Sustainability and Accountability of Supply Chains
Research Avenues on the Interplay Between Regulations, Standards and Emerging Practices
- 2026
- Book
- Author
- Andrea Caccialanza
- Publisher
- Springer Nature Switzerland
About this book
This book explores how sustainability and accountability are reshaping the way companies assess and manage performance across global supply chains. Faced with growing stakeholder and regulatory pressure, organizations are called to integrate non-financial metrics into strategic decision-making and to report transparently on their social and environmental impacts.
Grounded in a systematic literature review, the volume offers a comprehensive analysis of the intersection between sustainability, accountability, and supply chain management. It develops a conceptual framework for understanding how corporate performance evaluation can evolve to include broader dimensions of responsibility, aligning with emerging standards and institutional expectations.
Aimed at scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers, this work provides both an overview of current debates and a structured research agenda for future inquiry. It stands as a timely contribution to advancing sustainable and accountable business practices in an increasingly interconnected economy.
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Table of Contents
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Frontmatter
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Chapter 1. Fundamentals of Supply Chain Literature
Andrea CaccialanzaThis chapter delves into the foundational concepts of supply chains, tracing their evolution from a logistics-focused perspective to a more holistic approach that integrates sustainability. It begins by defining supply chains as a set of firms that pass materials forward, emphasizing the historical context and the initial focus on optimizing costs and resources. The text then explores how scholars have expanded this definition to include the flow of information and the integration of environmental, social, and economic criteria. A key focus is on the role of data sharing and governance structures in achieving sustainable supply chains. The chapter also discusses the challenges and opportunities in implementing sustainable practices, highlighting the need for transparency and collaboration among supply chain partners. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of fair value distribution and the ethical treatment of all stakeholders in the supply chain, providing a roadmap for professionals seeking to enhance their sustainability efforts.AI Generated
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AbstractThis chapter introduces and defines the concepts of supply chains and their management, which are essential for identifying the externalities (both intended and unseen) that result from practices at the company or production level. This section discusses how the supply chain perspective redefines a company’s strategic orientation and role as an economic actor. It also clarifies the logic of value distribution along the production chain, as well as the dynamics that lead to ethical remuneration across all production phases. -
Chapter 2. The Antecedents of Supply Chain Accountability: The Role of Accounting and Accountability Principles at the Firm-Level
Andrea CaccialanzaThis chapter delves into the complex concept of accountability in supply chains, highlighting the role of accounting principles and stakeholder expectations. It explores how firms can refine their performance measurement and accounting systems to meet sustainability goals, with a focus on the interconnectedness of sustainability orientation, performance measurement, and reporting activities. The text also examines the evolution and impact of integrated reporting and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, providing a critical analysis of their role in enhancing transparency and accountability. Additionally, the chapter discusses the concept of double materiality and its significance in sustainability reporting, as well as the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing these standards. Readers will gain insights into the bidirectional relationship between sustainability considerations and reporting practices, and the importance of engaging multiple stakeholders in the accountability process. The chapter also offers a detailed overview of the institutional and normative context that shapes sustainability practices, with a focus on European regulatory approaches and their impact on organizational reporting and data collection.AI Generated
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AbstractThis chapter is dedicated to defining the role of accounting and accounting principles in relation to evaluating corporate performance. This analysis concentrates on firm-level reporting for two main reasons. First, from a historical standpoint, the focus of reporting has traditionally been on a firm as an organization that interacts with its internal and external stakeholders as well as with other companies in the supply chain. Second, firm-level reporting is essential for understanding supply chain-level impacts: After all, any analysis of value-chain effects requires a precise and comparable assessment of aggregated and consolidated outcomes at the firm-level. Moreover, this focus on the corporate (micro-)level of analysis anticipates a discussion of the elements and dynamics involved in the core focus at the supply chain level, as discussed in Chap. 4. To that end, this chapter illustrates the evolution of stakeholders’ expectations that has prompted a move toward new methodologies and standards that can be used to estimate firms’ financial and non-financial impacts, such as integrated reporting (IR) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). These tools help analyze the informational needs of various stakeholders and, by extension, broaden the scope and transparency of reporting. Consequently, scholars have shifted their attention to identifying the scope of disclosure in line with the double materiality perspective. -
