A Maturity Model for Evaluating Data-Driven Sustainability Management

In order to stay competitive, manufacturing companies seek to enhance the accuracy, timeliness, and transparency of their sustainability efforts. This can be achieved through implementing data-driven and dynamic sustainability measurement throughout product life cycles. We introduce a maturity model for assessing and improving data-driven sustainability management, encompassing eight technical and organizational dimensions derived from both theory and practitioner insights through a design science research approach. We detail the maturity levels within each dimension, providing insights into companies' progress. For instance, in data handling and data sensors, companies move from basic implementation to real-time integration and cloud connectivity. The model also highlights challenges, such as collecting sustainability background data, formulating sustainability KPIs, and how to tailor sustainability communication. We emphasize the importance of aligning sustainability efforts with strategic business outcomes and the role of a pervasive data culture within companies. The article concludes with considerations for future research and model refinement.