p.20 Sustainability has been defined as economic
development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.
p.24 Just as the formulation of sustainability strategy is critical, so is
the execution. Management must also make choices about how to implement the sustainability strategy
p.29 The various management systems that can be used to execute a sustainability strategy are critical
elements in any successful implementation.
p.32
- Sustainability must be an integral component of corporate strategy...
- Sustainability strategies should be supported with management control, performance measurement, and reward
systems as appropriate...
- Managers must integrate sustainability into all strategic and operational decisions. Then, additional systems
and rewards can be introduced to formalize and support
- Managing sustainability performance should be viewed not only as risk avoidance and compliance but also as
an opportunity for innovation and competitive advantage
p.47 The inputs of the [Corporate Sustainability] model... guide the decisions of leaders
and the processes that the organization undertakes to improve its sustainability. They provide a foundation for understanding
the complex factors leaders should consider and often take the form of constraints that must be addressed.
p.52 There is a growing body of research that reports that the most
effective sustainability initiatives, in terms of impacting both sustainability and organizational performance, are
those that are proactive rather than reactive.
p.53 Performance goals and objectives are typically determined only after the organization has a clear understanding
of their strategy
p.126 A measure for individual or business unit performance can be determined primarily by two factors:
the corporation's strategy and the action taken by a person or business unit that contributes to the success of the strategy...
If sustainability performance is truly important to corporate leaders, evaluations should highlight that component.
p.127 the sustainability performance of corporations, business units, facilities, teams, managers, and all
other employees should be measured and be part of the way they are evaluated for success... It can be difficult to devise
measures that send the right signals and prompt the right actions. Measures should have the following six objectives:
- Make strategic objectives clear
- Focus on core cross-functional processes
- Focus on critical success variables
- Act like early warning signals for problems ahead
- Identify critical factors going awry
- Link to rewards
... Workable measures need to serve not just management but the people who actually execute the strategy
p.128-129 Performance evaluation and measurement systems fulfill at least
three vital roles. The first role of a performance evaluation system is to capture the logic behind a sustainability
strategy and facilitate agreement about what is important, how day-to-day activities add value, and how each person
contributes to the mission... The second use, and probably the most commonly thought-about function of measurement
systems, is monitoring progress... A third role of measurement systems is to facilitate the ongoing discussion
within an organization that will lead to better performance.
p.142 Performance measurement systems communicate management priorities
by signaling throughout an organization the expected outcomes that management has determined to be important... The performance
of all employees, teams, facilities, and business units should include a sustainability performance component where appropriate.
p.165 A company must develop a structure and systems that will evaluate both the impacts of sustainability
initiatives on financial performance and the trade-offs that ultimately must be made when there are many competing organizational
constraints and numerous barriers to implementation.
p.250 The corporate sustainability model (Fig. 1.7, page 46) describes the antecedents
(drivers of success) and consequences (payoffs and measures of success) of investments in sustainability, and a way
to analyze the social, environmental, and economic impacts of corporate products, services, processes, and other activities.
This model is used to improve decision-making related to both targeted sustainability expenditures and other more
general capital and operational investment decisions... It recognizes the importance of... the formal processes of
strategy, structure, systems, performance measures, and rewards... The model shows the cause-and-effect relationship
between managerial actions and improvements in sustainability and financial performance.
p.260 To implement strategies generally and sustainability strategies particularly, managers need
to better understand the implications of their decisions and the actions that they can take to produce improved performance.
This requires a careful analysis of the key drivers of performance and a measurement of both the drivers and the causal linkages
between them. It also requires a clear understanding of the broad set of impacts that are caused by corporate activities and
to understand these impacts on a broad set of stakeholders.
