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L.H.H. Niemann
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1
Sustainability reporting for and by cities
A longitudinal analysis of European and Latin American practices
Sustainability reporting is widely promoted as a pathway to better urban governance - but does more data really lead to better decisions, learning, or accountability? While indicator frameworks have proliferated globally, research remains dominated by Western contexts. This leaves the long-term dynamics in the Global South largely unexplored and casts doubt on the explanatory power of existing theories.
This dissertation bridges that gap. Through a longitudinal, comparative analysis of cities in Europe and Latin America, it investigates how reporting initiatives function within their specific ecological niches. Findings show that while reporting can support transparency and policy change, it risks becoming a bureaucratic ritual that loses traction when misaligned with local political realities.
By examining how design choices and stakeholder engagement shape real-world effects, this study moves beyond the "more data is better" narrative. It offers a framework for designing reporting initiatives that are credible, context-sensitive, and capable of producing lasting public value.
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This dissertation bridges that gap. Through a longitudinal, comparative analysis of cities in Europe and Latin America, it investigates how reporting initiatives function within their specific ecological niches. Findings show that while reporting can support transparency and policy change, it risks becoming a bureaucratic ritual that loses traction when misaligned with local political realities.
By examining how design choices and stakeholder engagement shape real-world effects, this study moves beyond the "more data is better" narrative. It offers a framework for designing reporting initiatives that are credible, context-sensitive, and capable of producing lasting public value.
...
Sustainability reporting is widely promoted as a pathway to better urban governance - but does more data really lead to better decisions, learning, or accountability? While indicator frameworks have proliferated globally, research remains dominated by Western contexts. This leaves the long-term dynamics in the Global South largely unexplored and casts doubt on the explanatory power of existing theories.
This dissertation bridges that gap. Through a longitudinal, comparative analysis of cities in Europe and Latin America, it investigates how reporting initiatives function within their specific ecological niches. Findings show that while reporting can support transparency and policy change, it risks becoming a bureaucratic ritual that loses traction when misaligned with local political realities.
By examining how design choices and stakeholder engagement shape real-world effects, this study moves beyond the "more data is better" narrative. It offers a framework for designing reporting initiatives that are credible, context-sensitive, and capable of producing lasting public value.
This dissertation bridges that gap. Through a longitudinal, comparative analysis of cities in Europe and Latin America, it investigates how reporting initiatives function within their specific ecological niches. Findings show that while reporting can support transparency and policy change, it risks becoming a bureaucratic ritual that loses traction when misaligned with local political realities.
By examining how design choices and stakeholder engagement shape real-world effects, this study moves beyond the "more data is better" narrative. It offers a framework for designing reporting initiatives that are credible, context-sensitive, and capable of producing lasting public value.
Since 1994, Colombian mayors have been legally held accountable for election promises and goal achievement in office; non-compliance or underperformance may trigger recalls. In several Latin American countries, civil-society coalitions striving for urban sustainability have successfully lobbied for adopting similar rules in more than 60 cities. We conducted a longitudinal, comparative case study, based on documents and 16 interviews, to study the characteristics and effects of the accountability mechanisms emerging in Bogotá, Córdoba, Guadalajara, and São Paulo. Results show that goal-setting and reporting requirements are beneficial to urban governance in terms of increasing programmatic policies, intra-municipal cooperation, civil society involvement, and citizen participation. However, unintended consequences, including a rigid, short-term focus on targets at the expense of long-term objectives, were also observed. This suggests trade-offs concerning accountability and flexibility and dilemmas in the choice of indicators; outcome-based targets foster long-term, holistic policymaking yet output targets align more easily to local government competencies and citizen demands. The engagement of strong local civil society organisations facilitates the effective implementation of mayoral accountability mechanisms. Our findings offer insights to practitioners and researchers of democratic innovations and international policy frameworks including localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The design of accountability mechanisms at the city level in diverse contexts and alternatives to the dominant model of voluntary goal-setting require further attention and research.
...
