Management Systems and Performance Frameworks for Sustainability

1 Introduction

As I begin writing this book the recent ratification of the ISO 9000:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 versions of the standard come sharply into view, in particular the emphasis on the role of quality, safety and environmental management systems on achieving sustainable development goals. There is a sense that quality management theory has evolved whilst sustainability is evolving (Figure 1.1). The complex nature of sustainability as concept at times leads to an ambiguity reflective of earlier challenges faced by business in regards to Total Quality Management (TQM) (James 2015; Fust and Walker 2007). TQM is a mature management concept defined as an organisation-wide approach to understanding precisely what customers need and consistently ...