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1 – 10 of over 41000This chapter discusses how businesses can create alignment between their corporate sustainability (CS) efforts that focus on the triple bottom line of the financial…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter discusses how businesses can create alignment between their corporate sustainability (CS) efforts that focus on the triple bottom line of the financial, environmental, and social, and the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact in the four core areas of environment, human rights, labor standards, and anticorruption.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the literature review, the relationship between CS and corporate responsibility is presented. Creating alignment between CS management and Global Compact initiatives requires knowledge of the Global Reporting Initiative (G4-GRI), third-party CS rankings, green supply chain management, and anticorruption strategies.
Findings
UN Global Compact is an international forum to promote and self-report CS and corporate social responsibility [Bitanga & Bridwell, 2010. CS is achieved through a triple bottom line – financial, environmental, and social (Hutchins & Sutherland, 2008). For CS management, businesses use four strategies including defensive, cost-benefit, strategic, and innovation/learning [Buchholtz & Carroll, 2008; Egbeleke, Journal of Management and Sustainability, 4(2), 92–105 (2014); Epstein, 2008; Epstein, Buhovac, & Yuthas, 2010]. The UN G4-GRI is the most widely used comprehensive sustainability reporting standard in the world (G4-GRI, 2013). Third-party, industry sector-specific CS ratings reinforce the self-reported sustainability reports. Each firm has to conduct their own CS cost-benefit analysis to determine how CS practices can lead to value creation for sustained competitive advantage. Creating alignment with Global Compact initiatives offers firms a marketing advantage. Conducting business in accordance with the Global Compact is a value-increasing business strategy [Kaspereit & Lopatta, 2011; Lopatta & Kaspereit, 2014; Michelon, Corporate Reputation Review, 14(2), 79–96 (2011)]. Green supply chain management is essential for CS (Penfield, 2014). Four prevailing anticorruption frameworks or intervention policy approaches include law enforcement, economics, moralism, and cultural relativism (Bellows, 2013). There is little sustainability reporting in the government and public-sector organizations (Adams, Muir, & Hoque, 2014).
Research limitations/implications
It is difficult to quantify the financial and social benefits of aligning the CS efforts with the 10 principles of UN Global Compact [Parisi, Journal of Management and Governance, 17(1), 71–97 (2013); Nilipour & Nilipour, Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3(9), 1084–1092 (2012)]. The environmental impact can be easily quantified.
Practical implications
As the primary driver of globalization, businesses and other organizations can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology, and finance advance in ways that benefit environment, economies, and societies in both developed and developing countries leading to sustained development.
Originality/value of the chapter
The role of green supply chain management and anticorruption strategies in CS management is explored.
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Natalia G. Vidal and Harry Van Buren III
Business collective action (BCA) is often necessary to address sustainability issues, which are generally complex and multi-layered issues that cannot always be properly addressed…
Abstract
Business collective action (BCA) is often necessary to address sustainability issues, which are generally complex and multi-layered issues that cannot always be properly addressed by individual businesses. Firms participating in BCA for corporate sustainability have access to clearer rules and guidelines for managing sustainability issues, are more efficient in managing multiple stakeholder demands due to enhanced opportunities for learning, benefit from individual and joint reputation management, and are better able to capture weak signals about opportunities and threats in the external environment. Despite these benefits, our understanding of BCA for corporate sustainability is still limited. Most of the existing work in this area has examined different forms of BCA for corporate sustainability – for example, multi-stakeholder initiatives, trade associations, and other forms of business membership organizations – individually. In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of BCA for corporate sustainability. The authors start the chapter by discussing the importance of BCA in general and BCA for corporate sustainability, in particular to research and practice, and its benefits to firms and society. The authors then present a typology of the different forms of BCA for corporate sustainability, discussing their differences and similarities from an issues management perspective. The authors conclude the chapter with a brief discussion of future research in this area.
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In recent years, growing concerns about the environment and climate change, poverty problems, growing inequality among societies, and tensions brought about by social injustice…
Abstract
In recent years, growing concerns about the environment and climate change, poverty problems, growing inequality among societies, and tensions brought about by social injustice have increased the popularity of sustainability, which is considered a multidimensional concept, among scientists, decision-makers, academics, and companies. The perception of these different groups of sustainability issues and the tools they suggest/use for corporate sustainability implementations differ from each other. It can be difficult to look for and understand sustainability tools that are handled with different perspectives in many sources. In this chapter, the tools used in sustainability implementation are discussed with certain classifications – environmental management tools, sustainability reporting, and corporate social performance – and their relations with each other. In short, this study aims to present a holistic perspective to the sustainability (or of corporate sustainability) implementations carried out by companies trying to survive in a dynamic and complex economic environment. Accordingly, the literature was reviewed, and the concept of sustainability was explained, the reasons that push companies to sustainability implementations were evaluated, and sustainability implementations were detailed under environmental management tools, sustainability reporting, and corporate social performance.
