management (WCM) and corporate sustainability in relation to firm financial performance (FFP), while scant research has assessed the relationship between WCM and corporate sustainability (Barros et al., 2022, p. 1). The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate sustainability and WCM in the Swedish market to fill this gap in the literature and contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the subject matter through its findings, especially with reference to the use of ESG rating scores.  The relationship was examined through the quantitative approach. Sample data was comprised of 418 firm-year observations retrieved from Refinitiv Eikon on 38 firms listed on Nasdaq Stockholm between 2010-2020. ESG rating scores were used to measure corporate sustainability, while two proxy measures; cash conversion cycle (CCC) and working capital requirements (WCR) were for WCM. Stata software was used to find the results of the study by running the pertinent regression models using robust standard errors. Various statistical tests were performed to satisfy all the OLS classical assumptions. The empirical results of our study revealed mixed findings. The findings connected to CCC indicated no statistically significant relationship between ESG scores and CCC which allowed us to conclude that sustainable firms in Sweden do not operate with a shorter CCC (or cash cycle). The findings connected to WCR indicated a significant negative relationship of WCR with the environmental and social score, however no relationship with ESG and governance scores. These results allowed us to conclude that sustainable firms in Sweden are able to operate with WCR (or cash requirements), however, these effects entirely come from the environmental and social pillars, which indirectly implies more sustainable firms can operate with lower levels of debt than their counterparts. Since we found no significant effect from the ESG scores for both CCC and WCR, our findings were partially in line with the shareholder theory, the stakeholders’ theory, and the legitimacy theory we used as theoretical references in our study. The overall findings of our study allow us to suggest sustainable firms in Sweden reconsider their working capital policy decisions to achieve working capital efficiency (a shorter cash cycle) while staying aligned with their sustainability goals.

Tesis por compendio / [ES] La sostenibilidad es un concepto que se está haciendo extensible a cada vez más ámbitos de nuestra sociedad, estando muy presente en la esfera empresarial a través de la denominada sostenibilidad corporativa. Sin embargo, la capacidad de determinar qué prácticas sostenibles aplicar para poder generar el mayor rendimiento para las compañías todavía se antoja complicado. Esto es debido a que intervienen diferentes variables, como, por ejemplo, el tipo de sector en el que operen las organizaciones y el nivel de desarrollo de prácticas sostenibles aplicadas por los competidores. Es por ello, que, el propósito de esta tesis consiste en el desarrollo de las primeras fases de una teoría que permita a los responsables de las compañías conocer qué tipo de prácticas sostenibles aplicar en función de su organización interna y su posición competitiva. Para ello, inicialmente de desarrolló un análisis de la literatura para identificar las metodologías creadas para ayudar a las organizaciones a integrar la sostenibilidad en su modelo de negocio. Además, se valoró el nivel de aceptación y de uso de dichas metodologías por parte de consultores y directivos de compañías. Posteriormente, se llevó a cabo un detallado estudio del estado del arte sobre la sostenibilidad corporativa que identificó cinco líneas de investigación que se están produciendo actualmente. Estas cinco líneas fueron clasificadas en cinco conceptos que han permitido conocer diferentes tipos de prácticas sostenibles aplicadas por las empresas y, además, contribuyó al desarrollo del protocolo de estudio de casos. El primer concepto es la 'sostenibilidad holística', el cual engloba toda la literatura relativa a cómo la sostenibilidad se debe gestionar desde un punto de vista global incorporándola en la estrategia de la organización. El segundo concepto se denomina 'metodologías sostenibles', concepto que trata de las diferentes metodologías o modelos desarrollados por académicos para ayudar a los responsables de las compañías a determinar qué prácticas ambientales aplicar. El tercer concepto trata de los 'modelos de negocio sostenibles', es decir, las características de aquellas compañías que deciden situar la sostenibilidad en el centro de su negocio y de su propuesta de valor. El cuarto concepto, denominado 'operaciones sostenibles' recoge todas las actividades que se circunscriben a un área concreta de la