De modo geral, há pouca informação disponível aos gestores para orientá-los tanto sobre o desenvolvimento de um Sistema de Medição de Desempenho (SMD) quanto à adequabilidade do SMD atual. Já Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) é uma abordagem para a gestão integrada das informações e dos processos de negócio para todas as fases da vida de um produto. A fim de compreender todas as fases da vida de um produto e, de forma consistente, considerar a abordagem PLM, as empresas estão tentando incorporar indicadores de desempenho de sustentabilidade em seus SMDs. O presente trabalho possui por objetivo propor um framework para o desenvolvimento de um SMD para a abordagem PLM com ênfase na sua aplicação prática, compreendendo as seguintes características: um procedimento com a descrição dos seus passos; um conjunto de ferramentas como formulários para apoiar o procedimento; uma lista de indicadores de desempenho de prática seleção dos indicadores na aplicação do framework, relacionados com PLM e sustentabilidade. Esta pesquisa adota a metodologia de pesquisa em design, como a abordagem mais ampla, na qual a proposta do framework é sintetizada da literatura e posteriormente aplicada e aperfeiçoada à medida que se conduzia uma pesquisa-ação. As principais contribuições consistem em possibilitar o diagnóstico do SMD atual da empresa assim como o seu nível de maturidade e selecionar indicadores com base em uma lista previamente sistematiza, para facilitar essa escolha. Finalmente, mostra-se que é possível incorporar indicadores de desempenho de sustentabilidade nos SMDs atuais da empresa para abordagem PLM, desde que existam stakeholders interessados em estabelecer objetivos estratégicos para a sustentabilidade. / Usually there is little information available to managers to guide them on either the development of a Performance Measurement System (PMS) or the uptade of the current PMS. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is an integrated approach to information management and business processes for all stages of life of a product. Further, in order to fully address all phases of a products life and consistently support consider the PLM; companies are trying to incorporate sustainability performance indicators into their PMS. Thus, this work aims at proposing a framework to develop a PMS for the PLM approach with an emphasis on practical application, comprising the following characteristics: a procedure containing steps and a set of tools such as forms to support them; a list of performance indicators PLM and sustainability to enable the selection of indicators. This research adopts the design research methodology, as the broader approach, in which the proposed framework is synthesized from literature and then applied and improved during an action research. The highlights of the framework are the diagnosis of the current SMD company as well as their level of maturity of the PMS and the selection of performance indicators through a list. Finally, this work indicates that is possible to incorporate sustainability performance indicators into the PMS for the PLM approach as long as there stakeholder interested in establishing strategic objectives for sustainability.

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / This research examined whether an improved participation of women in the board of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) firms has any relationship with sustainability disclosure. Accordingly, the objective of this research was to examine the relationship between the number of women on the board and environmental, social and gender-employment disclosure in South African firms. The research applied a purposive sampling design to study the nine best socially responsible investing firms on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and secondary data were collected from the sustainability reports of the firms. Using a quantitative approach, the panel-data regression analysis was used to analyse the relationship between women on the board of directors, environmental, social and gender employment disclosure. Energy consumption disclosure, social investment and the number of women employment in the firms were the proxy for environmental disclosure, social investment and gender employment disclosures respectively. Findings show a positive relationship between the number of women on the board of directors and firm disclosure on energy consumption, disclosure on women employment and social investment disclosure. However, the number of women employed in the corporate is still very low in comparison with the male counterparts. The research recommends that, given the unique social and environmental sensitivity of women, the corporate should recruit more women onto the boards to enhance accelerated corporate sustainability performance and disclosures. Key words: sustainability disclosure, women in the board, sustainability performance, energy disclosure, sustainable development

A cada ano que passa o surgimento de novas empresas e a competitividade está mais dinâmica e complexa, o que dificulta a permanência das mesmas dentro do mercado competitivo, gerando assim preocupações e incertezas em relação ao futuro. Com esta conscientização, as empresas modernas devem estar baseadas na relação de manter o equilíbrio econômico, ambiental e social, ou seja, estabelecerem metas de desenvolvimento sustentável. