Sustainability practices performed by the Mexican maquiladora industry: A case study at the city of Hermosillo and the border city of Nogales Sonora, Mexico

Maquiladoras arrived in Mexico, around three decades ago, as a way to propel economic development and alleviate unemployment, but many concerns have arisen about the environmental and occupational health practices of this type of industry.;This doctoral dissertation is aimed to identify the diverging pollution prevention and occupational and safety practices undertaken by the management of the maquiladoras participating in the study in order to be able to generate meaningful insights for facilitating the adoption of sustainable production strategies for a responsible management of products, processes, and operations in the maquiladora industry. Specifically, the research covers the six cases of the electronic maquiladoras located in the state of Sonora, Mexico. Three maquiladoras are in the city of Hermosillo and three in the city of Nogales.;Although the concept of sustainability could be understood in different ways, in this research sustainability is conceived as a broad structural approach that takes into account economic, social, and environment aspects.;A literature review and the application of the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Program Evaluation Profile (PEP) and Cleaner Production and Pollution Prevention and Workers surveys were the data sources used in this study. By combining the inputs from multiple instruments, it was possible to confirm the findings from different perspectives.