compañía para reducir el impacto ambiental (p.e. aplicación de tecnología que permita el consumo de energía renovable). Y, finalmente, el quinto concepto, titulado 'innovación orientada a la sostenibilidad', este último concepto abarca el campo de análisis sobre cómo la interacción entre diferentes prácticas en una misma empresa mejoran su rendimiento. El protocolo de estudio de casos se empleó para analizar a una serie de empresas conocidas por la aplicación de prácticas sostenibles, de manera que, usando dicho protocolo se pudo determinar qué tipo de prácticas sostenibles implantadas por estas empresas han sido capaces de generarles un incremento de su rendimiento. Los resultados obtenidos permiten clasificar a las compañías en cinco fases en función de nivel de integración de la sostenibilidad que han desarrollado. Estas fases pasan por el aprovechamiento del cumplimiento legal como una oportunidad, pasando por el desarrollo de una cadena de valor eco-innovadora hasta convertirse en modelos de negocio sostenibles. Para facilitar que la sostenibilidad se convierta en un factor transversal a toda la compañía se requiere de un sistema de gestión ambiental (SGA). De manera que, este tipo de sistemas protocoliza la sostenibilidad incorporándola en los diferentes procesos de toma de decisiones. Finalmente, esta tesis ofrece una serie de prácticas sostenibles que pueden ser desarrolladas por las compañías en función de la fase de integración de la sostenibilidad en la que se encuentren y en la estrategia que siga la compañía. / [CA] La sostenibilitat és un concepte que s'està estenent cada vegada a més àmbits de la nostra societat, estant molt present en l'esfera empresarial mitjançant de la denominada sostenibilitat corporativa. No obstant, la capacitat de determinar quines pràctiques sostenibles s'han d'aplicar per poder generar el major rendiment per a les companyies encara és una qüestió complicada. Això es degut a que intervenen diferents variables, com, per exemple, el tipus de sector en el que operen les organitzacions i el nivell de desenvolupament de pràctiques sostenibles aplicades pels competidors. Per tant, el propòsit d'esta tesi consisteix en el desenvolupament de les primeres fases d'una teoria que puga permetre als responsables de les companyies conèixer quin tipus de pràctiques sostenibles aplicar en funció de la seua organització interna i la seua posició competitiva. Per aconseguir-ho, inicialment es va desenvolupar un anàlisi de la literatura per identificar les metodologies creades per ajudar a les organitzacions a integrar la sostenibilitat en el seu model de negoci. A més, es va valorar el nivell d'acceptació i d'ús d'estes metodologies per part de consultors i directius de companyies. Posteriorment, es va portar a terme un detallat estudi de l'art sobre la sostenibilitat corporativa que va identificar zinc línies de recerca que s'estan produint en l'actualitat. Estes zinc línies van ser classificades en zinc conceptes que han permès conèixer diferents tipus de pràctiques sostenibles aplicades per les empreses i, a més, van contribuir al desenvolupament del protocol d'estudi de casos. El primer concepte és la 'sostenibilitat holística', el qual engloba tota la literatura relativa a com la sostenibilitat s'ha de gestionar des d'un punt de vista global incorporant-la en la estratègia de la organització. El segon concepte es denomina 'metodologies sostenibles', concepte que tracta de les diferents metodologies o models desenvolupats per acadèmics per ajudar als responsables de les companyies a determinar quines pràctiques ambientals aplicar. El tercer concepte tracta dels 'models de negoci sostenibles', és a dir, les característiques d'aquelles companyies que decideixen situar la sostenibilitat en el centre del seu negoci i de la seua proposta de valor. El quart concepte, denominat, 'operacions sostenibles' recull totes les activitats que es circumscriuen a un àrea concreta de la companyia per reduir l'impacte ambiental (p.e. l'aplicació de tecnologia que permet el consum d'energia renovable). I, finalment, el quint concepte, titulat 'innovació orientada a la sostenibilitat', este últim concepte abasta el camp d'anàlisi sobre com la interacció entre diferents pràctiques en una mateixa empresa milloren el seu rendiment. El protocol d'estudi de casos es va emprar per analitzar una sèrie d'empreses conegudes per l'aplicació de pràctiques sostenibles, de manera que, usant el protocol es va determinar quin tipus de pràctiques sostenibles implantades per estes empreses han sigut capaces de fer que generen un increment del seu rendiment. El resultats obtinguts permeten classificar a les companyies en zinc fases en funció del nivell d'integració de la sostenibilitat que han desenvolupat. Estes fases passen per