Sustainability management systems (SMS): An integrative approach to management systems towards sustainable development.

摘要

The concepts of Sustainable Development (SD) and Management Systems (MS) are finding increasing acceptance in a variety of fields, including academy, politics, and non-governmental organizations. These concepts are also being used by the general population. SD is perceived as the balance between economic activities, environmental stability, and social justice. Furthermore, Management Systems are conformance-based models, such as Quality or Environmental Management Systems, all of which cover the distinct areas that integrate a company. This thesis analyzes how MS have been incorporating some of the areas of SD, and how the tendency has been towards a general holistic system. This holistic system is introduced here as a Sustainability Management System (SMS), which integrates environmental, social, and economic elements. The SMS Model has been developed from a variety of sources. An extensive literature review has been explored to obtain basic knowledge for designing the model. Moreover, a case study to analyze a company has been conducted. This company claims that they have been working towards Sustainability by using several initiatives, which include Management Systems. This step has been important for understanding performance-based models, like the Green Zia Program, and for illustrating their motivations and barriers for Sustainability. To complement the information acquired by the literature review and the case study, interviews have been conducted to several experts in Sustainability and also in environmental, health and safety (EHS) issues around the world. As a result of these three activities, the knowledge generated has been used to construct the foundations for the four basic elements that the SMS Model should contain: the Context, the Core Values, the Sustainability Performance Criteria and the Process. Finally, the SMS Model has been reviewed by companies in Mexico that claim to be leaders in EHS issues in order to understand their situation from a practical perspective by considering the Mexican context. The results have shown that, although there are some disagreements in the perception of the whole concept, the SMS Model can be a useful tool to promote Organizational Sustainability Performance.; Keywords. Sustainable Development, Management Systems, Sustainability Management System (SMS), Performance-based Models, and Green Zia Environmental Excellence Program.