Since 1994, Colombian mayors have been legally held accountable for election promises and goal achievement in office; non-compliance or underperformance may trigger recalls. In several Latin American countries, civil-society coalitions striving for urban sustainability have successfully lobbied for adopting similar rules in more than 60 cities. We conducted a longitudinal, comparative case study, based on documents and 16 interviews, to study the characteristics and effects of the accountability mechanisms emerging in Bogotá, Córdoba, Guadalajara, and São Paulo. Results show that goal-setting and reporting requirements are beneficial to urban governance in terms of increasing programmatic policies, intra-municipal cooperation, civil society involvement, and citizen participation. However, unintended consequences, including a rigid, short-term focus on targets at the expense of long-term objectives, were also observed. This suggests trade-offs concerning accountability and flexibility and dilemmas in the choice of indicators; outcome-based targets foster long-term, holistic policymaking yet output targets align more easily to local government competencies and citizen demands. The engagement of strong local civil society organisations facilitates the effective implementation of mayoral accountability mechanisms. Our findings offer insights to practitioners and researchers of democratic innovations and international policy frameworks including localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The design of accountability mechanisms at the city level in diverse contexts and alternatives to the dominant model of voluntary goal-setting require further attention and research.
Data Requests in Value Chains
The Effects of Corporate Sustainability Reporting on SMEs in The Netherlands
Journal article
(2025)
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L.H.H. Niemann, Sebastiaan Morssinkhof, Martijin Jeroen van der Linden, Karl de Vries
This study examines the effects of sustainability-related data requests—spurred by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)—on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Netherlands. Using a representative survey of 431 SMEs and 48 qualitative interviews with SME representatives and business stakeholders, the research provides a comprehensive overview of their experiences in late 2024. A key finding is that most Dutch SMEs (72%) have not yet received sustainability data requests. However, SMEs embedded in international value chains report more frequent and complex data demands, particularly concerning environmental indicators like CO2 emissions and material use. Ratings of perceived relevance reveal a disconnect between external data requests and SMEs’ internal priorities, with many SMEs prioritizing health and safety over climate metrics. While some SMEs see data requests as opportunities for improved sustainability performance and market positioning, many also experience challenges, including limited resources, fragmented IT systems, and regulatory uncertainty. The implementation of CSRD highlights the urgency of supporting SMEs in building data management capacities and standardized processes. The study recommends clearer communication of data relevance, targeted support measures, and further research into cross-national and longitudinal dynamics to foster an effective sustainability transition across value chains.
...
This study examines the effects of sustainability-related data requests—spurred by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)—on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Netherlands. Using a representative survey of 431 SMEs and 48 qualitative interviews with SME representatives and business stakeholders, the research provides a comprehensive overview of their experiences in late 2024. A key finding is that most Dutch SMEs (72%) have not yet received sustainability data requests. However, SMEs embedded in international value chains report more frequent and complex data demands, particularly concerning environmental indicators like CO2 emissions and material use. Ratings of perceived relevance reveal a disconnect between external data requests and SMEs’ internal priorities, with many SMEs prioritizing health and safety over climate metrics. While some SMEs see data requests as opportunities for improved sustainability performance and market positioning, many also experience challenges, including limited resources, fragmented IT systems, and regulatory uncertainty. The implementation of CSRD highlights the urgency of supporting SMEs in building data management capacities and standardized processes. The study recommends clearer communication of data relevance, targeted support measures, and further research into cross-national and longitudinal dynamics to foster an effective sustainability transition across value chains.
