First Advisor

Dundar F. Kocaoglu

Date of Publication

Spring 6-12-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Technology Management

Department

Engineering and Technology Management

Language

English

Subjects

Sustainable development reporting, Business enterprises -- Environmental aspects, Sustainable development -- Economic aspects, Social responsibility of business

DOI

10.15760/etd.1814

Physical Description

1 online resource (xv, 206 pages)

Abstract

The integration of sustainability performance of companies is becoming increasingly important. The recent global requirements (i.e. the Kyoto Protocol) for significant reduction of the negative impact of companies on the environment over the next 6 years have been putting pressure on the companies, requiring them to lower the negative environmental impact of market performance. This requirement challenges the profitable growth of the companies' business functions, given the change needed for business operations to improve on their environmental impact.

In this dissertation a new corporate sustainability performance index, called: The Green Index, for measuring and assessing the integrated sustainability performance of companies is developed. The Green Index integrates Environmental Performance, Green Innovativeness and Financial Performance, by quantifying the expert opinions toward their integration. Development of the Green Index is a holistic approach in defining and measuring "green" performance for companies, integrated into their market performance. Green Index, for the first time in the literature, introduces Green Innovativeness in defining and measuring Green Performance of companies, in integration with Environmental and Financial Performance.

In the literature and business practices, there are various sustainability indices used, and methodological approaches in measuring corporate sustainability performance with more than hundred performance indicators. The Green Index, uniquely refers to the collective expert opinion of management researchers, executive managers of corporations, high-tech companies' R&D managers, financial managers, corporate social responsibility managers, in defining a shorter list of 29 performance measures under the three core performance dimensions. Hierarchical Decision Modeling is used for the development of Green Index based on experts' collective decisions. At the next level, desirability levels for each one of the 29 performance measures are scaled by a group of angel investors and investors. And their collective desirability quantifications are used toward the application of the Green Index to quantify the Green Index value for a set of scenario analyses for alternative company performance states.

Green Index fills a major gap in the scholarly literature and business practices. It meets the needs prioritized in the near future strategy of World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) towards development of new performance metrics and business models for industries that are financially successful while innovating with green products as they are reducing their negative environmental impact (WBCSD Annual Report 2010, 2011).

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/12124

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