A Novel Sustainability Management Tool for Small and Medium-Sized Food Manufacturers – Advantages and Improvement Opportunities

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggle with sustainable development. Their characteristics require different sustainability management approaches to those employed by larger enterprises. However, supportive tools for sustainability management, including sustainability assessment, reporting, and certification, are scarce. Therefore, a novel sustainability management tool for SMEs – the so-called sustainability compass – has been developed in the specific context of food manufacturing. Its content and rationales are described, and its potential effects on sustainability management for SMEs are discussed in this paper. Qualitative interviews with experts from different backgrounds were conducted for a critical reflection on the novel tool. According to the findings, the tool meets some of the requirements of SMEs regarding sustainability management, but it neglects certain aspects. However, some of those aspects were revealed to be vicious circles between SMEs’ unique characteristics and the nature of sustainability management. Although the tool has been developed for food manufacturing SMEs, the findings are important for sustainability management in SMEs overall and for ongoing research in that field in general.