Research background and purpose:
Sustainability has become a managerial imperative, yet many enterprises still struggle to translate sustainability intentions into operational routines. Reverse logistics—covering product returns, reuse, recycling, and end-of-life management—offers a practical pathway to improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impact, but its integration into firm governance and measurement systems remains uneven. This paper exploratory study examines the level of sustainability institutionalisation in Slovak enterprises and discusses implications for embedding sustainability into reverse logistics. Specifically, it focuses on the presence of formal sustainability strategies, the assignment of responsibility for sustainability, and the incorporation of sustainability metrics into reporting practices.

Design/methodology/approach:
The study uses data from a computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) survey conducted among enterprises s across sectors in the Slovak Republic. The survey captures sustainability governance arrangements (strategy and accountability) and monitoring practices (use of sustainability metrics in reporting) and relates these to managerial intentions in companies regarding future sustainability activities. The analysis descriptive statistics and non-parametric correlation methods to identify patterns in sustainability governance and implementation readiness.

Findings:
The results indicate a moderate level of sustainability institutionalisation. A formal sustainability strategy is reported by 51% of surveyed companies, while only about one third have appointed a person responsible for sustainability. At the same time, 72 % of respondents expect to intensify sustainability-related activities in the future. Together, these findings suggest a persistent implementation gap: although many firms anticipate stronger sustainability engagement, governance and measurement practices are not yet consistently embedded.

Value added and limitations:
The paper adds evidence from a Central and Eastern European context and proposes a DMAIC-based implementation framework (Define–Measure–Analyse–Improve–Control) to help companies embed sustainability objectives into reverse logistics routines and measurement practices. Limitations include reliance on self-reported survey data and a single-country setting, which may constrain generalisability; future research could test the proposed framework in other contexts and practice-oriented managerial guidance.