Making sustainability sustainable : passion and process in environmental management at IBM
Name
501814079-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
41.69 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
203260bf5d67b52ca3f927e6f84389a1
Author(s)
Ponce de León Baridó, Paulina
Advisor(s)
Rebecca Henderson.
Alternative Title
Passion and process in environmental management at IBM
Date Issued
2009
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Sustainability is one of the greatest challenges we are faced with. To be successfully addressed, a variety of stakeholders, including business, must be involved. With this in mind, this thesis seeks to further our understanding of how a firm's response to sustainability can, in addition to making business sense, be effective and sustainable. This inevitably entails dealing with the classic tension between "passion" and "process." Therefore, the thesis explores how a balance between these two may be found by examining IBM's extensive and long-sustained environmental management experience. IBM has a recognized record of environmental responsibility that has matured over almost 40 years, surviving periods of great difficulty for the company. Its environmental sustainability program and its commitment to corporate responsibility, a continuum from legal and compliance activities to engagements that help the company develop value-creation opportunities, is clearly strategic. Its efforts - a combination of activities that address immediate and future business pressures - are in tune with what the literature considers to be "best practice" in environmental corporate sustainability. IBM's experience confirms both the importance of nourishing an emotional commitment to sustainability and of establishing a process - in its case, an environmental management system - that enables the company to systematically identify and manage the environmental impacts of its operations.
(cont.) On the one hand, its long-sustained record of environmental commitment, combined with its dedication to being a recognized environmental leader, has instilled a strong passion for sustainability across the company's organizations and employees. On the other hand, IBM's pursuit of a demonstrable record of performance, combined with a commitment to continuous improvement, has led to the development of a carefully designed, effective environmental management system. IBM seems to have optimized the balance between passion and process through a commitment to scientific, fact-based, decision-making, which has allowed the company to design and implement goals and procedures that will have the most impact given its resources and footprint.
Description
Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2009.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-118).
Subjects
Engineering Systems Division.
Technology and Policy Program.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division
Technology and Policy Program
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