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Beser Oktay Vehbi, Ercan Hoskara and Sebnem Önal Hoskara
This study1 seeks to identify and propose a model for measuring and assessing the level of sustainability in housing environments based on a range of indicators. With this…
Abstract
This study1 seeks to identify and propose a model for measuring and assessing the level of sustainability in housing environments based on a range of indicators. With this intention, the article is composed of four main parts. In the first part, the relationship between sustainability and housing is presented based on previous research; in the second part, a theoretical framework is put forward for sustainable housing. Then in the third part, sustainability indicators are discussed thoroughly within the context of indicator frameworks. In this section, the development, selection and measuring processes of indicators are also introduced. Finally in the fourth part, the model for measuring and assessing the level of sustainability in housing environments is presented. It is believed that this model will be used as a tool in the decision-making processes for the future development of existing housing settlements and their environments.
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Ha Minh Vu, Hing Kai Chan, Ming K. Lim and Anthony S.F. Chiu
The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach to measure business sustainability in food service operations. The main objectives are to understand the concepts of business…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach to measure business sustainability in food service operations. The main objectives are to understand the concepts of business sustainability and, after constructing a framework based on a literature review, to assess the relation between the proposed framework and the empirical case study in a fast food retailer chain.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to examine the applicability of the proposed framework, focus group interview and face-to-face interviews were conducted. Additionally, some other secondary data such as official websites or company reports were also used to support the interview results.
Findings
Finding of the research result has shown most of the factors of business sustainability employed to measure sustainability food service operations are supported.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by showing that environmental and social sustainability are significantly recognized in the corporation. More importantly, through the data analysis, a new factor of social sustainability, namely, community contribution has been found. The contribution of this paper is certainly applicable to other food service operations who wish to achieve a good degree of business sustainability.
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Kuldip Singh Sangwan, Vikrant Bhakar and Abhijeet K. Digalwar
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…
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.
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Edgardo Bastida-Ruiz, María-Laura Franco-García and Isabel Kreiner
The paper suggested a sustainability indicators framework for industrial parks in contexts where information is weakly reliable or insufficient. The authors tried to cover those…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper suggested a sustainability indicators framework for industrial parks in contexts where information is weakly reliable or insufficient. The authors tried to cover those gaps and construct an indicators framework by answering the following research questions: can a combination of “adopted international” certifications be locally implemented in the Mexican context to reflect the level of regional sustainability of clusters of companies? How sustainable individual performance can be extended to a cluster of companies through collaborative strategies? What is the level of agreement on key success factors for implementing voluntary certification scheme in Mexican Industrial Parks? The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to provide a more realistic set of sustainability indicators for Mexican Industrial Parks, the authors first carried out an analysis of secondary information sources for matching sustainability indicators with available related data which is reported by companies along their certification processes. The main purpose of doing this was to construct the indicator framework, which was explored empirically in the second phase of this research. During such phase, the authors validated the indicators framework by means of surveys and interviews to gather the perceptions of Mexican business managers selected from United Nations indicators which were coupled to available certifications in Mexico.
Findings
It has been observed that the sustainability indicators framework can be adopted from international structures to the local/regional situation when companies have framed their performance under international certifications allowing to count with a minimum of indicators to be used for sustainability development tracking.
Originality/value
Sustainability indicators in industrial parks is not an addressed topic in Latin America. Mexico can be taken as an example for the other Latin American countries in sustainability trends and shows the current context of the use of this tool for measurement.
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Mats Winroth, Peter Almström and Carin Andersson
Sustainable production (SP) is a very broad area and the awareness and communication of the concept differ between varying levels in a company. The supposition is that the…
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainable production (SP) is a very broad area and the awareness and communication of the concept differ between varying levels in a company. The supposition is that the awareness and improvement of sustainability on shop floor level would improve, if a suitable set of indicators for measuring sustainability was available. The purpose of this paper is therefore to identify a list of performance indicators relevant for a production manager.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a two-step analysis, where the first step is a literature review with the purpose of compiling a gross list of sustainability indicators relevant on shop floor level. In the second phase, the relevance of this list for production managers in Swedish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is tested in a questionnaire survey.
Findings
The conclusion from the survey is that 27 out of 52 proposed indicators were relevant with statistical significance and that another 20 indicators were supported by at least 50 percent of the respondents. The respondents found the economic indicators to be most relevant for their purpose. However, the economic field seems to need more indicators in order to be more useful for daily operation.
Practical implications
This set of indicators may be beneficial for companies seeking relevant indicators to drive sustainability improvements.
Originality/value
This paper takes a new perspective on SP, as it focusses on shop floor production, which is possible to influence for a production manager.
