The integration of environmental sustainability in corporate management systems: Evidence from the Italian energy sector
The Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming increasingly important for companies, not only for the fundamental value of its contents (environmental, social and governance), but for its ability to generate value for the system. Furthermore, Corporate Social Responsibility becomes an integrated dimension to financial reporting.
Regarding the application of scientific theories in the business field, there are several tools and models for integrating Corporate Social Responsibility into companies’ internal performance measurement systems. The inside-out, outside-in and twin-track approaches represent different methodologies for integrating environmental and social issues into corporate processes and strategies. In addition, the sustainability balanced scorecard model can allow companies to consider the impact of their activity on the environment, the risks of environmental damage, the use of resources or customer satisfaction for the implementation of a sustainable strategy. This research focuses on the analysis of control and performance measurement systems of Italian companies in the energy sector in the last five years: these companies have been integrating environmental sustainability into their internal company processes for years now, but only recently they are moving towards redesigning their organization not only for external reporting purposes, but increasingly at a strategic level.
keywords: CSR, sustainability control system, performance management system, Italian companies