Chapter 3. The Role of Institutions and Norms
Andrea CaccialanzaThis chapter explores the institutional and normative drivers and barriers to sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), introducing the pyramid model of SSCM that underscores its innovative impact and contribution to shared value. It discusses the dual effect of systemic adoption of sustainable practices, promoting the dissemination of best practices and increasing the positive impacts generated. The text delves into various barriers to implementing sustainable supply chain practices, both internal and external to the company, and examines the role of technology and governance in enabling a transparent and integrated approach to sustainability transition. Additionally, the chapter provides a comparative analysis of sustainability reporting frameworks in Europe, China, and the United States, highlighting the regulatory approaches and their impact on corporate reporting behaviors. The text also discusses the evolution of sustainability reporting in Europe, the role of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), and the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Furthermore, it explores the externalities of European regulations on supply chain management and the challenges and reliability issues in data collection for ESRS standard implementation. The chapter concludes with an overview of the Omnibus simplification package on sustainability, which aims to streamline the ESG regulatory framework and reduce regulatory and compliance burdens.AI Generated
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AbstractThis chapter covers the roles of institutions and norms in shaping the relevant regulatory framework, as graphically illustrated in the top-left part of the proposed theoretical framework in Chap. 5 of this book. Specifically, it discusses how regulations can pressure firms to adopt certain practices and help formalize sustainability criteria. This chapter includes a comparison between the North American, Chinese, and European approaches, both current and prospective. Since this book’s primary focus is on the European context, the chapter also provides an in-depth analysis of the region’s recent developments and their internal and external impacts from a corporate perspective. This content unit is relevant for analyzing accountability for three main reasons. First, as shown in Chap. 2, firm-level reporting is essential to understanding the dynamics that unfold at the meso level; this underscores the need to trace the evolution of regulations that mandated disclosure for certain companies to assess the historical and forward-looking consequences of those rules. Second, in most cases, the regulation has treated the firm (or corporate group) as the reporting entity and reference point for determining the scope of disclosure (see Sect. 2.3). In contrast, in the European context, we are witnessing the definition of a reporting process that directly involves the supply chain and the entire value chain. This distinctive feature justifies the deeper focus on the European framework developed in Sect. 3.3—specifically, the implications for reporting activities (see Sect. 3.3.3, dedicated to the CSRD) and for due diligence (see Sect. 3.3.4, dedicated to the CSDDD). Third, the representation of the regulatory context—in relation to the supply chain-related aspects—allows Chap. 4 to evaluate the evolution from the firm-level analysis to the meso-level one. Consequently, these analyses start with the exposure of drivers and barriers related to the sustainability reporting process, specifically on collecting data that can be used for sustainability performance monitoring. -
Chapter 4. Evaluation and Disclosure of Sustainability Performance: From a Micro-Level to a Meso-Level Perspective
Andrea CaccialanzaThis chapter explores the evolution of sustainability metrics and frameworks, highlighting the shift from environmental to integrated sustainability metrics that encompass social, economic, and environmental dimensions. It delves into the methodologies and challenges faced in assessing corporate sustainability performance, emphasizing the importance of holistic approaches in driving strategic alignment and resilience. The text also examines the role of governance in supply chain sustainability, discussing how corporate governance can boost firms' competitiveness and ensure better operating conditions. It highlights the impact of new regulations like the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which expand the scope of disclosure beyond corporate boundaries to include supply chain impacts. Additionally, the chapter discusses the role of technology, such as blockchain, in enhancing sustainability disclosures and the challenges of achieving transparency in complex supply chain networks. It concludes by emphasizing the need for more integrated and holistic approaches to sustainability that can effectively capture the complexities of corporate sustainability performance.AI Generated
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AbstractThis chapter reviews the literature on sustainability evaluation, particularly the metrics and models adopted to estimate the actual impact at both the corporate level and across the entire (manufacturing) supply chain. Graphically, it aims to introduce the elements represented in the bottom part of the proposed theoretical framework, specifically, the data collection and (standard) measures dissertation, as well as their interconnection with the assessment of the sustainability of the value chain (left part of the framework) and the accountability of the supply chain part (right part of the framework). Thus, this chapter seeks to clarify how the enterprise dimension (the micro-level of analysis) is linked to the supply chain dimension (meso-level). This logical step can be traced back to the structure of the previous chapters. Chapter 1 introduced the concept of the supply chain—which is not as prevalent in the accounting literature to which this volume speaks—and Chap. 2 examined the antecedents and drivers of supply chain performance reporting, contrasting them with those at the firm level. Chapter 3 discussed how the evolution of regulation has facilitated this shift, tracing the move from a reporting process centered on the firm to one that expands to supply chain impacts. This chapter marks the culmination of this trajectory in the literature, unifying contributions that have already sought to redirect the debate from a vertical, firm-centric analysis to a meso-level assessment of supply chain impacts. To this end, we explore aspects of corporate governance (particularly the role of top management) and the transition to how disclosure impacts the meso level. The ultimate aim of this chapter is to foster debate on the economic, social, and environmental value of disclosing performance at the supply chain level, while anticipating the last logical element instrumental for the discussion of the proposed theoretical framework discussed in Chap. 5. -
