A sustainability assessment framework for cement industry – a case study
Benchmarking: An International Journal
ISSN: 1463-5771
Article publication date: 22 January 2019
Issue publication date: 22 February 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework and key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the sustainability of the manufacturing organizations along the integrated supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review of existing peer-reviewed articles has been carried out to understand the strengths and weaknesses of current frameworks. A sustainability assessment framework has been proposed for the manufacturing sector. KPIs to assess sustainability performance of manufacturing organizations are identified. An empirical study is carried out for the cement industry to test the proposed framework and KPIs.
Findings
The existing frameworks on sustainability assessment lacks an integrated assessment consisting product life cycle, resources, critical factors (product, process and policy), KPIs and their interrelationship with sustainability dimensions. In total, 121 KPIs are identified for sustainability assessment of manufacturing organizations. The empirical study of the Indian cement industry identifies 52 KPIs (17 social, 15 economic and 20 environmental), which are classified into 13 factors using exploratory factor analysis.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed framework is tested for the cement sector. More studies are required to validate and refine the framework to make it generalized for the manufacturing sector.
Originality/value
This study has developed for the first time a close interrelation among life cycle engineering, resources, critical factors, KPIs and sustainability dimensions.
Keywords
Citation
Sangwan, K.S., Bhakar, V. and Digalwar, A.K. (2019), "A sustainability assessment framework for cement industry – a case study", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 470-497. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-01-2018-0021
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited