Objectives, enablers and challenges of sustainable development and sustainable manufacturing: Views and opinions of Spanish companies

This paper presents the initial results of a research project focusing on ascertaining the views of Spanish companies with regards to sustainable development. First, a literature review on the definitions, objectives and potential advantages of sustainable development and sustainable manufacturing are presented. Then, the views of Spanish companies on sustainable development are presented, based on the responses of a questionnaire survey. Further, these results are compared to a similar international study conducted by the American Management Association. The obtained results suggest that business strategy, values and top management support are essential enablers for realizing sustainability, whereas the primary challenges are problems with measurement and lack of customer demand. The results clarify the companies´ current state and expectations with regard to sustainable development and are expected to assist both the industry and the academia on the way towards global sustainability.