Article: From cleaner production to sustainability: multiple case studies in Uruguayan companies Journal: International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development (IJESD) 2023 Vol.22 No.1 pp.77 - 94 Abstract: Since the concept of cleaner production (CP) considers not only the environment but also the economic and social dimension, additional scholarly attention is focused on studying the relationship of CP to sustainability. This research aims to present the main elements that contribute to successful CP implementation and sustainability in organisations. Eleven companies, mostly SMEs that adopted CP practices after a training course, were selected from different industrial sectors. The main results showed that the critical success factors most often cited for achieving successful implementation are commitment from top management and government support. Although some companies continue to implement sustainable practices, the majority apply CP only to comply with environmental laws, which results in a limited contribution to sustainability. Additionally, the analysed companies do not have standardised metrics to evaluate their sustainable performance, but CP serves as a guide to support their decisions. More effort is needed to make companies aware of the benefits of CP in other areas of organisations, and to integrate the three domains of sustainability when implementing CP practices. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

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Title: From cleaner production to sustainability: multiple case studies in Uruguayan companies

Authors: Florencia Kalemkerian; Silvia Lamela; Javier Santos; Martin Tanco

Addresses: Centro de Innovación en Organización Industrial (CINOI), Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Montevideo, Luis P. Ponce 1307, 11300 Montevideo, Uruguay ' Centro de Producción más Limpia, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Montevideo, Luis P. Ponce 1307, 11300 Montevideo, Uruguay ' TECNUN Escuela de Ingenieros, Universidad de Navarra, Manuel Lardizabal Ibilbidea, 13, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain ' Centro de Innovación en Organización Industrial (CINOI), Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Montevideo, Luis P. Ponce 1307, 11300 Montevideo, Uruguay

Abstract: Since the concept of cleaner production (CP) considers not only the environment but also the economic and social dimension, additional scholarly attention is focused on studying the relationship of CP to sustainability. This research aims to present the main elements that contribute to successful CP implementation and sustainability in organisations. Eleven companies, mostly SMEs that adopted CP practices after a training course, were selected from different industrial sectors. The main results showed that the critical success factors most often cited for achieving successful implementation are commitment from top management and government support. Although some companies continue to implement sustainable practices, the majority apply CP only to comply with environmental laws, which results in a limited contribution to sustainability. Additionally, the analysed companies do not have standardised metrics to evaluate their sustainable performance, but CP serves as a guide to support their decisions. More effort is needed to make companies aware of the benefits of CP in other areas of organisations, and to integrate the three domains of sustainability when implementing CP practices.

Keywords: cleaner production; critical success factors; CSFs; sustainability; Uruguay; SMEs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESD.2023.127426

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2023 Vol.22 No.1, pp.77 - 94

Received: 22 Dec 2020
Accepted: 31 May 2021
Published online: 05 Dec 2022 *

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Title: From cleaner production to sustainability: multiple case studies in Uruguayan companies

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