Assessing perceptions regarding the sustainability of contemporary organizations

This article sets out to examine the perceptions regarding the sustainability of organizations within the Nelson Mandela Bay region in South Africa. The integration of economic, social and environmental performance seems to be an obstacle to many organizations. Not many organizations pursue a sustainability agenda full-on and lack a vision of sustainability, thus needing appropriate change strategies. To be able to achieve the research objectives of this project a comprehensive literature study was conducted which formed the theoretical framework for collecting the primary data. During the empirical investigation, a survey was conducted by means of 450 self-administered questionnaires being distributed to the designated population. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested as to investigate the relationship between the two independent variables, namely triple bottom line (TBL) and greening, and the dependent variable (sustainability outcomes). Some significant relationships were found between these variables. Sustainability champions need to make the link between organizational purpose, environmental performance and social responsibility in terms of long-term sustainability. Practical guidelines are provided to assist organizations in dealing with sustainability issues.