Small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) represent a significant number of industries in need of moving towards more sustainable development. A sustainability perspective on business activities is today crucial for SMEs to achieve a new level of competitiveness. Identifying which is a suitable set of sustainability indicators for an individual SME is a big challenge. The availability of so many methods and systems can leave SMEs reluctant to implement them in their small business. Therefore, this research aims to create a sustainability maturity model for SMEs to visualize goals and assess progress on their transformation journey. Progress is assessed by indicators, exemplified by indicators of the Global Reporting Initiative and the maturity is verified as stepwise growth along international management system standards. Using the developed model, it is possible to determine the SMEs' sustainability performance. The research has resulted in a stepwise classification of the organization's maturity is compiled into training and auditing material in different regions and sectors.

中文翻译：

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使用管理体系标准衡量中小企业的可持续转型


中小型企业 （SME） 代表了大量需要迈向更可持续发展的行业。如今，从可持续发展的角度看待商业活动对于中小企业实现新的竞争力水平至关重要。确定哪套适合单个中小企业的可持续性指标是一个巨大的挑战。如此多的方法和系统的可用性可能会使 SME 不愿意在他们的小型企业中实施它们。因此，本研究旨在为中小企业创建一个可持续性成熟度模型，以可视化目标并评估其转型之旅的进展。进展通过指标进行评估，以全球报告倡议的指标为例，成熟度被验证为按照国际管理体系标准逐步增长。使用开发的模型，可以确定中小企业的可持续性绩效。该研究导致对组织成熟度的逐步分类被汇编成不同地区和行业的培训和审计材料。