Assessing sugarcane production sustainability in Mozambique: integrating the SustenAgro Index approach with the Entropy Weight Method

The high population of Central Java Province has become a factor triggering the dynamics of land cover change and regional development. Uncontrolled urban expansion and development threatens sustainability. This study aims to identify the types and patterns of land cover change, the level of regional development, the index of sustainable development in environmental, social, and economic dimensions, and the typology of regencies/cities based on the index of sustainable development. This research was conducted in Central Java Province from January to April 2023 using land cover data, village potential data, provincial statistics, and administrative maps. Land-cover changes were identified using overlay analysis in QGIS. The level of regional development was determined using the scalogram. The index of sustainable development was constructed using factor analysis, while the regional typology was identified using cluster analysis. The results showed a dynamic change in forest cover, with a significant decrease from approximately 1 million hectares to 550,000 ha from 2014 to 2019. Agricultural land and built-up areas increased by 312,000 ha and 164,000 ha, respectively. A scalogram analysis indicated an improvement in the regional development index. Sustainability analysis reveals that the sustainability index in the economic dimension is lower than that in the social and environmental dimensions. The cluster analysis indexes that approximately 60.31% of the areas had a low sustainability index. All urban areas have a high sustainability index in the economic and social dimensions, otherwise in the environmental dimension.

Sustainability reporting guidelines developed by Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) provide a systematic approach for the companies to report their performance on social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainability. This study compared the sustainability reports of leading Indian public and private sector companies. Reports were analyzed based on GRI guidelines toward their reporting on sustainability. A numerical score from 0 to 3 was assigned for each of the 84 performance indicators (9, 30, and 45 indicators for economic, environment, and social dimensions, respectively) of the GRI 2011 guidelines based on inclusiveness of sustainability report. The analysis showed that reporting on economic dimension was comparatively better as compared to social and environmental dimensions. Sampled companies did not show much difference in their reporting practices on economic performances. However, considerable difference was observed in their reporting practices on environmental and social dimensions. Reporting practices of Tata Steel were better in all dimensions of sustainability and emerged as a responsible company on sustainability reporting.

PurposeIndia’s manufacturing sector employs about 12% of the labour force and contributes to about 17% of the nation’s GDP. The Indian government intends to implement several initiatives under the “Make in India” and Atma Nirbhar Bharat banners to increase the manufacturing sector’s share of the nation’s GDP to 25% by 2025. Applying lean manufacturing, green manufacturing and Six Sigma is crucial to ensure that India’s manufacturing sectors grow sustainably in international markets. This study aims to identify sustainability indicators and ascertain their respective weights to evaluate the sustainability performance of the Indian manufacturing industry.Design/methodology/approachThis research identifies 25 sustainability indicators and classifies them into the triple bottom line of sustainability based on an evaluative literature review and expert opinion. The Best Worst Method was utilised to determine the weights of the sustainability indicators. The sustainability index was developed to evaluate economic, social and environmental sustainability.FindingsThe sustainability performance of a foundry in a significant Western Indian State city was assessed by applying the developed sustainability index. After the adoption of integrated lean, green and Six Sigma (LG&SS) strategies and related practices in the foundry, there has been a notable improvement of 68.03% in the economic index, 61.62% in the social index and 13.24% in the environmental index.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed sustainability index is applied and evaluated specifically for assessing the sustainability performance of Indian manufacturing SMEs. It can be used to substantiate firm’s sustainability performance and also to assess the improvement in firm’s performance in economic, environmental and social dimensions after implementing various operational excellence practices. However, it cannot serve as a benchmark tool across similar companies or organisations.Practical implicationsThe developed sustainable index can be used to analyse the company or organisation’s sustainability performance and see how various strategies have improved things. Practitioners can use this index to assess social, economic and environmental performance and focus on areas that need improvement.Social implicationsThe proposed sustainability index serves as a vital tool for monitoring a firm’s progress in triple bottom line (TBL) dimensions of sustainability, tracking a diverse range of indicators and encouraging sustainable organisational practices.Originality/valueThis study attempts to assess the economic, social and environmental performance of Indian Manufacturing SMEs by proposing a sustainability index.

Sustainability indicators for the assessment of eco-industrial parks: classification and criteria for selection

The adoption of a sustainable approach has been recognized as a competitive and resilience factor for the vine and wine sector. This research aimed to address the variables that explain the sustainability of the viticultural systems practiced in the Douro Demarcated Region, in a dimensional and global perspective of sustainability. In total 110 vineyard farms were randomly selected and a matrix of sustainability indicators grouped by economic, environmental and social dimension was used. In order to analyse the main determinants of the different dimensions of sustainability, an econometric analysis was carried out considering different typologies or groups of determinants: efficiency; training system; vineyard landscaping; geographical determinants; destination of the grapes; type of work used; other determinants. Based on the estimations of eight models, an important divergence in the results was found, especially between the estimates of the models developed through the global sustainability index than the estimates of the indices disaggregated by dimension. This disparity in results indicates that the analysis of the determinants of sustainability should be carried out in a disaggregated manner (at the level of sustainability dimensions). Divergent results were also deduced depending on the dimension of sustainability. For instance, the model with the highest explanatory power concerned the economic dimension, while the efficiency determinant was not significant in the social and environmental dimensions. In light of these findings, policy measures are proposed.

