Survey on Management

Information and
Sustainability

All information will be treated confidentially

Part I General information
Thank you for participating in this study. This study is specifically focused on business unit managers.
Throughout the questionnaire, we use specific wording to indicate organizational levels. The picture below
shows what we mean by e.g. your organization as a whole and your business unit.

1.1 Please indicate the branch/industry that your business unit is in:

o Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

o Mining
o Construction
o Manufacturing
o Transportation, communications, electric, gas, and sanitary services
o Wholesale trade
o Retail trade
o Finance, insurance, and real estate
o Services
o Public administration
o Non-classifiable establishments

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1.2 Including yourself, how many employees work for your business unit? Please include
temporary/interim employees who directly or indirectly report to you.

_________________________ business unit employees

1.3 How many employees work for your organization? Please include temporary/interim
employees who directly or indirectly report to your organization.

_________________________ organization employees

1.4 How long have you been working in your current position?

_________________________ number of years

1.5 How long have you been working for this organization?

_________________________ number of years

1.6 Please indicate the areas of your responsibility (more than one answer possible):

o Full profit and loss responsibility

o Revenue responsibility

o Cost responsibility

o (Not-for-profits) budget responsibility

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 Part II General Management Information

The following questions ask about the use of management information, at the level of your business
unit (or: ‘BU’). Please note that there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers to these questions, or to any
other questions in this survey.

2.1 Please indicate the extent to which the following formal management information is used,
with respect to your business unit.

to a small to a large
extent extent
a. Integration of BU objectives in BU or the
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
organization’s planning systems
b. Integration of BU performance indicators in
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
BU or the organization’s reward systems
c. Comparison of BU results to BU
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
performance objectives
d. Information on BU employees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
e. Integration of BU performance criteria in the
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
BU investment decisions
f. Reference to well-documented BU or the
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
organization’s rules and procedures
g. Detailed description of BU functions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
h. Procedure of external communication
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
concerning the BU.

2.2 Now, we focus on informal management information. Please indicate the extent to which
the following information is used, with respect to your business unit.

to a small to a large
extent extent
a. All BU employees are encouraged to make
suggestions for improvements in the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
production process.
b. All BU employees are encouraged to make
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
suggestions for improvements in products.
c. All BU employees are encouraged to make
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
suggestions in the field of sustainability.
d. BU management is really involved in the day-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
to-day management process.

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 Part III Sustainability Management Information

The following questions ask about the use of sustainability-related management information. Similar
to the previous section, we focus at the level of your business unit (or: ‘BU’).

Sustainability includes both environmental aspects and social aspects. Examples of sustainability-
related management information may include: the integration of sustainability goals into your
performance evaluation, prevention of child labour at suppliers in third world countries, or the use of
CO2 indicators on management dashboards.

Please note that there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers to these questions, or to any other question in
this survey.

3.1 The following questions asks about the information that is used, collected, and processed
about your operations. This information can be formal or informal. Please indicate the
extent to which the following information is used, with respect to the operations in your
business unit.

to a small to a large
extent extent
a. Sustainability information that relates to
possible future events (e.g., new
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
environmental regulations, that can affect
your operations)
b. Sustainability information on broad factors
external to your business unit (e.g., 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
technological developments, mobility policy)
c. Non-economic information that can affect
your operations, such as employee and
governmental attitudes regarding 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
environmental or social issues, customer
preferences, etc.
d. Quantification of the likelihood of future
sustainability-related events occurring, that
can affect your operations (e.g., scenario 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
relative to climatic changes, probability
estimates)

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 3.2 We focus on the use of formal sustainability management information. Please indicate the
extent to which the following information is used, with respect to your business unit.

to a small to a large
extent extent
a. Integration of sustainability objectives in the
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
planning systems
b. Integration of sustainability performance
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
indicators in rewarding systems
c. Comparison of results to sustainability
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
objectives
d. Environmental or social information of
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
employees
e. Integration of sustainability criteria in the
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
investment decisions
f. Reference to well-documented sustainability
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
rules and procedures
g. Detailed description of sustainability
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
functions
h. Procedure of external sustainability
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
communication

3.3 Now, we focus on the use of informal sustainability management information. Please
indicate the extent to which the following information is used, with respect to your
business unit.

to a small to a large
extent extent
a. All BU employees are encouraged to make
suggestions for improvements in the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sustainability of the production process.
b. All BU employees are encouraged to make
suggestions for improvements in the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sustainability of the products.
c. All BU employees are encouraged to make
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
suggestions in the field of sustainability.
d. BU management is really involved in the
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sustainability management process.
e. Sustainability issues are discussed during
formal and informal periodic meetings at BU 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
level
f. BU management has enough freedom to
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
manage BU sustainability issues
g. Work teams at the BU level are built to
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
manage sustainability problems
h. Persons from different BUs/parts of your
organization (as a whole) work in teams to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
manage sustainability issues

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 Part IV Sustainability Considerations

4.1 Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statements
concerning your business unit:

strongly strongly
disagree agree
a. My business unit’s primary concern with
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sustainability is driven by cost reductions
b. My business unit’s primary concern with
sustainability is driven by how customers perceive 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
us.
c. My business unit’s primary concern with
sustainability is driven by a desire to ‘do the right 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
thing’
d. Here at my business unit, the desire for
sustainability has great impact on our 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
operation
e. Here at my business unit, we think that
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sustainability is important in itself.
f. Here at my business unit, we think that, as a
business, being unsustainable is not an option for 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
us.

