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Hospital structures serve to protect and improve public health; however, they are recognized as a major source of environmental degradation. Thus, an effective performance evaluation framework is required to improve hospital sustainability. In this context, this study presents a holistic methodology that integrates the sustainability balanced scorecard (SBSC) with fuzzy Delphi method and fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making approaches for evaluating the sustainability performance of hospitals.

Initially, a comprehensive list of relevant sustainability evaluation criteria was considered based on six SBSC-based dimensions, in line with triple-bottom-line sustainability dimensions, and derived from the literature review and experts’ opinions. Then, the weights of perspectives and their respective criteria are computed and ranked utilizing the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. Subsequently, the hospitals’ sustainable performance values are ranked based on these criteria using the Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution.

A numerical application was conducted in six public hospitals to exhibit the proposed model’s applicability. The results of this study revealed that “Patient satisfaction,” “Efficiency,” “Effectiveness,” “Access to care” and “Waste production,” respectively, are the five most important criteria of sustainable performance.

The new model will provide decision-makers with management tools that may help them identify the relevant factors for upgrading the level of sustainability in their hospitals and thus improve public health and community well-being.

This is the first study that proposes a new hybrid decision-making methodology for evaluating and comparing hospitals’ sustainability performance under a fuzzy environment.

This paper aims to propose a stepwise method to improve the sustainability of manufacturing processes.

The proposed approach is based on an extensive literature review and research around the environmental, economic and social pillars of sustainability in manufacturing firms. Considering the lean approach, the manufacturing processes are mapped in a value stream and analyzed through the extensive identified sustainability criteria.

The findings reveal the consumption and waste of natural and nonrenewable resources, through going beyond the existing boundaries and focusing on relevant derived production pieces and tracing to their origins. The findings also present the effect of the time value of money on sustainability by using the cost–time profile as a sustainability criterion. This research finds out the employees’ impacts on sustainability improvement through an effective focus on technical, cultural and personal aspects.

The research outcomes provide operations managers and decision-makers in the field of sustainability with a practical platform to comprehend and assess the factors contributing to the manufacturing process sustainability and to plan relevant corrective actions accordingly.

The extended view of sustainability criteria in this research as well as its visual-analytical approach will help practitioners to assess and improve sustainability in their operations in a more holistic way.

In light of the lack of subjective criteria and scientific rationality in current sustainability performance assessment, the purpose of this paper is conducted to improve the sustainability performance assessment of high-tech firms by developing a hybrid approach that integrates quantitative and qualitative research methods.

This study proposed a hybrid approach that integrates word frequency analysis, cluster analysis, grey theory and the decision-making and trial evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method. Specifically, this study identifies useful criteria using quantitative word frequency analysis as well as qualitative literature research. Then, cluster analysis is used to divide these criteria into different categories. Subsequently, this study applies the grey theory associated with the DEMATEL method to assess the sustainability performance of high-tech firms.

The results reveal that the socio-environment is an important aspect underlying the corporate sustainability performance of high-tech firms. Therefore, high-tech firms should enhance their pollution emission control capabilities and increase investment in energy-conservation and emission-reduction technologies to drive sustainable development. In addition, increasing green product sales revenue and improving the guiding capability of green consumption are core issues that firms must address.

This study assesses the sustainability performance of high-tech firms by applying a hybrid method. This method can be used to construct a framework for scientific sustainability performance assessment and to provide a clear direction for the sustainable development of firms.

The purpose of this study is to examine what the most significant aspects of environmental sustainability in the forest biorefinery sector are and what kind of criteria should be applied to an evaluation of environmental sustainability in the forest biorefinery context.

The topic is approached by themed interviews in Scandinavia and North America with 23 representatives from the forest and bioproducts sectors. The interviews were examined using the thematic analysis method.

The study indicates that environmental sustainability may be an important driver for the forest biorefinery business. From the perspective of environmental sustainability, harvesting feedstock will be the most challenging part of the value chain to manage. Raw material availability and its sustainability, life‐cycle perspective and beneficial products were the most important criteria in the environmental sustainability assessment of forest biorefinery value chain companies.

A sector‐specific guideline was formulated for the most important criteria to be included in an environmental sustainability assessment of forest biorefinery value chain companies. The criteria comprise the first step of a more elaborate evaluation framework, which can provide more accurate information about the sustainability performance of biorefinery value chain companies. The criteria can encourage companies to analyze environmental sustainability challenges holistically, increase a company's transparency for its stakeholders and offer information to investors about the environmental status of the company.

The novelty of the study lies in the sector‐specific, holistic environmental sustainability evaluation in the emerging forest biorefineries.

The purpose of this paper is to find out the views, concerns and opinions of stakeholders in Finland about the on‐going EU‐wide development of sustainability criteria for biomass production and utilization.

Interviews were conducted among Finnish stakeholders in the biomass sector which include representatives from government ministries, associations of industries and agricultural producers, research institutions and non‐governmental organizations.