Monitoreo local de la sostenibilidad
Iniciativas y aportes de la sociedad civil en ciudades latinoamericanas
La “batalla mundial por la sostenibilidad se ganará o se perderá en las ciudades”, proclamaron las Naciones Unidas (United Nations, 2012). Según esta metáfora, América Latina es un importante campo de batalla. Es la región más urbanizada del mundo y alrededor del 80% de la población vive en ciudades. .Qué puede aportar el monitoreo local de indicadores a esta “batalla” por las ciudades sostenibles? Para iniciar la reflexión, se recurre a dos afirmaciones provocativas: la sostenibilidad urbana no puede existir y el monitoreo de los caminos hacia esta utopía es una estrategia sobrevalorada. La primera afirmación se basa en el argumento siguiente: el concepto de sostenibilidad implica que una unidad (geográfica) puede ser autosuficiente, pero una ciudad jamás lo puede ser, dado que no funciona de forma aislada, sino siempre depende del consumo e intercambio de materias, energías y personas con su entorno y otras partes del planeta. Por lo tanto, se puede decir que una "ciudad sostenible" es un oxímoron (Rees, 1997) así como la "amargura dulce". La segunda afirmación acerca del monitoreo se basa en una observación empírica: las iniciativas locales de los indicadores de sostenibilidad tienden a tener una esperanza de vida bastante corta, decepcionan muchas veces a los activistas que las inician con entusiasmo y luego quedan desilusionados cuando sus esfuerzos no muestran los éxitos esperados (Wray et al., 2017). A pesar de estas dos advertencias, esta reflexión tiene un propósito positivo: responder a la pregunta inicial sobre los aportes del monitoreo al relatar, justamente, bajo qué condiciones las iniciativas locales pueden alcanzar permanencia organizativa e incidir positivamente en sus respectivas ciudades. Para tal fin, este artículo se estructura de la siguiente manera. La primera sección introduce el concepto de monitoreo negociación internacional en américa latina 146 local enfocando el objeto de medición .Qué se mide? Como respuesta a esta pregunta introduce la herramienta de los indicadores y los enfoques de selección "desde arriba" y "desde abajo". Se sigue con una sección dedicada al propósito de los sistemas de monitoreo. .Para qué medir? Como respuesta a esta pregunta se introduce una tipología de los usos de la información (se distingue la incidencia en la toma de las decisiones del aporte a conocimientos y otras influencias) y se hace la recomendación de escoger entre los niveles de los indicadores para sintonizar con las competencias de los gobiernos locales. La siguiente sección se dedica a la pregunta .quién mide? Como respuesta se muestra que existen muchas maneras de organizar las iniciativas locales. Contrario a lo que han asumido otros investigadores, el involucramiento de los gobiernos locales no es una necesidad, sino una opción a "negociar". La última sección va más allá de una resena bibliográfica para presentar un caso de estudio pertinente: el desarrollo de las iniciativas de monitoreo (que integraron la Red Latinoamericana por Ciudades y Territorios Justos, Democráticas y Sustentables) en 10 países latinoamericanos, con una muestra de 49 ciudades diferentes estudiadas longitudinalmente.
...
La “batalla mundial por la sostenibilidad se ganará o se perderá en las ciudades”, proclamaron las Naciones Unidas (United Nations, 2012). Según esta metáfora, América Latina es un importante campo de batalla. Es la región más urbanizada del mundo y alrededor del 80% de la población vive en ciudades. .Qué puede aportar el monitoreo local de indicadores a esta “batalla” por las ciudades sostenibles? Para iniciar la reflexión, se recurre a dos afirmaciones provocativas: la sostenibilidad urbana no puede existir y el monitoreo de los caminos hacia esta utopía es una estrategia sobrevalorada. La primera afirmación se basa en el argumento siguiente: el concepto de sostenibilidad implica que una unidad (geográfica) puede ser autosuficiente, pero una ciudad jamás lo puede ser, dado que no funciona de forma aislada, sino siempre depende del consumo e intercambio de materias, energías y personas con su entorno y otras partes del planeta. Por lo tanto, se puede decir que una "ciudad sostenible" es un oxímoron (Rees, 1997) así como la "amargura dulce". La segunda afirmación acerca del monitoreo se basa en una observación empírica: las iniciativas locales de los indicadores de sostenibilidad tienden a tener una esperanza de vida bastante corta, decepcionan muchas veces a los activistas que las inician con entusiasmo y luego quedan desilusionados cuando sus esfuerzos no muestran los éxitos esperados (Wray et al., 2017). A pesar de estas dos advertencias, esta reflexión tiene un propósito positivo: responder a la pregunta inicial sobre los aportes del