What’s good for the goose... Implications of sustainable development for non-profit management: MBA Thesis

The management of many firms has changed in response to sustainable development's integration of social, economic and environmental perspectives, putting increased emphasis on the 'triple bottom line'. These changes are advocated by academic writers, government initiatives and non-profit organisations. Governments also have modified their policies and programs in response to sustainable development. But there is considerably less attention to what sustainable development means for the operation of non-profit
organisations. This thesis studies what implications sustainable development has for the management of non-profit organisations. The dearth of material directly examining this issue is addressed by considering what can be learnt from firms' responses to sustainable development, analysing the similarities and differences between management of firms and non-profits, and then identifying various management tools to assist non-profit management wanting to engage with sustainable development. Significant among these tools are the balanced scorecard, attention to supply chains, and the use of frameworks derived from risk management and project evaluation.