Mapping Social Sustainability Tools

Abstract: Considering the lack of clear guidance regarding the way business could include social sustainability into their operations, the objective of this research project was to study the functionality of social sustainability tools which are used worldwide by business practitioners and assess how useful these tools are to overcome barriers related with social aspects of sustainability as they are described in the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD): health, influence, competence, impartiality and meaning-making. A qualitative method analysis was selected, based upon direct content analysis. Elements from the 5 Level Framework (5LF) and the FSSD were used for designing two review processes to analyse selected social sustainability tools. The 5LF is useful for planning in complex systems, while the FSSD is designed to address complex challenges and recognize opportunities which aim to sustainability. The findings from the research show which tools, based on their functionality, can help a company move towards sustainability and illustrate how they address different social sustainability aspects. Based on these findings, recommendations were developed which included key features of the selected social sustainability tools. These recommendations could help business practitioners to choose the most appropriate tool for specific business context depending on the company’s needs.