monitoreo al relatar, justamente, bajo qué condiciones las iniciativas locales pueden alcanzar permanencia organizativa e incidir positivamente en sus respectivas ciudades. Para tal fin, este artículo se estructura de la siguiente manera. La primera sección introduce el concepto de monitoreo negociación internacional en américa latina 146 local enfocando el objeto de medición .Qué se mide? Como respuesta a esta pregunta introduce la herramienta de los indicadores y los enfoques de selección "desde arriba" y "desde abajo". Se sigue con una sección dedicada al propósito de los sistemas de monitoreo. .Para qué medir? Como respuesta a esta pregunta se introduce una tipología de los usos de la información (se distingue la incidencia en la toma de las decisiones del aporte a conocimientos y otras influencias) y se hace la recomendación de escoger entre los niveles de los indicadores para sintonizar con las competencias de los gobiernos locales. La siguiente sección se dedica a la pregunta .quién mide? Como respuesta se muestra que existen muchas maneras de organizar las iniciativas locales. Contrario a lo que han asumido otros investigadores, el involucramiento de los gobiernos locales no es una necesidad, sino una opción a "negociar". La última sección va más allá de una resena bibliográfica para presentar un caso de estudio pertinente: el desarrollo de las iniciativas de monitoreo (que integraron la Red Latinoamericana por Ciudades y Territorios Justos, Democráticas y Sustentables) en 10 países latinoamericanos, con una muestra de 49 ciudades diferentes estudiadas longitudinalmente.
How to sustain sustainability monitoring in cities
Lessons from 49 community indicator initiatives across 10 Latin American countries
Since the 1990s, many countries have witnessed the emergence of organizations publishing environmental, social, and quality-of-life indicators at a city level in order to promote public aware-ness, democratic participation, and sustainability policies. Many such initiatives are short-lived, however, and reasons for their success and failure under-researched. Using interviews, surveys, and documental data, we explored the survival rates, obstacles, and achievements of 49 initiatives in 10 Latin American countries. Contrary to those in other world regions, most initiatives have civil society stakeholders (notably universities, media, and businesses), excluding governments. Implementing citizen perception surveys proved effective to gain public attention. Several initiatives obtained name recognition and policy influence, which are significant achievements in megacities such as Bogotá, São Paulo, and Lima, where numerous NGOs vie for attention. Frequent obstacles include a lack of finances. After a seven-year period (2014–2021), 55% of the sampled initiatives remained active, ranging from 90% in Colombia to none in other countries. Organizational continuity appeared to be associated with network membership and discontinuity with diverging obstacles, including political pressures in some countries (e.g., Mexico), data scarcity in poorer ones (e.g., Bolivia), and a lack of sustained interest in relatively richer ones (e.g., Chile). Recent increases in socio-economic inequalities are strengthening the potential of community indicators.
...
Since the 1990s, many countries have witnessed the emergence of organizations publishing environmental, social, and quality-of-life indicators at a city level in order to promote public aware-ness, democratic participation, and sustainability policies. Many such initiatives are short-lived, however, and reasons for their success and failure under-researched. Using interviews, surveys, and documental data, we explored the survival rates, obstacles, and achievements of 49 initiatives in 10 Latin American countries. Contrary to those in other world regions, most initiatives have civil society stakeholders (notably universities, media, and businesses), excluding governments. Implementing citizen perception surveys proved effective to gain public attention. Several initiatives obtained name recognition and policy influence, which are significant achievements in megacities such as Bogotá, São Paulo, and Lima, where numerous NGOs vie for attention. Frequent obstacles include a lack of finances. After a seven-year period (2014–2021), 55% of the sampled initiatives remained active, ranging from 90% in Colombia to none in other countries. Organizational continuity appeared to be associated with network membership and discontinuity with diverging obstacles, including political pressures in some countries (e.g., Mexico), data scarcity in poorer ones (e.g., Bolivia), and a lack of sustained interest in relatively richer ones (e.g., Chile). Recent increases in socio-economic inequalities are strengthening the potential of community indicators.