The majority of Finnish stakeholders are in agreement that sustainability criteria for biomass are needed because of the expanding and globalizing nature of the use and trade of biomass. Finnish stakeholders generally agreed that they should actively participate in the development of sustainability criteria both at international and local levels. Administrative/technical, environmental, social and economic aspects were elicited as critical factors for the development of sustainability criteria.

This study emphasizes and puts forward the importance of taking stakeholders' viewpoints and their participation in the planning and development of sustainability criteria. This study affirms how Finnish stakeholders can strongly articulate their views and opinions about the sustainability of biomass. These views and concerns of stakeholders can be significant or critical inputs in top level decision making related to biomass production and utilization in Finland and in the EU.

This paper can be a position paper to highlight the concerns of Finnish stakeholders on sustainability criteria development. It also highlights the special circumstances of Finnish biomass. These concerns and circumstances are valuable information for criteria developers, biomass certifiers, decision makers and regulatory bodies.

The purpose of this paper is to advance a model that relates the criteria of sustainable development with the construction engineering of buildings. Moreover, a method to evaluate the building sustainability is suggested.

The method is based on calculating the weighted expected utility function of a building with respect to composite indicator.

Based on this integrated approach, a tentative index to evaluate the sustainability of buildings is proposed.

The study is limited to the assessment of the sustainable development of the built environment.

The feasibility of assessing the sustainability of a building using the sustainable index of buildings (SIB) is that it permits the decision-makers to study the potential improvement in the sustainable development of buildings in the long and short run. Moreover, the role of benchmarking in improving the sustainability performance of buildings is discussed in view of the suggested method.

The present method is practical and easy to use for ranking building (or a part of a building) according to the sustainable performance.

New methodology based on integrating the value-focused thinking together with the composite indicators is used to evaluate the sustainable development.

Sustainable public procurement (SPP) lacks common means for its operationalization within legislative latitudes. Through the translation of sustainability indicators (SIs) from CSR and corporate sustainability reporting into the needs of SPP, this paper aims to support the framing process of sustainability in public procurement. This paper does so along with the case of Switzerland.

This paper performs a typological analysis of well-established SIs from CSR reporting to propose a criteria framework for SPP. Second, this paper tests the framework’s usability and feasibility with an expert online survey conducted in the Swiss SPP landscape.

This paper proposes 10 generic criteria to frame the operationalization of SPP. Furthermore, public procurement experts from Switzerland evaluate the SPP framework as useful and feasible.

A limitation of the study can be seen in its deductive approach. Thus, it rather complements recent inductive approaches of SPP type and frame developments than replacing them. Future studies can further refine the understanding and operationalization of sustainability in public procurement.

The generic SPP criteria framework provides a common ground for the operationalization of SPP building on existing sustainability performance measurement knowledge and a frame to operationalize sustainability measurements for public tender processes.

Implementing sustainability in public procurement potentially changes market behaviors globally toward social equality and minimization of climate change impacts. This research aims to support the SPP implementation process.

To the best knowledge, this is the first attempt to directly translate established SIs from sustainability reporting into public procurement to frame SPP and to use existing sustainability measurement knowledge for its operationalization and harmonization.

This paper presents a sustainability assessment model to holistically guide sustainable construction and green retrofitting of affordable housing from the Ghanaian perspective.

A comprehensive review was carried out, which yielded 16 sustainability indicators. Then, a questionnaire survey was conducted among respondents in the Ghanaian housing sector. Forty-seven valid responses were received and analysed using fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) technique.

A four-index model was developed that includes: Housing and Transportation (H + T) index, household-satisfaction index, efficient stakeholder-management index and quality-related index. These indices account for 25.3%, 26.3%, 23.6% and 24.9% of sustainability attainment in affordable housing, respectively. Accordingly, household-satisfaction has the greatest contribution to sustainability attainment in affordable housing.

Due to challenges in obtaining responses to the questionnaire, the study was conducted with relatively small number of responses.

The model serves as a tool that could be used to objectively and comprehensively assess sustainability performance in affordable housing. Besides, it could be used as a baseline to calibrate future projects and for benchmarking success levels of comparable housing projects. Finally, the estimated indices are applicable in decision making for optimum resource allocation for sustainable low-cost housing in the Ghanaian perspective.

As in line with eco benchmarking, the purpose of this paper is to solve a location selection problem in an emerging country by applying sustainability benchmarking principles.

A hybrid multi-criteria decision-making method, fuzzy AHP and Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE), is used as methodology to make sustainability benchmarking for logistics center location selection.

It is revealed that according to AHP and PROMETHEE calculations, Kemalpasa is determined as the most appropriate location from the sustainable perspectives. Torbali is specified as the worst location to construct a logistics center in terms of benchmarking criteria based on sustainability concerns. Based on these numerical results, managerial implications are presented with a sustainability benchmarking view.

The main originality of this study is integrating one of the relatively new topics, sustainability benchmarking, with a popular area, logistics center location selection.