l'aprofitament del compliment legal com una oportunitat, passant pel desenvolupament d'una cadena de valor eco-innovadora fins convertir-se en models de negoci sostenibles. Per facilitar que la sostenibilitat es converteixi en un factor transversal a tota la companyia, es requereix d'un sistema de gestió ambiental (SGA). De manera que, este tipus de sistemes protocol·litzen la sostenibilitat incorporant-la en els diferents processos de presa de decisions. Finalment, esta tesi ofereix una sèries de pràctiques sostenibles que poden ser desenvolupades per les companyies en funció de la fase d'integració de la sostenibilitat en la que es troben i en la estratègia que segueix la companyia. / [EN] Sustainability is a concept that is being extended to more and more areas of our society, being very present in the business sphere through the so-called corporate sustainability. However, the ability to determine which sustainable practices to apply in order to generate the best returns for companies is still challenging. This is due to the fact that different variables intervene, such as, for example, the type of sector in which organizations operate and the level of development of sustainable practices applied by competitors. That is why, the purpose of this thesis consists in the development of the first phases of a theory that allows company managers to know what type of sustainable practices to apply based on their internal organization and their competitive position. To do this, an analysis of the literature was initially developed to identify the methodologies that have been created to help organizations to integrate sustainability into their business model. In addition, the level of acceptance and use of said methodologies by consultants and company executives was analysed. Subsequently, a detailed study of the state of the art on corporate sustainability was carried out, which identified five lines of research that are currently being deployed. These five lines were classified into five concepts that have allowed us to know different types of sustainable practices applied by companies. In addition, these concepts has contributed to the development of the case study protocol. The first concept is 'holistic sustainability', which encompasses all the literature on how sustainability should be managed from a global point of view, incorporating it into the organization's strategy. The second concept is called 'sustainable methodologies', a concept that deals with the different methodologies or models developed by academics to help company managers determine which environmental practices to apply. The third concept deals with 'sustainable business models', that is, the characteristics of those companies that decide to place sustainability at the center of their business and their value proposition. The fourth concept, called 'sustainable operations', includes all the activities that are limited to a specific area of the company to reduce the environmental impact (e.g. application of technology that allows the consumption of renewable energy). And, finally, the fifth concept, entitled 'innovation oriented to sustainability', covers the field of analysis on how the interaction between different practices in the same company improves its performance. The case study protocol was used to analyze a series of companies known for the application of sustainable practices. Using this protocol, it was possible to determine what type of sustainable practices implemented by these companies have been able to generate an increase in their performance. The results obtained allow companies to be classified into five phases according to the level of integration of sustainability they have developed. These phases go through the use of legal compliance as an opportunity, through the development of an eco-innovative value chain to become sustainable business models. In order to make sustainability a cross-cutting factor throughout the company, an environmental management system (EMS) is required. Thus, this type of system protocolizes sustainability by incorporating it into the different decision-making processes, from the hiring of suppliers to the recruitment processes. Finally, this thesis offers a series of sustainable practices that can be developed by companies depending on the phase of integration of sustainability in which they are, and on the strategy followed by the company. / The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Innovation for its financial support through the research Project (PID2019-105497GB-100) / Sánchez Planelles, J. (2022). Measuring the Success of New Business Models with an Environmental Perspective: from the Circular Economy to Servitisation [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/181474 / Compendio