"Control Systems for Managing Sustainability: Henkel Case Study"

Abstract

Over the past decades, the growing concerns for climate change, social inequalities and financial scandals have risen the attention to environmental and social sustainability. In response to the increasing pressures coming from national and international regulations, and society in general, companies have been gradually pushed towards the adoption of principles of both social and environmental responsibility within their strategies, structures and management systems. Accordingly, based on Merchant and Van der Stede’s (2007) framework, the thesis examines what are the results, action and people controls that companies can adopt to drive employees’ behavior towards sustainability objectives’ achievement. The discussion starts with the exploration of the traditional management control systems (MCSs) and, after a focus on sustainability issues, its conceptualization within company’s boundaries and external reporting, the sustainability control systems (SCSs) are analyzed. Finally, in order to show how these mechanisms are used in practice, the last chapter examines the case study of the company Henkel, internationally rated and ranked among the top 1 per cent of the most sustainable companies worldwide.