Facilitating Sustainable Organisational Change: A Case-Study in Sustainability Assessment Models

Abstract

The title of the thesis is: Facilitating Sustainable Organisational Change: A Case-Study in Sustainability Assessment Models. In this thesis I explore the first steps of a sustainable organisational change process within an engineering consultancy. This thesis researches how sustainability assessment can assist in identifying business problems and solutions to those problems. Organisational change theory is the basis of this research. The differences between intended and emergent change are discussed, as are different definitions of sustainability, and what sustainability assessment models exist. A case-study is performed in which a consultancy agency is reviewed for its sustainability and the organisational contextual factors that could hinder or support organisational change such as organisational structure, organisational culture, and management involvement. The findings support the idea that contextual factors are supporting factors for sustainable change when they are positioned well. A structure and culture that are geared towards sustainability, together with clear storytelling and change agents can assist the organisation in implementing change to sustainability.