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PurposeTo highlight possible synergies between total quality management (TQM) and sustainable development (SD).Design/methodology/approachThese synergies are viewed based on a management system framework consisting of values, methodologies and tools. Based on common values the methodology of process management is identified as a good base for describing organisational synergies of TQM and SD. Also, process management for improved sustainability is reviewed. Here, organisational sustainability is viewed as performance based on the triple bottom line (TBL) of economy, environment and social responsibility.FindingsFindings were that process models can be used to structure the large number of indicators used to describe the TBL. This should improve the system understanding. To integrate TQM and SD, quality indicators should be added to the economic dimension. The system‐based process models can be used to describe synergies between TQM and SD. The proposed framework forms a basis for further research of the possible synergies of TQM and SD.Research limitations/implicationsThe research on synergies is limited on organisational sustainability.Practical implicationsImportant practical implications are to introduce the process view into sustainability reporting and to include quality indicators in the economic dimension.Originality/valueThe paper highlights good possibilities for synergy in combining theory from TQM and SD which should have both a research and a practical interest.

Background Universities in Sweden are since 2006 based on a government decree instructed to work with sustainable development. Recent studies on progress for Sustainable Development indicate that change is relatively slow and that most of the activities could be labelled: Business as usual. One apparent challenge is to understand what Sustainable Development means and consequently what needs to be changed compared to current performance. Visions and long range goals are important in any change work and should consequently also be important in the work for sustainable universities. Interesting questions are how visions and long range goals are defined in universities and to what extent they support work for Sustainable Development. Purpose The general purpose of the study is to see how universities could work for Sustainable Development and to find out areas of further improvement. The specific research questions in this study are: How could university work with sustainable development be characterized in education and research? How are visions and goals for Sustainable Development described by universities? How could visions and goals be improved in order to better support change towards Sustainable Development? Methodology Swedish universities are chosen for the study. The reason for this is that Swedish law since 2006 explicitly requires universities to work with Sustainable Development. This means that we can choose a random sample from the total Swedish university population and look at the interpretation of work for Sustainable Development. We use common definitions for Sustainable Development and compare them with university missions and directives from the Swedish state to answer the question how university work for Sustainable Development could be characterised. We identify typical definitions for what is required for a vision and for goals. These definitions are compared with the university interpretations as per web-sites and from individual views. Main results A review of how Sustainable Development is presented in the Swedish University world.

