ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT IN COMPLEX ORGANIZATIONS: DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVE MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING FRAMEWORKS

In today’s rapidly evolving business environment, complex organizations face growing pressure to integrate sustainability into their core strategies and operations. Traditional performance management systems, focused mainly on financial or operational metrics, are no longer sufficient to capture the full impact of organizational activities. This thesis explores how organizations can advance sustainable performance management by designing and implementing effective measurement and reporting frameworks that balance economic, environmental, and social goals. The research begins with a review of existing literature on performance management and sustainability reporting. It identifies the main challenges organizations encounter when trying to measure sustainability performance, including aligning sustainability objectives with strategic goals, ensuring data reliability, and communicating results clearly to diverse stakeholders. Building on these insights, the thesis proposes a comprehensive framework for sustainable performance management tailored to complex organizational contexts and focused on waste minimization. To understand how these challenges are addressed in practice, the study analyzes multiple case studies across different sectors. Key principles for effective measurement and reporting are outlined, focusing on clarity, relevance, and timeliness, as well as ways to meet both regulatory and stakeholder expectations. In addition, both voluntary and mandatory standards are applied to describe and communicate sustainability performances. Results demonstrates that sustainable performance management is essential for organizations operating in complex environments. By providing a practical and adaptable framework for measurement and using sustainability reporting standards, this research offers guidance for managers, policymakers, and scholars interested in embedding sustainability into organizational practices. Ultimately, the thesis shows that careful design and implementation of performance systems can help organizations pursue sustainability while maintaining efficiency, strategic coherence, and transparency.