Corporate Sustainability as a Challenge for Comprehensive Management Klaus J. Zink (Editor) Corporate Sustainability as a Challenge for Comprehensive Management Physica-Verlag A Springer Company Editor: Prof. Dr. Klaus J. Zink Chair of Industrial Management and Human Factors University of Kaiserslautern Gottlieb-Daimler-Straße, Bldg. 42/316 67663 Kaiserslautern Germany
[email protected] ISBN 978-3-7908-2045-4 e-ISBN 978-3-7908-2046-1 Contributions to Management Science ISSN 1431-1941 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008926104 © 2008 Physica-Verlag Heidelberg This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permissions for use must always be obtained from Physica-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: WMXDesign GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany Printed on acid-free paper 987654321 springer.com Preface Since the Rio Declaration of the United Nations in 1992 sustainability has become a topic of global economic and societal relevance. Generalized sustainability means a reasonable i.e. conservative use of available resources including economic, social and environmental goals. This point of view implies that corporate activities should not concentrate on short-term improvements of a single dimension but strive for a middle to long-term balance between all three dimensions. Corporations and other economically acting organizations need to realize economic, environmental and social objectives with a long-term perspective for the benefit of all stakeholders in order to survive. Referring to corporate sustainability therefore two aspects are of specific relevance: • to realize comprehensive management concepts • based on a comprehensive change management Comprehensive management concepts are understood as systems approach including the interests of all relevant stakeholders with a mid- or long-term time perspective. As seen before these definition elements are very much related to sustainability. Such concepts can be found e.g.