SERVQUAL and Design Thinking for Continual Improvement in ESG Performance with SDG in Apparel Services

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the SERVQUAL to identify the ways to achieve better ESG performance relevant to UNSDGs, for example, environmental aspect on SDG 13 – 15 and social aspect on SDG 5 gender equality and SDG10 remove inequality with 5 steps of design thinking to measure environmental and social impacts. This qualitative analysis employed a comparative content analysis approach to compare the ESG performance of three selected global apparel companies—H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB (HMb.ST), Industria de Diseño Textil SA (ITX.MC), and Wacoal Holdings Corp (3591.T)—using LSEG ESG scores from 2015 to 2024. The analysis follows the LSEG ESG scoring methodology, focusing on the ESG Combined Score, pillar-level performance, and controversy scores to develop higher-order analytical skills for sustainability education. In the future, it is recommended to have on-going analytical and critical thinking workshop on ESG reports for secondary, tertiary and community education for re-visiting the existing curriculum and learning workshop on critical and analytical thinking skills development outside the traditional classroom