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Ubaid Illahi and Mohammad Shafi Mir
The purpose of this paper is to quantify and evaluate transport sustainability from an integrated perspective. It is argued that transportation systems being interdisciplinary and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to quantify and evaluate transport sustainability from an integrated perspective. It is argued that transportation systems being interdisciplinary and complex, the integrated approach towards quantification and evaluation would present its sustainability goals’ attainment in a much better way.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed integrated methodology is divided into five major steps that are sub-divided. It adopts a three-tier classification system i.e. pillar, sub-division and indicator. In total, 116 sustainable transportation indicators (STIs) were classified into 10 subdivisions corresponding to three sustainability pillars. The weighting and aggregation of STIs were done using a combination of a statistical tool called principal component analysis/factor analysis, a machine learning tool called fuzzy logic and equal weighting method. The final output that the proposed integrated methodology generates is a new composite index called the integrated sustainable transportation index (IIST).
Findings
To check the credibility of the proposed integrated methodology, it was applied to 26 states and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, India. Based on the computed IIST, 27 study zones were ranked and mapped. The results showed that while Tamil Nadu (0.643), Telangana (0.574) and Maharashtra (0.564) were the best-performing states, Goa (0.347), Chhattisgarh (0.436) and Meghalaya (0.439) were the worst-performing states, as far as the relative transportation sustainability is concerned.
Practical implications
The proposed integrated methodology could be useful for transportation evaluators, planners and policymakers who can recognize, track and improve the strengths and overcome the weaknesses within a transportation system.
Originality/value
The novelty of this research work is that it uses a multi-stage multi-tool approach to quantify and evaluate transport sustainability that minimizes the demerits of single-stage individual tools while maximizing their merits.
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Kelly Maguire and Emmet McLoughlin
Events are a significant component of Ireland’s tourism offering. They are an important source of economic activity and an incremental driver of social change and development…
Abstract
Purpose
Events are a significant component of Ireland’s tourism offering. They are an important source of economic activity and an incremental driver of social change and development throughout the country. However, the visual and physical impacts often created by event activities to the environmental and social resource base upon which, events depend, have begun to draw attention to the way events are planned and managed. Although the concept of sustainability has become the topic of much discussion and debate in event management literature, there exist many gaps in relation to its practical application in event management planning in Ireland. This is despite the statutory obligation of local authorities in Ireland to license events and to facilitate the process of planning for large-scale outdoor public events in Ireland. Yet, with the continued expansion of Ireland’s event industry, there is a fundamental need for an evidence-informed approach to planning for event management. Through the application of the European tourism indicator system (ETIS), the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of the national event industry in Ireland could be secured. This paper aims to examine and discuss the application of the ETIS as a possible tool to facilitate greater levels of sustainability and accountability within the events industry in Ireland.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a quantitative content analysis approach involving a complete population sample of local authorities in the Republic of Ireland to determine the application of the ETIS within the legal process of planning for event management in Ireland.
Findings
While the findings have identified a basic provision for event management within a number of local authority legally required County Development Plans, none, however, were using the ETIS to monitor the impacts of events at the local level. This lack of data collection and benchmarking highlights the need for greater levels of sustainability and accountability within the legal process of planning for event management in Ireland.
Originality/value
This study suggests the ETIS as an easy, cost effective and viable solution to facilitate an evidence-informed approach to planning for event management at the local level. However, the lessons learned from this study may also have implications for destination planners and event managers outside of Ireland.
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Therese Ferguson, Dzintra Iliško, Carmel Roofe and Susan Hill
Bartosz Bartniczak and Andrzej Raszkowski
The purpose of this paper is to analyse sustainable forest management in Poland in the years 2009-2015. The concept of sustainable development itself has also been analysed as the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse sustainable forest management in Poland in the years 2009-2015. The concept of sustainable development itself has also been analysed as the starting point for sustainable forest management development. Based on the conducted analysis of statistical data, it was attempted to answer the question about the condition of sustainable forest management in Poland.
Design/methodology/approach
Two basic research methods were used in the presented paper. The first of them was the analysis of existing data. The conducted analysis covered the subject literature, reports and analyses referring to forest management. The second applied research method was the statistical analysis which covered structure analysis and dynamics analysis.
Findings
It can be adopted, within the framework of general conclusions, that the condition of sustainable forest management in Poland is moderately satisfactory, with the reservation of the need to maintain and intensify all processes and projects aimed at the implementation of the broadly approached concept of sustainable development.
Originality/value
The core of the study is focused on the statistical analysis of selected forest management aspects in Poland in the context of the assessment of sustainable forest management condition, with particular emphasis on forest cover, defoliation, forest area, restoration and afforestation, tree planting, wood harvesting, average wood sales price, excluding land from forest production for non-forest purposes. The importance of environmental education was also highlighted.
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