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar identificar e descrever a importância do desenvolvimento sustentável para que as empresas modernas se mantenham dentro de um mercado competitivo futuro. No qual se utilizou a empresa Bunge Brasil para ilustrar quais são as metas e critérios que devem ser avaliados através de indicadores de desempenho de sustentabilidade. O indicador que foi utilizado no estudo de caso foi o GRI, pois é um indicador que tem foco nas três dimensões de sustentabilidade e está direcionado para todos os stakeholders, onde as informações são públicas e está atualmente em um processo de padronização internacional de relatórios. O que se verificou é que as empresas estão cientes que devem ser sustentáveis e estão se preparando para se manterem no mercado competitivo, e caso suas ações não forem executadas corretamente podem levar a sua exclusão do mercado. A não exigência legal da divulgação de informações provavelmente pode estar ocultando a real situação de uma empresa, mesmo que os stakeholders tenham um papel fundamental em monitorar e participar da tomada de decisões das empresas. As empresas sabem da real necessidade de serem sustentáveis através da gestão de responsabilidade social corporativa, ou seja, estarem levando bem estar para toda a sociedade, gerando ganhos financeiros, bem como preservar o meio ambiente para que desta forma alcancem o desenvolvimento sustentável e se mantenham integradas dentro de um mercado competitivo futuro. / With each passing year, the uprising of new companies and the competitiveness among them become more dynamic and complex. These factors obstruct the permanence of such companies in the competitive market, creating, thus, anxieties and doubts about the future. With this awareness, modern companies must be based on maintaining economical, environmental and social balance, i.e., companies must establish sustainable development goals. The objective in this work is to evaluate, identify and describe the importance of sustainable development so that modern companies can keep themselves in a future competitive market. I used as the example the Bunge Brasil company, to illustrate the goals and criteria to be evaluated through sustainability performance indicators. The indicator used in the study was the GRI indicator, since it focuses on the three sustainability dimensions and since it is directed to all stakeholders; where information is public and also because the indicator is currently going through a process of international standardization of reports. I have observed that companies are aware they must be sustainable, and that they are getting ready to maintain themselves in the competitive market. They also know that, if their actions are not correctly carried out, they may be excluded from the market. Not legally requiring the disclosure of information may be the reason why the real situation of a company remains obscure, even if the stakeholders have a fundamental role in monitoring and participating in the companies’ decision-making process. Companies are aware of the real necessity of being sustainable through management of corporate social responsibility, that is, of providing well-being to society, obtaining financial profits as well as preserving the environment in order that they can achieve sustainable development and keep themselves integrated in a future competitive market.

A cada ano que passa o surgimento de novas empresas e a competitividade está mais dinâmica e complexa, o que dificulta a permanência das mesmas dentro do mercado competitivo, gerando assim preocupações e incertezas em relação ao futuro. Com esta conscientização, as empresas modernas devem estar baseadas na relação de manter o equilíbrio econômico, ambiental e social, ou seja, estabelecerem metas de desenvolvimento sustentável. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar identificar e descrever a importância do desenvolvimento sustentável para que as empresas modernas se mantenham dentro de um mercado competitivo futuro. No qual se utilizou a empresa Bunge Brasil para ilustrar quais são as metas e critérios que devem ser avaliados através de indicadores de desempenho de sustentabilidade. O indicador que foi utilizado no estudo de caso foi o GRI, pois é um indicador que tem foco nas três dimensões de sustentabilidade e está direcionado para todos os stakeholders, onde as informações são públicas e está atualmente em um processo de padronização internacional de relatórios. O que se verificou é que as empresas estão cientes que devem ser sustentáveis e estão se preparando para se manterem no mercado competitivo, e caso suas ações não forem executadas corretamente podem levar a sua exclusão do mercado. A não exigência legal da divulgação de informações provavelmente pode estar ocultando a real situação de uma empresa, mesmo que os stakeholders tenham um papel fundamental em monitorar e participar da tomada de decisões das empresas. As empresas sabem da real necessidade de serem sustentáveis através da gestão de responsabilidade social corporativa, ou seja, estarem levando bem estar para toda a sociedade, gerando ganhos financeiros, bem como preservar o meio ambiente para que desta forma alcancem o desenvolvimento sustentável e se mantenham integradas dentro de um mercado competitivo futuro. / With each passing year, the uprising of new companies and the competitiveness among them become more dynamic and complex. These factors obstruct the permanence of such companies in the competitive market, creating, thus, anxieties and doubts about the future. With this awareness, modern companies must be based on maintaining economical, environmental and social balance, i.e., companies must establish sustainable development goals. The objective in this work is to evaluate, identify and describe the importance of sustainable development so that modern companies can keep themselves in a future competitive market. I used as the example the Bunge Brasil company, to illustrate the goals and criteria to be evaluated through sustainability performance indicators. The indicator used in the study was the GRI indicator, since it focuses on the three sustainability dimensions and since it is directed to all stakeholders; where information is public and also because the indicator is currently going through a process of international standardization of reports. I have observed that companies are aware they must be sustainable, and that they are getting ready to maintain themselves in the competitive market. They also know that, if their actions are not correctly carried out, they may be excluded from the market. Not legally requiring the disclosure of information may be the reason why the real situation of a company remains obscure, even if the stakeholders have a fundamental role in monitoring and participating in the companies’ decision-making process. Companies are aware of the real necessity of being sustainable through management of corporate social responsibility, that is, of providing well-being to society, obtaining financial profits as well as preserving the environment in order that they can achieve sustainable development and keep themselves integrated in a future competitive market.