4.2 What does sustainability mean to your business unit? Indicate for the following
possibilities their relative importance by dividing 100 points. If a certain aspect is
unimportant, you may assign ‘zero’.

To my BU, sustainability means…

a. Providing welfare to society, in accordance to laws and regulations. _________
b. Integrating social, ethical and ecological aspects into business operations and decision-
making, for as far as this contributes to the financial bottom line. _________
c. Balancing economic, social and ecological concerns, without striving purely for
financial benefits _________
d. Searching for well-balanced, functional solutions creating economic, social and
ecological value, in a synergistic, win-win-approach _________
e. Contributing to the quality and continuation of life of every being and entity, now and
in the future, embedded in every aspect of our business. _________
100 points

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 4.3 In our business unit, we experience pressure on our sustainability from…
to a small to a large
extent extent
a. Internal policies from our organization’s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
subsidiaries or BUs
b. Potential liability for disposal of hazardous
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
materials
c. Cost for disposal of hazardous materials 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
d. Cost of environmental friendly goods 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
e. Cost of environmental friendly packages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
f. External regulations (e.g. central
governments, laws, regional environmental 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
regulations, etc.)
g. Markets (e.g. export, sales to foreign
customers, consumers’ sustainability
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
awareness, or the need to establish our
company’s ‘green image’)
h. External suppliers (e.g. suppliers’ advances in
developing environmentally friendly goods or
packaging, environmental partnerships with 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
suppliers, ensuring business continuity of
suppliers)

4.4 In this question, we ask about the types of sustainability disclosures that your
organization (as a whole) has. Please check the appropriate boxes if your company
discloses information about the following subject (more than one answer possible)

Based on corporate performance assessment, an improvement plan is developed in order to satisfy

the major stakeholders

Third-party (external) audits are performed

Corporate performance indicators and measures are reported

Self-assessments and audits are performed

Stakeholders and their needs are identified

Sustainability policies and strategies are stated

Key societal development sustainability attributes are defined.

4.5 Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statements:
strongly strongly
disagree agree
a. Investing in sustainability practices requires
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
financial resources.
b. Investing in sustainability yields long-term
results, while it requires short-term financial 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
resources.
c. When financial and sustainable objectives
both require the same resources that can only
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
satisfy one of the objectives, I will use the
resources for the financial objectives.

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 Part V Performance & Stakeholders

In this section, we are interested in sustainability performance and general performance of your
business unit. We do not ask about sensitive information, but only about your perception. This
information cannot be related to profitability or revenues, but is strictly subjective.

5.1 Perceived Sustainability Performance

How would you rate the sustainability performance of your business unit on the following
aspects? Please feel free to write “don’t know” or “not applicable” after an item when
appropriate.

very satis- very

poor factory good
a. Achievement of BU goals concerning
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sustainability
b. Cooperation with other BU on sustainability
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
topics
c. Satisfaction of internal customers of your BU
concerning the sustainability of your 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
products/services
d. Satisfaction of external customers of your
BU concerning the sustainability of your 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
products/services
e. BU employee satisfaction with the
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sustainability of your products/services
f. Compliance with standards and behavioural
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
guidelines concerning sustainability
g. Problem-solving ability of the BU in
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
achieving greater sustainability
j. Overall BU sustainability performance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5.2 Perceived BU Performance

How would you rate the financial performance of your business unit on the following
aspects? Please feel free to write “don’t know” or “not applicable” after an item when
appropriate.

very satis- very

poor factory good
a. My BU has a competitive advantage in its
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sales and profit growth
b. My BU has a competitive advantage in its
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
market value
c. My BU has a competitive advantage in cost
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
saving and efficiency
d. My BU has a competitive advantage in its
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
brand improvement
e. My BU’s overall financial performance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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 5.3 This question focuses on different stakeholder groups, and how they affect
rules/procedures and values/beliefs/traditions concerning sustainability in your business
unit. Please indicate the degree of influence that stakeholders have on these various
aspects.

Very
Very little
much
influence
influence
The influence of organizational
stakeholders (i.e. employees, managers,
shareholders) on…
a. Your BU’s sustainability rules and procedures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
b. shared values, beliefs and traditions regarding
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sustainability, within your BU.

The influence of market stakeholders (i.e.

buyers, competitors, suppliers and trade
associations) on…
c. Your BU’s sustainability rules and procedures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
d. shared values, beliefs and traditions regarding
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sustainability, within your BU.

The influence of community stakeholders

(i.e. local communities, press and media,
environmental organizations, scientific
institutes) on…
e. Your BU’s sustainability rules and procedures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
f. shared values, beliefs and traditions regarding
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sustainability, within your BU.

The influence of regulatory stakeholders

(i.e. legislators, enforcement agencies)
on…
g. Your BU’s sustainability rules and procedures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
h. shared values, beliefs and traditions regarding
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sustainability, within your BU.

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Part VI Concluding questions
6.1 If you would like to receive a summary of our research findings, we would be happy to
send it to you. To do this, we need your name and e-mail address. We will treat this
information strictly confidential, as we do with all the information obtained with this
questionnaire.

Yes, send me a summary of the research findings

Name

E-mail address

6.2 If you would like to make any additional comments on the topics discussed in this
questionnaire or if you have any remarks on the questionnaire as such, please use the
space below. Or contact Hilco van Elten directly at h.j.van.elten@rug.nl / phone.: +31
(0)6 1851 6376.

space for comments/questions

Thank you very much for filling out this questionnaire!

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