Companies are under severe pressure from their stakeholders regarding the negative effects of their activities on the planet, which includes concerns regarding climate change, depletion of natural resources and increased carbon dioxide emissions, occupational diseases, natural and health disasters. In this context companies have been seeking managerial, technological and operational solutions that will enable them to survive and evolve in the short, medium and long term while meeting multiple stakeholder goals. These solutions must consider economic, social and environmental issues, which are the dimensions of sustainability, to minimize negative impacts on the environment and the well-being of society.

The competitive significance of incorporating sustainable strategies and practices for sustainable development and, consequently, improvements in operational activities and performance in sustainability is growing. The purpose of organizations has shifted from a narrow “goal-based” premise to one that is more “duty based” embracing a broader remit of societal values and expectations linked to moral and ethical obligations. This explains the emergence and growth of the concept of sustainability as applied to organizational reality, better known as corporate sustainability (CS). 

In this context, this DCU research collaboration has sought to propose drivers for developing corporate sustainability in SMEs based on the most influential theoretical and empirical studies and the authors' experience.

The major finding of this paper is the proposition of drivers for the development of sustainability in SMEs. They were proposed considering the reality of these companies to be adequate to their resources and structure and to be simple to apply. Thus, these drivers guide the owners and managers of SMEs in actions that make them more prosperous, fair and green and, consequently, more competitive.