abstract: Corporations work to reduce their negative impacts on the environment and society by adopting Sustainable business (SB) practices. Businesses create competitive advantages via practices such as waste minimization, green product design, compliance with regulations, and stakeholder relations. Normative models indicate that businesses should adopt similar sustainability practices, however, contingency theory suggests that effectiveness of practices depends on the context of the business. The literature highlights the importance of organizational culture as a moderating variable between SB practices and outcomes, however this link has not been empirically examined. This thesis presents the development and testing of a theoretical model, using configuration theory, that links SB practices, organizational culture, and financial performance. Published frameworks were utilized to identify SB practices in use, and the Competing Values Framework (CVF) to identify dimensions of culture. Data from 1021 Corporate Sustainability Reports from 212 companies worldwide was collected for computerized text analysis, which provided a measure of the occurrence of a specific SB practice and the four dimensions of the CVF. Hypotheses were analyzed using cluster, crosstab, and t-test statistical methods. The findings contribute significant insights to the Business and Sustainability field. Firstly, clustering of SB practice bundles identified organizations at various levels of SB practice awareness. The spectrum runs from a compliance level of awareness, to a set of organizations aware of the importance of culture change for sustainability. Top performing clusters demonstrated different priorities with regards to SB practices; these were in many cases, related to contextual factors, such as location or sector. This implies that these organizations undertook varying sustainability strategies, but all arrived at some successful level of sustainability. Another key finding was the association between the highest performing SB practice clusters and a culture dominated by Adhocracy values, corroborating theories presented in the literature, but were not empirically tested before. The results of this research offer insights into the use of text analysis to study SB practices and organizational culture. Further, this study presents a novel attempt at empirically testing the relationship between SB practices and culture, and tying this to financial performance. The goal is that this work serves as an initial step in redefining the way in which businesses adopt SB practices. A transformation of SB practice adoption will lead to major improvements in sustainability strategies, and subsequently drive change for improved corporate sustainability. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2017

A cada ano que passa o surgimento de novas empresas e a competitividade está mais dinâmica e complexa, o que dificulta a permanência das mesmas dentro do mercado competitivo, gerando assim preocupações e incertezas em relação ao futuro. Com esta conscientização, as empresas modernas devem estar baseadas na relação de manter o equilíbrio econômico, ambiental e social, ou seja, estabelecerem metas de desenvolvimento sustentável. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar identificar e descrever a importância do desenvolvimento sustentável para que as empresas modernas se mantenham dentro de um mercado competitivo futuro. No qual se utilizou a empresa Bunge Brasil para ilustrar quais são as metas e critérios que devem ser avaliados através de indicadores de desempenho de sustentabilidade. O indicador que foi utilizado no estudo de caso foi o GRI, pois é um indicador que tem foco nas três dimensões de sustentabilidade e está direcionado para todos os stakeholders, onde as informações são públicas e está atualmente em um processo de padronização internacional de relatórios. O que se verificou é que as empresas estão cientes que devem ser sustentáveis e estão se preparando para se manterem no mercado competitivo, e caso suas ações não forem executadas corretamente podem levar a sua exclusão do mercado. A não exigência legal da divulgação de informações provavelmente pode estar ocultando a real situação de uma empresa, mesmo que os stakeholders tenham um papel fundamental em monitorar e participar da tomada de decisões das empresas. As empresas sabem da real necessidade de serem sustentáveis através da gestão de responsabilidade social corporativa, ou seja, estarem levando bem estar para toda a