Problematisering: Företag står inför utmaningar som handlar om att inkludera hållbarhetsbegreppets tre dimensioner: det ekonomiska, sociala och miljömässiga ansvaret. Påtryckningar ökar från samhällets olika intressenter, som sätter press på att företag och företagsledare agerar ansvarsfullt. Hållbarhet är idag en aktuell och relevant fråga som företag, styrelser och ledare på något sätt får ta i beaktning på grund av dessa påtryckningar från samhället. Relationen mellan ledarskap och hållbarhet är, enligt oss, en samhällsaktuell fråga för företag. Det finns idag omfattande forskning kring ledarskap och en hel del forskning om hållbarhet. Forskningen däremellan är däremot relativt outforskad. Det behövs därför en förståelse för hur denna relation ser ut. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att bidra till förståelse av hur relationen mellan ledarskap och hållbarhet ser ut i ett svenskt företag, samt identifiera de aspekter i ledarskapet som kan vara av betydelse för hållbarhet. Metod: För att besvara syftet är denna studie uppbyggd av en pilotstudie och en enfallsstudie av kvalitativ karaktär, där vi har genomfört semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem ledare i ledningsgruppen på Transdev Sverige AB. Studien har en induktiv ansats. Slutsats: Resultatet från denna studie har visat att relationen mellan ledarskap och hållbarhet ser olika ut. Ledningsgruppens kontext och ledarnas ansvarsområden har varit avgörande i beskrivningen av hur relationen ser ut. Kontexten och ansvarsområdena har dessutom varit avgörande för var i hållbarhetsbegreppet ledarna lägger sin tyngdpunkt. Relationen beskrivs vidare utifrån tre identifierade “relationsbyggare”: mål, moral och kunskap. Dessa tre är aspekter som vi anser vara av betydelse för hur relationen ser ut i denna studies specifika kontext. / Background: Due to increasing expectations and demands from different stakeholders, companies are being called upon to take actions to integrate the three dimensions of sustainability; economic, social and environmental. Corporate sustainability is therefore an inevitable topic of discussion among business organisations and top executives. Separately, there is extensive research on the two topics leadership and sustainability. However, the amount of research of the intersection of these two research fields is scarce and fairly unexplored, which makes this an interesting field of study. As a result of the actuality evolving around leadership and sustainability for corporations and the above stated lack of research, there is a need of a deeper understanding of the relationship between leadership and sustainability. Aim: The aim of this study is to understand the relationship between leadership and sustainability, as well as identifying aspects in the leadership that could be of importance regarding sustainability leadership. Methodology: This is a qualitative case study using a hermeneutics perspective of interpretation. The empirical data consist of a pilot study and five semi-structured interviews with top executives at Transdev Sverige AB. The study revolves around the empirical data and is therefore to be considered to have an inductive approach. Conclusion: The findings of the study has shown that the relationship between leadership and sustainability differ. The context of the top management team and the responsibility of the leaders have been vital in the explanation of their relationship. The context and the area of responsibility have additionally been vital in order to identify where in the sustainability spectrum the leader position himself. The relationship is further explained by three identified “relationship builders”; goal, morale and knowledge. We consider that these three aspects are of relevance to understand the relationship between leadership and sustainability within the specific context of this study.

This qualitative study aims to contribute to the research field on corporate sustainability (CS) in small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs), in hopes of helping policymakers better understand the circumstances for Swedish SMEs and how they work with CS. Empirical data about motivations behind working with CS, implementation of CS activities, and effects of CS work were collected through in-depth interviews with 18 company representatives. The major reason for motivation was found to be personal interest and commitment to these kind of practices, followed by strengthening the competitiveness, marketing, initiative from management and board, and profitability aspects. The implementation process is often informal in nature with concrete measures and activities rather than formal policies and strategies, although a few of the companies make use of tools such as environmental management systems. How the companies communicate their CS work differs and the response from stakeholders varies too. Lastly, profitability was found to be an important effect for some, while others more heavily emphasize the personal satisfaction from doing the right thing and being sustainable. The social effects were mostly improved working conditions and more engagement from stakeholders, while the environmental impact was understood to mostly concern a decrease in consumption of finite resources, and a more efficient use of material and energy. Suggestions for improving CS work in Swedish SMEs are increased support and encouragement from the government, and more education and information about what companies can do and how they can do it with appropriate tools. Concluding, CS in Swedish SMEs must be studied further to gain a more comprehensive picture of how to support those SMEs already working with CS and those in the path of transitioning towards a more sustainable development.