Souza, M.A.; González, M.O.A.; Pinho, A.L.S. Maturity Model for Sustainability Assessment of Chemical Analyses Laboratories in Public Higher Education Institutions. Sustainability2024, 16, 2137.
Souza, M.A.; González, M.O.A.; Pinho, A.L.S. Maturity Model for Sustainability Assessment of Chemical Analyses Laboratories in Public Higher Education Institutions. Sustainability 2024, 16, 2137.
Souza, M.A.; González, M.O.A.; Pinho, A.L.S. Maturity Model for Sustainability Assessment of Chemical Analyses Laboratories in Public Higher Education Institutions. Sustainability2024, 16, 2137.
Souza, M.A.; González, M.O.A.; Pinho, A.L.S. Maturity Model for Sustainability Assessment of Chemical Analyses Laboratories in Public Higher Education Institutions. Sustainability 2024, 16, 2137.
Abstract
The increasing demand for sustainable products and services has become a constant requirement by the different stakeholders in an organization. Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have a crucial role in training conscious and competent professionals to lead these changes. Chemical analyses laboratories bring together the proper mix, where the adoption of mature and efficient management systems proves to be crucial not only to better train the institutions´ human resources but also to cooperate in recruiting research projects and other services to benefit society. Maturity models assist in the needed stages for sustainable growth to take place. This paper proposes a Maturity Model based on standardized norms to guide adjustments related to quality, risks, safety, and environment of chemical analyses laboratories in public higher education institutions. This research was done in four stages: theoretical research about Maturity Models, sustainability, and integrated management systems; survey with laboratories; case study at a chemical analyses laboratory of an HEI; and structuring and validating a maturity model. As a result of this, the model includes eight dimensions (Strategy, Leadership, Management, Operations, Continuous Improvement, Sustainability, Culture, and Integration), 31 subdimensions, and 204 management practices to assess and guide chemical analyses laboratories to sustainable maturity levels.
Keywords
Integrated Management Systems; Maturity Model; Sustainable Development; Laboratory; ISO 17025
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Sustainable Science and Technology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
