Setting a course in corporate sustainability performance measurement

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present situational, goal, and implementation diagnostic questions to guide the early stages in the development of a corporate sustainability performance measurement system (SPMS). Design/methodology/approach – The paper highlights that measuring corporate sustainability is a complex problem. It argues that significant time must be devoted to defining sustainability in the corporate context, surveying the internal and external environments in which the corporation operates, establishing goals and objectives for the SPMS, identifying how the SPMS will be used, and identifying resource needs at the very beginning of the process to create a SPMS. Key questions that must be addressed in each of these areas are highlighted and discussed. Findings – The situational, goal, and implementation diagnostic questions will help decision‐makers to structure thinking and discussion around the key issues that all meaningful corporate SPMS will need to address. The diagnostic questions will help corporate decision‐makers understand their current situation, the challenges in developing a robust SPMS, the desired end state, and the options available. Research limitations/implications – The diagnostics are conceptual models and it is recognized that there is no optimal set of questions that will apply to all cases. With that in mind, the paper notes opportunities for additional research. Originality/value – The diagnostics focus attention on the often neglected early stages of developing a corporate SPMS. They offer a novel approach to highlighting the key questions that must be addressed at the very beginning of the process. The diagnostics will be of interest to both researchers and practitioners in corporate sustainability performance measurement.