Sustainable Management Systems Standards (SMSS): Structures, Roles, and Practices in Corporate Sustainability
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Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
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Research Center in Business and Economics (CICEE), Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa, Rua Sta. Marta 47, 5.º Andar, 1150-293 Lisboa, Portugal
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ISCET-High Institute of Business Sciences and Tourism, Rua de Cedofeita, 285, 4050-180 Porto, Portugal
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Campus Universitário de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
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Center for Innovation in Engineering and Industrial Technology (CIETI), Polytechnic Institute of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
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UFP Energy, Environment and Health Research Unit (FP-ENAS), University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), Praça 9 de Abril 349, 4249-004 Porto, Portugal
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Department of Mathematics (DM.UTAD), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Quinta de Prados, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 5892; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12155892
Received: 1 July 2020 / Revised: 18 July 2020 / Accepted: 20 July 2020 / Published: 22 July 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Management and Standardization for Sustainability)
Companies need to develop more sustainable management models to support a strategy focused on the environment and society, preventing the sole ambition to maximize economic profits. Several specific tools and frameworks have been developed for the implementation of sustainability management. However, the isolated adoption of new management practices could increase bureaucracy and constrain the development of an effective and systematic sustainability strategy. Based on the development of four case studies of relevant companies based in Portugal, this research presents a cyclical process with the structures, inputs and outputs, and roles in embodying sustainability in Integrated Management Systems (IMS). The originality of the work lies in the level of integration. Beyond identifying interconnection areas, it also specifies the Management Systems Standards (MSS) requirements in each area, assigning different roles in the integration process: drivers, efficient enablers, pathways, and evaluators. These four roles promote the claimed integration in a systematic cyclical process, plan–do–check–act (PDCA), to assist the consolidation of sustainability management. This research reinforces the added value of the IMS. It expands its scope, helping companies implement sustainability effectively and systematically, resulting in the presentation of Conceptual Sustainable Management Systems Standards (SMSS).
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Keywords:
sustainability; corporate system management (CSM); integrated management systems (IMS); plan–do–check–act (PDCA); sustainable management systems standards (SMSS)
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MDPI and ACS Style
Silva, C.; Magano, J.; Moskalenko, A.; Nogueira, T.; Dinis, M.A.P.; Pedrosa e Sousa, H.F. Sustainable Management Systems Standards (SMSS): Structures, Roles, and Practices in Corporate Sustainability. Sustainability 2020, 12, 5892.
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