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The United Nations Global Compact initiative is presented for businesses and nonbusiness as a universally accepted set of principles. The aim of the 10 principles in the areas of…
Abstract
Purpose
The United Nations Global Compact initiative is presented for businesses and nonbusiness as a universally accepted set of principles. The aim of the 10 principles in the areas of Human Rights, Labor, Environment, and Anticorruption is to encourage businesses to align their operations and strategies with committed values. The Global Compact network involves not only companies but also governments, labor, and civil society organizations. Corporations, community, and environment are integral parts of a system that correlate to each other. In light of the assumption that business operations have increasingly observable effects on the environment, economy, and social life on a global scale, it is necessary to have accountable and sustainable firms. The Global Compact is a voluntary strategic policy initiative, and it has become more important in where interactions between organizations and stakeholders to be more dynamic. On the other hand, sustainability has economic, social, and environmental dimensions, and in accordance with these dimensions, it is necessary for firms to take into account the influence of their operations on their stakeholders. Thereby, from theoretical perspectives, the primary objective of this chapter is to illustrate the role of Global Compact in corporate accountability and sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive literature research is conducted in order to understand the relationship between Global Compact principles and corporate accountability and sustainability.
Findings
From a theoretical point of view, there are some conditions for the advancement of the corporate accountability and sustainability. For instance, there is need for stakeholders’ insistence about incorporating social and environmental values into the business economic decisions. Thus firms could contribute to not only worlds’ economic but also social as well as environmental future.
Research limitations/implications
The research is a theoretical study, but for further studies, empirical studies can be conducted to understand the interactions between Global Compact principles and corporate accountability and sustainability.
Practical implications
This study may be useful for managers to realize the role of Global Compact principles on corporate accountability and its contribution to being a sustainable firm.
Originality/value
There is a lack of studies that analyze the role of Global Compact principles on corporate accountability and sustainability. Examining the principles in light of corporate accountability and sustainability will add a value to the literature in this area.
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Simona Arduini, Martina Manzo and Tommaso Beck
This study aims to analyze how sustainability, through an efficient knowledge management (KM) system, can serve as a driving force with respect to corporate culture and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze how sustainability, through an efficient knowledge management (KM) system, can serve as a driving force with respect to corporate culture and reputation. The research questions that guided this study are mainly the following: Are KM and sustainability related? Can culture strengthen the link between KM and sustainability? Can the link between KM and sustainability be affected by reputation?
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach adopted corresponds to qualitative research of analysis on the reference literature in the international field, also supported by empirical analysis.
Findings
In this study, the authors show that there is no explicit correlation between sustainability and KM. This relationship, in fact, is not underlined in nonfinancial reporting because it is absent or because it is not considered relevant. Too often sustainability is reduced to a mere relational and reputational tool, ignoring the fact it must be considered a consequence and not the main goal to improve companies’ culture.
Research limitations/implications
The sample studied by the authors refers to the top 40 companies listed on the Italian market, not allowing to generalize the findings across the international context.
Practical implications
The practical implications that could result from making explicit the relationship between sustainability and KM are multiple: the substantial benefits of the reputational aspect, an increase in the economic value related to sustainability; to ensure the going concern of the company and implement its ability to produce and share value in the long term.
Social implications
The social benefits of a stronger relationship between sustainability and KM are related to the possibility to improve the wealth of all the stakeholders.
Originality/value
This paper analyzes the links between sustainability and KM to understand the influence of these factors on corporate culture and reputation.
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Dan Daugaard, Jing Jia and Zhongtian Li
This study aims to provide a precise understanding of how corporate sustainability information is used in socially responsible investing (SRI). The study is motivated by the lack…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide a precise understanding of how corporate sustainability information is used in socially responsible investing (SRI). The study is motivated by the lack of a recognised body of knowledge on this issue. This study, therefore, collates and reviews relevant studies (67 studies) to provide guidance to investors interested in SRI and identify a research agenda for academics desiring to contribute to this area.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducts a systemic literature review employing recognised key words and searching the Web of Science. HistCite is utilised to ensure important cited studies are not missed from the collection. The review was conducted from two perspectives: (1) sources of sustainability information and (2) how the information is used in SRI.