sociedade, gerando ganhos financeiros, bem como preservar o meio ambiente para que desta forma alcancem o desenvolvimento sustentável e se mantenham integradas dentro de um mercado competitivo futuro. / With each passing year, the uprising of new companies and the competitiveness among them become more dynamic and complex. These factors obstruct the permanence of such companies in the competitive market, creating, thus, anxieties and doubts about the future. With this awareness, modern companies must be based on maintaining economical, environmental and social balance, i.e., companies must establish sustainable development goals. The objective in this work is to evaluate, identify and describe the importance of sustainable development so that modern companies can keep themselves in a future competitive market. I used as the example the Bunge Brasil company, to illustrate the goals and criteria to be evaluated through sustainability performance indicators. The indicator used in the study was the GRI indicator, since it focuses on the three sustainability dimensions and since it is directed to all stakeholders; where information is public and also because the indicator is currently going through a process of international standardization of reports. I have observed that companies are aware they must be sustainable, and that they are getting ready to maintain themselves in the competitive market. They also know that, if their actions are not correctly carried out, they may be excluded from the market. Not legally requiring the disclosure of information may be the reason why the real situation of a company remains obscure, even if the stakeholders have a fundamental role in monitoring and participating in the companies’ decision-making process. Companies are aware of the real necessity of being sustainable through management of corporate social responsibility, that is, of providing well-being to society, obtaining financial profits as well as preserving the environment in order that they can achieve sustainable development and keep themselves integrated in a future competitive market.

Background: Light has been shed on the textile industry as one of the leading industries when it comes to economic growth, global warming and sustainable development. The increasing demand for sustainable activities from stakeholders has led to the importance of measuring the sustainable development of companies. ESG reporting is a common tool used to indicate a company’s sustainability performance. Prior research has tended to focus on cross-sectional industries, and therefore a gap was identified for industry specific research.   Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explain the relationship between sustainability performance and financial performance in the textile industry in the European and North American markets to see if companies that invest in sustainability activities benefit financially.   Method: This research has followed a positivistic paradigm, with deductive reasoning and a quantitative approach. A probability sampling approach was performed by conducting secondary data from Thomson Reuters DataStream of companies in the textile industry in Europe and North America. This resulted in a final sample of ESG scores and ROIC of 44 companies. The data was later analysed in the SPSS software program by following the estimation method Ordinary Least Squares (OLS).    Findings: The literature review developed two hypotheses to address the research purpose and questions. The two hypotheses were analysed through two regression analyses that were satisfied through the OLS estimation method. The result showed that there was a significant relationship between the aggregated ESG score and ROIC which supported the first hypothesis. The second hypothesis of the multiple regression model showed that each component of ESG is correlated to ROIC, however, the environmental factor was not statistically significantly related.    Conclusion: The thesis showed that there is a positive relationship between ESG performance and ROIC in this study. This implies that companies that invest in sustainable development increase their financial performance. The aggregated ESG score as well as the social factor and the governance factor had the highest impact on ROIC, which is supported by the stakeholder theory as there has been an increasing demand on social and governance activities in the textile industry. This further supports that sustainability performance impact on financial performance is industry specific.

