Promoting sustainability by spreading the Integrated Profit and Loss (IP&L™) framework : A multiple case study approach in the forest- and water industry

Sammanfattning: The integrated profit and loss (IP&L™) model is a model that provides a holistic performance evaluation of the organisation. The purpose of this study has been to explore how IP&L™ can be used in a wider setting and contribute towards more sustainable practices for an industry. The aim has therefore been to investigate advantages of having a widespread usage of the IP&L™ method, and to find out how the method can be spread to more companies. Based on this, the following three research questions was developed: What are the advantages of IP&L™ within an industry? What are the key factors in order to spread IP&L™ to other companies? What are the prerequisites for collaboration around IP&L™? The study has had a deductive and qualitative approach, investigating two different case companies. One company within the Australian water industry, and one within the Swedish forest industry. Data was collected through interviews with representatives from three different perspectives of working with IP&L™ within each company; the strategic perspective of sustainable development, the perspective of integrated reporting, and the market and customer perspective. It has been found that the main advantages of IP&L™ within an industry is that it develops consensus and new norms, enhances the external communication, and improves industry reputation. In order to spread IP&L™ to other companies, the study show that collaboration is an important factor, and to establish fruitful collaboration around IP&L™, it is important with leadership and dialogue. This study contributes to theory by providing knowledge around the specific IP&L™ model. It further has a practical contribution in the sense that it provides deeper knowledge around the IP&L™ and its usefulness, and can serve as a foundation for organisations in further developing how they use IP&L™.