Sustainable Development (SD) has been on the agenda for some time. SD is an overall objective of Swedish Government policies. In an official document, Strategic Challenges - a Further Elaboration of the Swedish Strategy for Sustainable Development (Comm. 2005/06:126), issued in 2005 by the Swedish Government the national strategy from 2004 is further elaborated. It is stated that the strategy covers the following three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. It stems from a long-term vision of sustainable development and is related to international sustainable development efforts, including UN initiatives and the EU's strategy in the area. Already 2004 it became obligatory for Swedish schools and universities to include sustainable development in the curriculum. Thus, Universities should be in a good position to interpret what sustainable development is and transferring it to actions. It is after all universities who will provide the people to live and lead the change needed. Universities in Sweden have now had 6 years to work with sustainable development and there should be good examples of how this can be done. Interesting questions are how universities have interpreted sustainable development and how they are working with it. This paper presents an explorative study on to which extent the Governments sustainability strategy has been absorbed and become part of the strategy of the Swedish universities. The main purpose of this paper is to discuss how sustainable development is being interpreted. We also look at how the value per harm concept could contribute to the understanding of sustainable development. It is an exploratory case study on how 17 Swedish universities integrate SD in its mission. It is obvious that all of the studied universities have broken down the university decree into its lowest common denominators and managed to mark some of its educations by placing a sustainability sticker here and there in their course catalogues and policy documents but we are sorry to say it but beneath this superficial surface the is not much, from a sustainability point of view, integrated, wise, insightful and sound teaching going on. The question then is, how did all this happen? The collected data show that all universities are aware of the university decree. A problem with the decree is that it is vague while it clearly calls for action. This is perhaps a possible approach if the attitude is that anything goes. But as the aim is to accomplish directed action on a sustainable development that through their activities shall promote sustainable development that ensure that both the present and coming generations are guaranteed a sound environment, economic as well as social well-being and justice, this is a not so efficient approach. This mission is too vague and there are not enough guidelines on how to interpret it, create a meaningful strategy, implement, manage, measure, or report on it.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore what options the adult learner has for continued learning and what role universities are playing in providing net-based education. Current options for lifelong learning and improvement opportunities in the educational process are described based on an assessment inspired by principles of lean management. Design/methodology/approach – Sweden is chosen as an example. The current level of net-based university education and the demand for it is assessed using official Swedish data. Lean management principles are used as a starting point to define parameters for interest for the adult learner. These parameters are then converted into a five-level scale for assessing current performance with focus on university courses. The authors also study how Swedish County Councils manage their employee education and carry out a check of courses offered by massive open online course providers. Findings – Lean management principles in combination with customer focus seem to present relevant parameters for assessing distance education. Preliminary results indicate that lean lifelong learning has a considerable improvement potential. The main reasons for this potential seem to be more of a bureaucratic and political nature, whereas technology and resources appear to be less of an issue. Practical implications – The results have implications for both universities and organisations. The pressure on universities to become more customer-focussed, while at the same time, cost-effectiveness is likely to increase. Originality/value – Using the customer perspective for educational services and applying lean principles to education.

This study aims to identify and analyze the Scientific-Technical Scenario on Corporate Sustainability (STS-CS) and propose a Triple Helix-based framework for its development and guidance of future scientific and technological investments. The study was developed using a combined method of bibliometric analysis and content analysis of scientific papers and technical publications (patents, white papers, publications from public bodies, etc.). The scientific papers were searched in the Scopus database and technical publications in the Orbit Intelligence, ProQuest, and UN Global Compact platforms. The STS-CS was analyzed in light of the scientific and technical literature and experience of the authors of the study, which allowed the proposition of the framework with initiatives expanded and adapted to the domains of the Triple Helix sectors "Universities," "Governments", and "Organizations" through a process of enriching the good practices identified in the CS scenarios. The main academic contribution of this work is the upgrade of the scientific block of knowledge on CS based on cooperation between the sectors of Triple Helix that expands and deepens the research aimed at contributing to sustainable business development. As for the applied contributions, companies can identify business opportunities to increase their profits in a sustainable way, governments can find suggestions for public measures for the development of CS, and universities can identify recommendations for training professionals capable of managing socio-economic issues and developing partnerships with companies for the innovation and development of sustainable products and processes.

Sustainability 4.0 (S4.0) enables sustainable development through intelligent technologies to meet economic, environmental and social demands. The main objective of this article is to propose a framework for developing S4.0 in sectors of Triple Helix (TH) (Government, Organizations and Academy). The framework consists of benchmarking of policies and initiatives from the Science-Technology Scenario in S4.0 (STS-S4.0) and the author's experience. The STS-4.0 is a snapshot of relevant initiatives from the countries that performed best in science and technology in S4.0. This work uses the methods of bibliometric studies and content analysis of scientific articles from the Scopus database and patents publications from the Orbit database. This research resulted in a total of 19 propositions for developing sustainability through I4.0. Of these, eight are for Government, six for Organizations and five for Academy. The main scientific contribution of this work is to expand and deepen the recent block of knowledge on S4.0. As for the applied contribution, this work contributes to the conscious and sustainable development of humanity through the technological elements of I4.0, contributing to the achievement of the following SDGs proposed by the UN: 9 (Industries, Innovation and Infrastructure), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and 13 (Climate Action). The main novelty of this article is the creation of paths for Government, Organizations and Academy to interactively lead the development of global sustainability through the smart technologies of I4.0.