Project Head:
Claudia Empacher
Project Team:
Claudia Empacher
Thomas Kluge
Alexandra Lux
Cooperation
Dörthe
Jung Consult
Elmar Sing Consult
Funding:
self Duration:
02/99 - 04/00
Field of research
Research Area:
Everyday Life Ecology, Energy, Consumption
about the Institute
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The Sustainability Audit is a management tool that integrates all three
dimensions of sustainability, that is the economic, social and ecological
one. The auditing process is a decisive step to demonstrate the links
between these three dimensions and make them fruitful for the company by
means of a sustainability management process. To do this, the auditing
process of EMAS is combined with a social audit that integrates
stakeholder interests and with a newly developed product audit that faces
the ecological impacts of products and their social implications.
After an analysis of the current state of affairs within the company which
makes sustainability problems obvious, synergies and conflicts between the
sustainability dimensions are identified. Sustainability targets are
chosen based on synergies, and conflicts should be dealt with in an
adequate way. The article suggests the implementation of so-called
problem-circles. Then, a programme of sustainability measures is decided
upon and is anquored in the management process. The progress achieved
within the targets that have been set should be measured by suitable
indicators and published in a comprehensible way. To ensure the
credibility the process should be verified by external independent
experts.
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