The organization performance framework considering competitiveness and sustainability: the application of the sustainability evaluation model

Abstract

Remaining competitive and profitable in addition to meet environmental and social demands, mandated by regulation and valued by the stakeholders, is a current challenge for companies. This scenario has awakened the interest of academics in the association of sustainability with organizational performance, creating models such as SEM (Sustainability Evaluation Model). This article aims to validate the practical application of SEM as useful to managerial decision-making process in a multi-case study in the factories of a Brazilian food and beverage manufacturer. Based on the TBL X BSC matrix, integrating sustainability and performance concepts, SEM has provided managers with a clear view of business units performance, naming their gaps to improve performance and enabling a classification among them. In addition, the correlation analysis allowed the company to clearly identify its differentials from competitors, which in this study was its focus on people as the basis for a competitive operation.

Keywords:

• Sustainability
• organizational performance
• triple bottom line
• balanced scorecard
• competitivity

Additional information

Funding

This research was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001.

Notes on contributors

Alaercio Nicoletti Junior

Dr. Alaercio Nicoletti Junior is a professor in the Department of Production Engineering at the School of Engineering at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo, Brazil. He is also the Sustainability and Continuous Improvement Manager at Grupo Petrópolis, the third largest brewery in Brazil. His main research focus are: sustainability, circular economy, lean manufacturing, six sigma and business performance.

Maria Celia de Oliveira

Dr. Maria Célia de Oliveira, is a Senior Lecturer in Decision Making and Quality Management at the Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, and FEI University Center, São Bernardo do Campo, SP – Brazil and his studies have been focussed on Decision Making Applications (Sustainability, Quality Management, Indicators evaluation, etc.).

André Luís Helleno

Dr André Luís Helleno, is a Senior Lecturer in Production and Process Planning at the Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil and his studies have focussed on the area of Sustainable Production Systems and New Technologies applied in Manufacturing systems (Industry 4.0 and Hybrid Manufacturing).

Lucila Maria de Souza Campos

Dr Lucila M. S. Campos is an Associate Professor at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) in the Department of Production Engineering and Systems and at the Graduate Program in Production Engineering (PPGEP). She holds a BSc in Production Engineering at the Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), and MSc and PhD degrees in the same area at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). She also was visiting professor at the Royal Holloway University of London, UK. Lucila has published 15 books and chapters book, more than 100 articles in relevant journals and participated in more than 200 conferences. Its main research themes are: circular economy, sustainability, environmental management and operations management. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Dário Henrique Alliprandini

Dr Dário H. Alliprandini is professor of operations management in the Department of Production Engineering at FEI University Center, Brasil. He holds his bachelor in Mechanical Engineering and his MS and PhD at University of Sao Paulo. His research interest is at quality management, continuous improvement, lean production, methodologies and systems for designing, improving and managing operations, and product development process.