Findings
The review identifies five major sources of sustainability information, including corporate reports, ESG ratings, industry affiliation, news and private communication with firms. These sources of information play different roles in the cross section of SRI strategies (i.e. negative and positive screening, active ownership and integration). This study provides guidance on how to use this information in SRI and provides recommendations for future research on how analysts interact with the information, how different informational characteristics impact implementation, ways to improve data quality, improvements to analysis methods and where data use needs to be extended into new strategies.
Originality/value
This review contributes to the SRI literature by inventorying studies of an important, yet omitted aspect, namely, sustainability information. This work also enriches the literature on corporate sustainability information by investigating how this information can be used for a specific purpose, namely, SRI. Given the increasing interest in SRI, this review will provide much-needed guidance for a range of practitioners, including investors and regulators.
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This paper aims to verify whether the integration of sustainability in executive compensation positively affects firms’ non-financial performance and whether corporate governance…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to verify whether the integration of sustainability in executive compensation positively affects firms’ non-financial performance and whether corporate governance characteristics enhance the relationship between sustainability compensation and firms’ non-financial performance and to expand the domain of the impact of sustainability on non-financial performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This analysis is based on a sample of companies listed on the Milan Italian Stock Exchange from the Financial Times Milan Stock Exchange Index over the 2016–2020 period. Regression analysis was used by using data retrieved from the Refinitiv Eikon database and the sample firms’ remuneration reports.
Findings
The findings of this paper show that embedding sustainability in executive compensation positively affects firms’ non-financial performance. The results of this paper also reveal that specific corporate governance features can improve the impact of sustainability on non-financial performance.
Research limitations/implications
This analysis is limited to Italian firms included in the Financial Times Milan Stock Exchange Index; however, the findings are highly significant.
Practical implications
The findings provide regulators with useful insights for considering the integration of sustainability goals into executive remuneration. Another implication is that policymakers should require – at least – listed firms to fulfil specific corporate governance structural requirements. Finally, the findings can provide investors and financial analysts with a greater awareness of the role played by executive remuneration in the long-term value-creation process.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to addressing the relationship among sustainability, remuneration and non-financial disclosure, drawing on the stakeholder–agency theoretical framework and focusing on Italian firms. This issue has received limited attention with controversial results in the literature.
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Annibal Scavarda, Gláucya Daú, Luiz Felipe Scavarda, Prem Chhetri and Patrick Jaska
Many studies have developed the corporate sustainability topic. The United Nations has implemented the 2030 Agenda and has brought “quality education” and “industry, innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
Many studies have developed the corporate sustainability topic. The United Nations has implemented the 2030 Agenda and has brought “quality education” and “industry, innovation, and infrastructure” as two of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The educational processes in higher education can be focused on adding brand value and social value, and they can be promoting the social inclusion. In this sense, the purpose of this study is to answer some questions related to the corporate sustainability practices under the 2030 Agenda lenses in the Latin American higher educational scenario. After the literature review analysis, a conceptual framework was developed.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory research study proposes an educational conceptual framework, improving the corporate sustainability under the 2030 Agenda lenses. A literature review was developed, involving the seven variables: “Latin America,” “higher education,” corporate social responsibility,” “personal social responsibility,” “corporate sustainability,” “governance” and “sustainability.” A matrix was developed with 25 variable combinations, connecting the seven variables. Three questions have been proposed and answered: “How much research has been developed in the Latin American higher education?” “How can the corporate social sustainability be applied in higher education?” and “Which perspectives can be considered?”
Findings
The results of the literature review are presented through the number of papers found with the analysis of the year of publication and the conceptual background. A total of 524 papers were found. Of these studies, 49 addressed the Latin American panorama, 33 had a general approach and 16 promoted interactions between Latin American and European countries, as well as between regions and continents. Six topics emerged from the literature analysis: digital inclusion, internationalization, innovation, research, servitization and social inclusion. These topics are connected in the “discussion” section, and the educational conceptual framework shows the corporative perspectives on sustainability in higher education.
Originality/value
This research study presents “A conceptual framework for the corporate sustainability higher education in Latin America” and it brings some discussion topics: digital inclusion, internationalization, innovation, research, servitization and social inclusion. These topics were identified through the literature analysis, and they were applied in the conceptual framework to improve the quality of education. The implications of this study are connected with the conceptual framework to promote the discussion topics. The implications involved the public and private governance spheres, third sector, as well as the professors, students and other stakeholders of higher educational institutions. These implications can represent an agent of positive change in the Latin American scenario.
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