Chapter 5. The Theoretical Framework and Research Agenda on Sustainability and Accountability of Supply Chains
Andrea CaccialanzaThis chapter delves into the theoretical framework and research agenda surrounding the sustainability and accountability of supply chains, with a particular focus on the EU's new regulatory framework. The discussion is structured around three main thematic areas: the sustainability of value chains, the accountability of value chains, and the institutional level of intervention. Each area is explored in detail, highlighting the components and related research agenda. The chapter also pinpoints promising research avenues and proposes a series of research questions for future studies. A key element is the framework of the effects on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) debate, which illustrates the relationship between various components of sustainability reporting and management. The chapter emphasizes the importance of understanding the drivers and barriers to sustainability reporting, the role of stakeholder perceptions, and the impact of new regulatory frameworks. It also discusses the accountability of supply chains, focusing on transparency and the mechanisms through which value is created and transferred. The chapter concludes with an exploration of the institutional level, examining the factors and entities that intervene in the relationship between company performance and supply chain sustainability. Overall, this chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the current state and future directions of sustainability and accountability in supply chains, offering valuable insights for professionals in the field.AI Generated
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AbstractThis final section proposes research avenues based on both the presented literature review and the proposed theoretical framework. Specifically, the chapter is structured to provide detailed thematic insights into the elements proposed in the theoretical framework, namely, the evaluation of supply chains’ sustainability and the elements involved in value chain accountability, as well as detailed examinations of potentially influential factors at the institutional level. The aim is to equip future studies with a theoretically robust and practically useful framework—one that empowers academics and practitioners to understand, identify, and quantify a company’s impacts at the supply chain level. The framework also differentiates firms’ responsiveness to the stimuli at the macroeconomic and institutional levels, the firm’s sector, managerial practices, and position in the production chain. -
Chapter 6. Conclusions
Andrea CaccialanzaThis chapter delves into the transformative impact of the European sustainability reporting architecture, specifically the CSRD/ESRS and the Omnibus simplification package, on supply chain accountability. It introduces a novel framework that integrates sustainability, accountability, and institutional mechanisms to achieve meso-level accountability. The analysis reveals three key findings: the ESRS formalizes meso-level accountability by blending a value chain lens with double materiality, the Omnibus Package strategically re-sequences and right-sizes implementations, and the diffusion of accountability is bound by data availability and quality across tiers. The chapter also discusses the managerial implications, emphasizing the importance of chain-aware management, proportional data architecture, and data readiness as a strategic capability. It concludes by highlighting the need for further research to expand on the proposed themes and evaluate the outcomes of companies' sustainability performance.AI Generated
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AbstractThis monograph asks how the European sustainability reporting architecture—centered on the CSRD/ESRS and recalibrated by the Omnibus simplification package—reconfigures accountability from the single firm (micro) to the supply chain (meso). Likewise, it considered the institutional and data mechanisms through which this accountability can be made proportionate, comparable, and decision-useful. The analysis proceeded across the literature reviewed in the book and is anchored in the theoretical framework developed in Chap. 5, which integrates (i) the sustainability of the value chain, (ii) the accountability of the value chain, and (iii) the intervening role of the institutional level (EFRAG/ESRS) into a single meso-level lens (Fig. 5.1 in Chap. 5). The framework clarifies how disclosure standards and transparency obligations can translate into supply chain governance routines: how the “arrows” between sustainability practices, accountability processes, and institutional levers coordinate expectations and evidence along upstream and downstream tiers according to the several issues involved in those three macro-dimensions.
- Title
- Sustainability and Accountability of Supply Chains
- Author
-
Andrea Caccialanza
- Copyright Year
- 2026
- Publisher
- Springer Nature Switzerland
- Electronic ISBN
- 978-3-032-16879-5
- Print ISBN
- 978-3-032-16878-8
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-16879-5
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