The sustainable company: looking at goals for people, planet and profits

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the landscape of sustainability goals set by large firms.

Design/methodology/approach

Sustainability reports were content analyzed using the triple bottom line framework.

Findings

This study identified 389 goals among 22 firms. The most common goals focused on the natural environment. On average, the firms list 18 sustainability goals. These included an average of eight “planet” goals, seven “people” goals and three “overarching” goals.

Practical implications

This research should be useful to sustainability professionals who are setting goals for their firms and seek to understand the current landscape of goals set by large firms.

Originality/value

Although previous research has analyzed the content of sustainability reports, this is the first paper to explore sustainability goals. Given the importance of goal setting in strategic management, this paper fills an important gap in the intersection between sustainability and strategy.

Citation

Palmer, T.B. and Flanagan, D.J. (2016), "The sustainable company: looking at goals for people, planet and profits", Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 37 No. 6, pp. 28-38. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-09-2015-0095