With the world facing many environmental challenges, including climate change, pollution, and resource depletion, companies acknowledge the need to prioritize sustainability in their operations. 

According to a survey conducted by the United Nations Global Compact and Accenture, almost 98% of CEOs recognize the importance of sustainability and see it as a core part of their role. Moreover, a report by the Global Reporting Initiative found that 73% of the world’s largest companies are now reporting on their sustainability performance. Additionally, over 25% of businesses reported cost savings as a result of their sustainability investments.

Not only is it a moral imperative but it is also increasingly becoming a business essential as consumers, investors, and governments demand more sustainable practices from businesses. The Global Sustainable Investment Alliance reports that sustainable investments reached $35.3 trillion globally in 2020, up 15% from 2018. Furthermore, a survey revealed that over one-third (34%) of the population is willing to pay a 25% premium on average for sustainable products or services.

But there is still much progress to be made. Monitoring performance using key performance indicators (KPIs) can provide insights into environmental performance and aid in monitoring waste reduction and management.

One example is The KPI Institute’s KPI of the Month: % Waste reused, recycled, and recovered. This KPI helps businesses identify the proportion of reused, recycled, or recovered from the total waste generated during the reporting period. Its purpose is “to provide an indication of the performance management efficacy and commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainability actions.”

This KPI of the Month endorses the Zero Waste Hierarchy framework, which aims to promote sustainable choices, minimize waste, and conserve resources. The framework is divided into seven parts: redesign, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, residuals and unacceptable. 

To know more about how to use the % Waste reused, recycled, and recovered indicator, download the free poster through The KPI Insitute Marketplace. 

The KPI of the Month Infographic features a KPI by providing its definition and presenting the challenges of using the KPI in terms of calculation, Balance Scorecard focus, data profile, targets, and recommendations for implementation. It is a valuable resource for practitioners, academics, and consultants working in performance management.

Editor’s Note: Below is an excerpt from the article “Sustainability Standards and KPIs As Game Changers,” written by Silvana Badita and published in the latest edition of Performance Magazine. It presents trends, solutions, and best practices for strategy and performance management through in-depth articles, first-hand how-to’s, concept presentations, case studies, and expert insights.

Companies can no longer afford to ignore sustainability. It is not just a trend but a major factor that drives where most businesses are headed. According to Globescan’s The State of Sustainable Business 2019, reputational risks, consumer demand, investor interest, operational risk, and employee engagement are some of the catalysts behind the sustainability efforts of most organizations. 

Manufacturing is one of the industries that are pressured to realign their activities with the mounting call for sustainability practices. Sustainable manufacturing refers to developing products with minimal negative environmental impacts and maximum contribution to the conservation of natural resources. These products are expected to be economically sound and safe for employees, communities, and consumers. 

Sustainable manufacturing aims to reduce the intensity of materials use, energy consumption, emissions, and unwanted byproducts while maintaining or improving the value provided for society and organizations. 

Some relevant key performance indicators that are often considered when evaluating the sustainability of manufacturing companies are:

• Environmental performance KPIs, such as: # Air emissions, % Energy utilization, % Hazardous waste etc.
• Economic performance KPIs: % Product reliability, % Conformance to specifications, $ Material cost, % Labor cost etc.
• Social performance KPIs: % Occupational health and safety, % Turnover rate, % Supplier commitment etc.

Sustainability standards are observed to ensure quality, transparency, compliance, and results in terms of making organizations accountable for their economic, environmental, and social performance.

The GRI Standards

Among the internationally renowned frameworks is the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards. The GRI Standards consist of Universal Standards, which apply to all organizations and report on human rights and environmental due diligence, the new Sector Standards for sector-specific impacts, and the Topic Standards that come with the revised Universal Standards and relate to a particular topic.

Their vision is to create a sustainable future enabled by transparency and open dialogue about impacts. In this regard, they are a provider of the world’s most widely used sustainability disclosure standards.

With GRI Standards, companies can publicly present the outcomes of their activities in a structured way. This allows their stakeholders and interested parties to better see their status of how they are responding to calls for sustainability. GRI Standards can be used by any type of organization, whether large or small, public or private, or from any location or industry.

June 07, 2013, Melbourne, Australia – The KPI Institute, the global authority on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) research and education announces the launch of a new report in its 2011-2012 edition of its popular Top 25 series of reports. The series is based on research conducted through www.smartKPIs.com, which contains over 20,000 Key Performance Indicator examples, making it the world’s largest source of thoroughly documented KPIs.

Sustainability, for humans in social systems or ecosystems, refers to long-term maintenance of responsibility, which has environmental, economic and social dimensions. Sustainable energy is the sustainable provision of energy, which meets the present needs of the population without having negative impacts on the future ones. The technologies that promote this kind of energy include renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal energy and tidal power, being designed to improve energy efficiency. (more…)