A growing number of city governments worldwide engage in sustainability reporting, voluntarily and responding to legal pressures. Diverse practices emerged based on unique choices concerning formats, periodicity, authorship and dissemination efforts. Such design questions and associated outcomes are highly relevant for practitioners yet unaddressed in standard guidelines and most prior research that primarily concern content and conjectured reporting benefits. This article presents a framework suited to assessing real-life practices and outcomes. An exploratory evaluation in Amsterdam, Basel, Dublin, Freiburg, Nuremberg and Zurich suggests that sustainability reporting can benefit organizational change, management and communication yet also lead to ‘fatigue’ and discontinuation.
...
A growing number of city governments worldwide engage in sustainability reporting, voluntarily and responding to legal pressures. Diverse practices emerged based on unique choices concerning formats, periodicity, authorship and dissemination efforts. Such design questions and associated outcomes are highly relevant for practitioners yet unaddressed in standard guidelines and most prior research that primarily concern content and conjectured reporting benefits. This article presents a framework suited to assessing real-life practices and outcomes. An exploratory evaluation in Amsterdam, Basel, Dublin, Freiburg, Nuremberg and Zurich suggests that sustainability reporting can benefit organizational change, management and communication yet also lead to ‘fatigue’ and discontinuation.
On the Benefits of Using Process Indicators in Local Sustainability Monitoring
Lessons from a Dutch municipal ranking (1999-2014)
The sustainability performance of cities is subject to an ever-growing number of monitoring tools. While most initiatives work with outcome indicators that are generally associated with limited direct policy relevance, a minority of tools focuses on sustainability-related processes and particularly local government policies. In this article, we explore the benefits, limitations and conditions under which this approach can function. While several process-oriented tools offered to European local governments have lacked participation and foundered, the Local Sustainability Meter (LSM) has been widely used in the Netherlands, with close to 90% of all Dutch municipalities participating since 1999 in some of its multi-year editions. An evaluative case study presented in this article shows that the LSM stimulated competition for policy performance, conceptual learning and the strengthening of local governance and inter-municipal networks. The LSM's design choices of combining voluntary, transparent self-assessments at periodic intervals with public rankings and awards proved to be an effective - and economic - way of disseminating sustainability policies. Its limitations include an inherent focus on generic, standardized policy prescriptions and little knowledge on actual sustainability outcomes. These findings are relevant for policy-makers and developers of (local) sustainability monitoring tools. This study contributes to the growing literature on (i) sustainability policies and (ii) municipal monitoring and ranking tools.
...
The sustainability performance of cities is subject to an ever-growing number of monitoring tools. While most initiatives work with outcome indicators that are generally associated with limited direct policy relevance, a minority of tools focuses on sustainability-related processes and particularly local government policies. In this article, we explore the benefits, limitations and conditions under which this approach can function. While several process-oriented tools offered to European local governments have lacked participation and foundered, the Local Sustainability Meter (LSM) has been widely used in the Netherlands, with close to 90% of all Dutch municipalities participating since 1999 in some of its multi-year editions. An evaluative case study presented in this article shows that the LSM stimulated competition for policy performance, conceptual learning and the strengthening of local governance and inter-municipal networks. The LSM's design choices of combining voluntary, transparent self-assessments at periodic intervals with public rankings and awards proved to be an effective - and economic - way of disseminating sustainability policies. Its limitations include an inherent focus on generic, standardized policy prescriptions and little knowledge on actual sustainability outcomes. These findings are relevant for policy-makers and developers of (local) sustainability monitoring tools. This study contributes to the growing literature on (i) sustainability policies and (ii) municipal monitoring and ranking tools.