Aluno: Branca Frade Torres
Resumo
Sustainability has been discussed amongst academics and its importance is being more visible in the latest years since the impacts humans have on the environment have been emphasised more and more in today’s society. For businesses, sustainability is many times seen as a way to achieve some reputation instead of being used for the benefit of the company, by reducing expenses and saving resources. Therefore, this research aims to address how can the analysed Company strengthen its sustainability communication with its stakeholders, in particular suppliers. To determine the best practices for the firm to use in this communication, the research analyses the suppliers’ expectations regarding their client’s sustainability communications and proposes practices to achieve those expectations. The methodology used to conduct this study is an action research method with a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews to evaluate suppliers’ expectations and a benchmarking of the food and beverages industry to compare their sustainability practices. The main conclusions drawn from this research are that suppliers expect their clients to communicate with them more frequently and directly, about sustainability issues and their sustainability performance. It was also possible to suggest practices to the Company regarding its Supplier Code of Conduct, its collaboration with suppliers to reduce carbon emissions, and the creation of a channel for engagement with this stakeholder. The two main contributions of this study are the identification of suppliers’ expectations contributing to an unexplored field, and the given recommendations to the Company that can also be applied to other similar companies.
Trabalho final de Mestrado