Mainstreaming the environment? the third sector and environmental performance management

Description/Abstract

Third sector organisations (TSOs) are increasingly seeking to find ways in which their performance can be evaluated to demonstrate the value of their activities (Kendall and Knapp, 2000; Paton, 2003; Arvidson, 2009). While the focus of TSOs has been predominantly the analysis of their social benefits, there is increasing awareness that the third sector needs to better consider its environmental impact.

This has been given increased momentum by the publication of Shaping Our Future: The Joint Ministerial and Third Sector Task Force Report on Climate Change, the Environment and Sustainable Development in March 2010. Given the prominence of environmental issues in recent years, it is disarming to discover that there is only a limited literature on how TSOs evaluate their environmental
performance.

In an attempt to develop a more systematic approach to this field of study, this paper provides a brief summary of the range of tools that are currently available to TSOs to evaluate their environmental performance. It then offers an analytical framework for understanding and evaluating the variety of tools and outlines a research agenda for field research on understanding the application of such tools in practice.