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Companies on the Scale: Comparing and Benchmarking the Sustainability Performance of Businesses

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  • Thomas O. Wiedmann
  • Manfred Lenzen
  • John R. Barrett

Abstract

A determination of the sustainability performance of a company ought to fulfill certain requirements. It has to take into account the direct impacts from on‐site processes as well as indirect impacts embodied in the supply chains of a company. This life cycle thinking is the common theme of popular footprint analyses, such as carbon, ecological, or water footprinting. All these indicators can be incorporated into one common and consistent accounting and reporting scheme based on economic input−output analysis, extended with data from all three dimensions of sustainability. We introduce such a triple‐bottom‐line accounting framework and software tool and apply it in a case study of a small company in the United Kingdom. Results include absolute impacts and relative intensities of indicators and are put into perspective by a benchmark comparison with the economic sector to which the company belongs. Production layer decomposition and structural path analysis provide further valuable detail, identifying the amount and location of triple‐bottom‐line impacts in individual upstream supply chains. The concept of shared responsibility has been applied to avoid double‐counting and noncomparability of results. Although in this work we employ a single‐region model for the sake of illustration, we discuss how to extend our ideas to international supply chains. We discuss the limitations of the approach and the implications for corporate sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas O. Wiedmann & Manfred Lenzen & John R. Barrett, 2009. "Companies on the Scale: Comparing and Benchmarking the Sustainability Performance of Businesses," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 13(3), pages 361-383, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:13:y:2009:i:3:p:361-383
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2009.00125.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Ahi, Payman & Searcy, Cory & Jaber, Mohamad Y., 2018. "A Quantitative Approach for Assessing Sustainability Performance of Corporations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 336-346.
    2. Tuni, Andrea & Rentizelas, Athanasios, 2019. "An innovative eco-intensity based method for assessing extended supply chain environmental sustainability," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 126-142.
    3. Jérémi Assael & Thibaut Heurtebize & Laurent Carlier & François Soupé, 2023. "Greenhouse Gases Emissions: Estimating Corporate Non-Reported Emissions Using Interpretable Machine Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-28, February.
    4. Jeremi Assael & Thibaut Heurtebize & Laurent Carlier & Franc{c}ois Soup'e, 2022. "Greenhouse gases emissions: estimating corporate non-reported emissions using interpretable machine learning," Papers 2212.10844, arXiv.org.
    5. Jeremi Assael & Thibaut Heurtebize & Laurent Carlier & François Soupé, 2023. "Greenhouse gases emissions: estimating corporate non-reported emissions using interpretable machine learning," Working Papers hal-03905325, HAL.
    6. C. Genta & S. Favaro & G. Sonetti & G. V. Fracastoro & P. Lombardi, 2022. "Quantitative assessment of environmental impacts at the urban scale: the ecological footprint of a university campus," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 5826-5845, April.
    7. Nuri Cihat Onat & Murat Kucukvar & Omer Tatari, 2014. "Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Passenger Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(12), pages 1-38, December.
    8. Louise Laumann Kjaer & Niels Karim Høst-Madsen & Jannick H. Schmidt & Tim C. McAloone, 2015. "Application of Environmental Input-Output Analysis for Corporate and Product Environmental Footprints—Learnings from Three Cases," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-24, August.
    9. Kimitaka Nishitani & Nurul Jannah & Hardinsyah Ridwan & Shinji Kaneko, 2013. "The Influence of Voluntary and Mandatory Environmental Performance on Financial Performance: An Empirical Study of Indonesian Firms," Discussion Paper Series DP2013-01, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    10. Jeremi Assael & Thibaut Heurtebize & Laurent Carlier & François Soupé, 2023. "Greenhouse gas emissions: estimating corporate non-reported emissions using interpretable machine learning," Post-Print hal-03905325, HAL.
    11. G Tassinari & S Boccaletti & C Soregaroli, 2023. "Recycling sludge in agriculture? Assessing sustainability of nutrient recovery in Italy," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 50(5), pages 1633-1658.
    12. Gergely Tóth & Cecília Szigeti & Gábor Harangozó & Dániel Róbert Szabó, 2018. "Ecological Footprint at the Micro-Scale—How It Can Save Costs: The Case of ENPRO," Resources, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-14, August.
    13. Bradley G. Ridoutt & Peerasak Sanguansri & Gregory S. Harper, 2011. "Comparing Carbon and Water Footprints for Beef Cattle Production in Southern Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(12), pages 1-13, December.
    14. Kimitaka Nishitani & Shinji Kaneko & Satoru Komatsu & Hidemichi Fujii, 2014. "How does a firm’s management of greenhouse gas emissions influence its economic performance? Analyzing effects through demand and productivity in Japanese manufacturing firms," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 355-366, December.
    15. Odysseas Christou & Dimitra B. Manou & Stefano Armenia & Eduardo Franco & Anastasia Blouchoutzi & Jason Papathanasiou, 2024. "Fostering a Whole-Institution Approach to Sustainability through Systems Thinking: An Analysis of the State-of-the-Art in Sustainability Integration in Higher Education Institutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-22, March.
    16. Diego Iribarren & Ian Vázquez-Rowe, 2013. "Is Labor a Suitable Input in LCA + DEA Studies? Insights on the Combined Use of Economic, Environmental and Social Parameters," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-17, July.
    17. Thomas Wiedmann & John Barrett, 2010. "A Review of the Ecological Footprint Indicator—Perceptions and Methods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(6), pages 1-49, June.
    18. Stefan Giljum & Hanspeter Wieland & Stephan Lutter & Martin Bruckner & Richard Wood & Arnold Tukker & Konstantin Stadler, 2016. "Identifying priority areas for European resource policies: a MRIO-based material footprint assessment," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 5(1), pages 1-24, December.
    19. Jabbour, Charbel Jose Chiappetta & de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz Lopes & Sarkis, Joseph, 2019. "Unlocking effective multi-tier supply chain management for sustainability through quantitative modeling: Lessons learned and discoveries to be made," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 11-30.
    20. Lawrence D. LaPlue & Christopher A. Erickson, 2020. "Outsourcing, trade, technology, and greenhouse gas emissions," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 22(2), pages 217-245, April.

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