Corporate sustainability performance measuring and implementation in practice
Raitosola, Tiina (2019-04-29)
Corporate sustainability performance measuring and implementation in practice
(29.04.2019)
Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
avoin
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on:
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2019051315400
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2019051315400
Tiivistelmä
This study focuses on explaining real-life practices of corporate sustainability. The purpose is approached through two case companies to provide empirical data on the subject and a thorough literature research for theory input. Introduction chapter creates the basis for this study and presents study purpose and provides grounds to determine the importance of the issue. Introduction also showcases corporate sustainability as a whole. Theory part focuses on profoundly explaining corporate sustainability implementation and measuring by looking into themes supporting them, like performance measuring theories. Corporate sustainability as a concept is a recent subject to science, but the increasing conversation around the issue and sustainability being the buzzword of today’s world are constantly rising the profile of corporate sustainability research. Also some of the most renowned tools, like the GRI standards, for measuring and the most general indicators are explained and their importance in today’s business reviewed.
The study was conducted as a qualitative multiple case study. The primary data consisted of two semi-structured expert interviews on two different case companies. In addition, two publicly available sustainability reports were utilized as secondary research data. The data was analyzed thematically by color-coding different themes and then forming groups from mentions of same topic. Further on the analysis and results discuss the empirical data in reflection with the insight from theory section.
The findings of this study can be concluded into acknowledging and supporting the difference between real-life sustainability actions and academic literature and research. Especially implementation and measuring seem very structured and isolated parts of the sustainability process, but interviews left the impression that they are rather naturally-occurring parts of the process. They are generally not handled in an isolated manner, like theory section would. For this reason future suggestions to be carried on are reducing the isolated thinking and rather seeking the subjects in connection with nearby phenomena.
The study was conducted as a qualitative multiple case study. The primary data consisted of two semi-structured expert interviews on two different case companies. In addition, two publicly available sustainability reports were utilized as secondary research data. The data was analyzed thematically by color-coding different themes and then forming groups from mentions of same topic. Further on the analysis and results discuss the empirical data in reflection with the insight from theory section.
The findings of this study can be concluded into acknowledging and supporting the difference between real-life sustainability actions and academic literature and research. Especially implementation and measuring seem very structured and isolated parts of the sustainability process, but interviews left the impression that they are rather naturally-occurring parts of the process. They are generally not handled in an isolated manner, like theory section would. For this reason future suggestions to be carried on are reducing the isolated thinking and rather seeking the subjects in connection with nearby phenomena.