Background: Sustainability reporting has become increasingly important for firms that want to appease their stakeholders and the society, whilst possibly increasing the corporate financial performance (CFP) of the firm. This is because sustainability disclosures currently work as the main channel for firms to inform their stakeholders of the CSR practices and environmental management carried out by the company. However, there have been various previous studies that examine the relation between corporate social performance (CSP) or the reported CSP, and CFP but not a study that would focus on GRI’s adherence level and its effect on Firm value (FV). The adherence level in the context of a GRI Report refers to the extent to which the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework and GRI Standards have been applied to a company’s sustainability report (Global Reporting Initiative, n.d.). This study intends to examine if stakeholders can be affected by a sustainability report’s adherence ranking made by GRI, although there necessarily would not be a clear connection to a company’s actual environmental performance.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if the adherence level affects a firm’s value and how, although this classification of reports would not say anything about a company’s level of sustainability or a company’s sustainability performance. In short, the study wants to examine if stakeholders or the society surrounding a company are affected by the adherence level of a company’s GRI reporting and if this then can affect the value of the organization in any way. Aim: The aim of this research is to encourage organizations to become more transparent or elaborate regarding their sustainability practices if any significance between the adherence level and the FV can be found.  Method: This study was conducted by examining 98 European manufacturing firms’ GRI adherence levels for the years 2017 to 2019 and comparing them to respective Firm Values (Tobin’s Q) by the usage of panel data regression analysis.  Conclusion: The results show that no significant relationship between the GRI adherence level and FV can be found in the European manufacturing industry for the period 2017 to 2019.

Leanness, agility, resilience, greenness, and sustainability of a supply chain are critical factors that organizations have to consider to increase the competitiveness of their supply chain. Lean & Green (L&G) practices have been proven to enhance performance related to sustainability when deployed. Simultaneously, agility and resilience have gained significant attention due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as its outbreak revealed the fragility of various supply chains globally. The LARGS (lean, agile, resilient, green, and sustainable) framework is an essential tool which considers all LARGS paradigms holistically to facilitate LARGS performance improvements. In this study, a systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to explore the current development of the LARGS framework. A case study was performed in Airinum, a company which produces personal protective equipment (PPE). Furthermore, an LCA was conducted using collected internal data as a tool to identify the hotspots of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the ecological footprint (EF) of the supply chain operations. Moreover, with the help of interviews conducted with company representatives and questionnaires answered by Airinum’s partners, L&G practices were evaluated and proposed for implementation. The L&G practices were prioritized according to (1) weight, (2) integration categories, (3) potential agility risks, and (4) potential resilience risks. To consider the triple bottom line (TBL), potential economic and social sustainability influences were also investigated. The results from the LARGS framework indicate that the case company would benefit from frequent interaction with suppliers and customers to improve the production process and reduce waste. Integration of the material and information flow facilitates accurate supply and demand forecasting in addition to real-time monitoring of the material flow. Green transportation was found to be an essential practice for the reduction of CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the company would benefit from using a higher proportion of renewable and recycled materials in addition to using various tools to monitor and decrease resource consumption. Results indicate that the practices may influence economic sustainability while those proposed have no significant effect on the social sustainability performance of the company. Future research is directed toward the validation of the proposed LARGS framework.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how a multinational company in the automotive industry manages its suppliers in order to increase the environmental sustainability performance of its supply chain. To fulfill this purpose, a research question has been established: 1. How can a manufacturer manage its suppliers in order to increase the environmental sustainability performance of its supply chain? Method: The thesis is conducted using a qualitative research approach which utilizes the method of a single case study, including multiple interviews. All interviews conducted are semi-structured using an interview guide and ethical considerations. Additionally, the empirical findings were supported by organizational documents. Findings: The findings discuss five supplier management approaches that are used frequently in order to increase environmental sustainability within the supply chain. The five approaches consist of sourcing, supplier code of conduct (including standards and certificates), assessment, collaboration, and organizational culture. The different approaches are used strategically, starting off with the importance of sourcing capable suppliers from the beginning, where assessing them within relevant areas is vital. Continuously assessing the suppliers in order to keep track of their performance and improvement is useful to make sure that the performance exceeds the basic requirements and identify areas to improve. Collaborating on different aspects is then conducted in order to improve and develop the identified areas. Lastly, organizational culture is proven to have a strong influence on how the environmental sustainability performance within an organization is doing. Implications: The research did not contribute to any new theories but did, however, increase the overall knowledge of how supplier management is used to increase the environmental sustainability within a supply chain. It showed the strong connection between theory and how it is done in practice, as well as areas in need of implementation in practice. Moreover, the research shows that management approaches should be used holistically and simultaneously in order to reach the best results. Limitations: The study is a single case study where a limited number of interviews have been conducted. In order to increase the credibility, a multiple-cases study with more interviews could have been conducted.