Gyula Zilahy

Organisational factors determining the implementation of cleaner production measures in the corporate sector

Abstract Empirical research undertaken at the Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration concentrated on the organisational factors hindering energy related cleaner production measures at several major Hungarian companies. The underlying objective of the research was to analyse the barriers to preventive environmental actions which often impede the implementation of cost effective CP measures at the company level. As a result of this research, organisational barriers to effective implementation of CP measures have been identified at eight enterprises of the Hungarian industry and recommendations have been developed to overcome the barriers for the implementation of the CP options. Although some characteristics of the sample companies are specific to a country in transition, most of the experiences gained can be utilised in more developed regions of the world as well.

The environmental activities of industrial park organisations in Hungary

Industrial Parks (IPs) and other forms of industrial agglomerations not only play an ever-increasing role in economic development, but may also contribute to the implementation of the principles of sustainable development. Modern-day IPs in Hungary face a number of environmental challenges, from the need to clean up historical pollution to compliance with European Union (EU) regulations. A survey conducted at the Corvinus University of Budapest shows that while many IP organisations – the coordinating umbrella organisations of IPs – are aware of these tasks, their activities often lag behind. This paper looks at the environmental practices and motives of these IP organisations and provides suggestions for their future development.

Corporate Sustainability Footprints—A Review of Current Practices

This paper aims to contribute to the footprint debate by providing a systematic review of footprint concepts that can be used on the corporate or organizational level. This may take us one step further towards the conceptualization of lesser used footprints and their integration into sustainability management accounting. Based on the systematic review process seven different footprint concepts emerged that can be used at the organizational level (ecological, carbon, environmental, water, nitrogen, ethical and social footprints). These concepts are very diverse regarding scope and methodological explicitness, however, they offer an opportunity for organizations to tackle, monitor and communicate their sustainability performance on the organizational level. Five of the reviewed organizational footprint concepts are related to the environmental while two to the social domain of sustainability. As highlighted by the review, there seems to be no footprint concept going beyond one single dimension of sustainable development. This means that the interrelationships between the environmental, social and economic performance are not grasped by any of the introduced concepts, making them unsuitable for a comprehensive sustainability assessment. For this reason, integrating different corporate footprint concepts may be one important field of future research.