The balanced scorecard as a tool for environmental management: Approaching the business context to the public sector

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the different possibilities set out in the literature for the integration of environmental issues into the balanced scorecard (BSC), not only in the private sector but also in the public sector, emphasizing the need to adapt the original model of the BSC to public entities.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature review, both theoretical and empirical.

Findings

As in the private sector, the literature is not unanimous regarding the integration of environmental indicators into an independent perspective. The implementation of Kaplan and Norton’s model in the public sector, taking into consideration the environmental variable, requires double attention: on the one hand, because it is necessary to adapt it to the specificities of public entities, and on the other hand, because its environmental aim is different from and wider than that of the private sector

Originality/value

This study adds to the international research on environmental management by providing the state of the art of the integration of environmental issues into the BSC, particularly in the public sector, where literature review and empirical evidence is still relatively limited.

Citation

Monteiro, S. and Ribeiro, V. (2017), "The balanced scorecard as a tool for environmental management: Approaching the business context to the public sector", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 332-349. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-11-2015-0201