Title: A systems approach to creating a sustainability performance benchmarking and reporting framework

Authors: Mary Vanleer; Rashmi Jain; Alice F. Squires

Addresses: Open Source Storage, 560 S. Winchester Blvd, Suite 500, San Jose, CA 95128, USA ' Department of Information and Operations Management, School of Business, Montclair State University, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA ' Engineering and Technology Management, Washington State University, P.O. Box 642785, 336 ETRL, Pullman, WA 99164-2785, USA

Abstract: While there have been several innovations in the field of corporate sustainability over the last decade, many companies have found the activities involved in data gathering and analysis to support monitoring and reporting of sustainability information to be extremely time consuming and lacking in clear answers of risk and return. Corporate sustainability management (CSM) is gaining grounds recently. CSM looks at the dependence of a company's viability on its ability to create optimal profit without causing environmental damage and social problems in the community (Rahardjo, 2013). The purpose of this research is to establish a benchmarking framework that creates a systematised method for comparative reporting of sustainability information in order to lower the barrier to entry for companies struggling to invest in sustainability.

Keywords: benchmarking; sustainability intelligence; lifecycle assessment; LCA; sustainability assessment; sustainability reporting; key performance indicators; KPIs; sustainable development; corporate sustainability management; CSM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPMB.2016.075605

International Journal of Process Management and Benchmarking, 2016 Vol.6 No.2, pp.190 - 215

Received: 09 Feb 2015
Accepted: 24 Feb 2015
Published online: 30 Mar 2016 *

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