Facilitating sustainability control in SMEs through the implementation of an environmental management system

Leanne Johnstone

33 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Management Control

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Quality and Management Systems Accounting and Organizational Management Environmental Sustainability in Business

Abstract

Abstract This paper explores the characteristic type and use of sustainability control in small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through the implementation of an environmental management system, formally certified to ISO 14001. Through a qualitative study of 18 SMEs and seven auditors operating in Northern Europe, the paper draws on the theoretical framework of sustainability control as an analytical tool to explore the interplay between the formal design of control instruments and the operational use of these in practice for the studied SMEs. The study finds that both the formalised control instrument design and operational use of these controls by employees are characteristically formal and procedure based for ISO 14001 certification. Nevertheless, environmental management in daily tasks is also achieved by engaging non-managerial employees through their passionate interests and intrinsic motivations. In extension to previous sustainability control research, the findings emphasise that local level operator knowledge is not only the product of formalised control system design, and that external factors are also important for guiding employee behaviour in situ. This proposes that daily working tasks are achieved through a combination of organisational and extra-organisational individual values and beliefs about sustainability. Particularly, engaging non-managerial employees in SMEs through a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards appears valuable for sustainable futures. Therefore, in addition to compliance-driven controls, SME owner-managers should ensure supportive structures where employees are given the autonomy to be creative and innovative.

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References

1996Two Types of Bureaucracy: Enabling and Coercive 2000Conceptualizing management accounting change: an institutional framework 2009Is accounting for sustainability actually accounting for sustainability…and how would we know? An exploration of narratives of organisations and the planet 2007Environmental strategy and performance in small firms: A resource-based perspective 1995The chameleon of accountability: Forms and discourses 1985Accounting systems and systems of accountability — understanding accounting practices in their organisational contexts 1998Proactive corporate environmental management: A new industrial revolution 2003Environmental management systems and the smaller enterprise

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