Oil palm plantation is a strategic commodity for the national economy and the welfare of communities. Smallholder oil palm plantations, as part of the palm oil supply chain, are facing sustainability matters. This study aims to assess the index and status of sustainability across the social, economic, environmental, technological, and institutional dimensions, as well as identify sensitive attributes affecting the sustainability of smallholder oil palm plantations. The index assessment utilized the RAP-ISPO method through MDS. The MDS analysis covers all of the aforementioned dimensions. The study was conducted in two major oil palm plantation sub-districts in Riau Province, including Dayun and Mempura. This study used both primary and secondary data. Primary data were gathered through interviews, surveys, and observations. Secondary data were sourced from relevant agencies such as the Central Statistics Agency, Siak Agricultural Office, and related research articles or reports. The respondents were 203 farmers, who were selected purposively. The multidimensional sustainability index analysis of oil palm plantations in Riau has yielded an overall sustainability index of 63.30, which falls into the "sufficiently sustainable" category. The sustainability indices for the five dimensions are as follows: economic (60.85%), social (67.54%), environmental (53.91%), technological (71.70%), and institutional (62.51%). The technological dimension has the highest index value, while the environmental dimension has the lowest. Overall, each dimension falls into the "sufficiently sustainable" category, with varying index values, indicating the need for different policies to evaluate the sustainability of smallholder oil palm plantations in Riau.

Investigating the relationship between environmental quality, socio-spatial segregation and the social dimension of sustainability in US urban areas

The quality of vanilla grown in Indonesia is known for its substantially high vanilla content (2.75%) compared to products from Madagascar (2.2%), Sri Lanka (1.5%), and Mexico (1.75%). However, vanilla agribusiness in Indonesia is still not sustainable. This study aims to analyze the index and status of vanilla agribusiness sustainability and identify attributes that are sensitive to the sustainability of vanilla agribusiness. The analytical method used was Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). Data was collected through interviews with structured questionnaires from November to December 2022 in Sumedang Regency, West Java Province. The selection of 67 farmers to be interviewed used proportional stratified random sampling. The results showed the sustainability index on the economic (55.22%), social (52.84%), environmental (52.46%), technological (57.81%), and institutional (55.22%) dimensions so that vanilla agribusiness can be categorized as sufficiently sustainable. The variables that are sensitive to sustainability are 1) prices and income from the economic dimension; 2) farmer empowerment, farmer regeneration, and group dynamics from the social dimension; 3) farmers' awareness of the environment, adaptation and mitigation of climate change, and water use efficiency from the environmental dimension; 4) technological innovation, productivity and production risk control from the technological dimension; 5) support and the role of government and socio-cultural support from the institutional dimension. Recommendations from the results of this study, among others, are the need to transform vanilla products into highly competitive ones, empower farmers to adopt technological innovations in vanilla cultivation and processing and increase farmer awareness of the importance of environmental sustainability.

This research aims to identify the sustainability driving factors of drinking water provision in the PAMSIMAS program in Kapongan Sub-District, Situbondo Regency, focusing on community participation based on environmental, social, economic, technological, and institutional dimensions. This study utilizes a quantitative approach with the Rap-SPAM analysis method, a modification of Rapfish. The data used consist of both primary and secondary sources. Primary data are obtained through surveys, observations, and interviews with respondents, utilizing questionnaires. Secondary data is gathered through relevant literature reviews and various related institutions. The results of the Rap-SPAM simulation on 5 dimensions of sustainability, obtained 18 sensitive attributes or main leveraging factors. The main leverage attributes in the environmental dimension are the surrounding land condition, pollution potential, rainfall & rainy days, and quantity of raw water. In the social dimension, the main leverage attributes are community meetings, practices of using the water supply system, and community trust. In the economic dimension, the main leverage attributes are existence of fees for the development of the water supply system network, availability of funds for the development of the water supply system, existence of user fees, and affordability of user fees. In the technological dimension, the main leverage attributes are water efficiency of water use, ease of technology application, network leakages, and quality of received water. In the institutional dimension, the main leverage attributes are clear organizational structure, performance and financial reporting by the management to the users of the water supply system, and regulations for water supply management.

The Constitutional Financing Fund of the North (FNO), created through the Constitutional Funds, has the objective of promoting the development of the North Region, constituting the main financial instrument of the National Policy for Regional Development (PNDR) for the reduction of regional disparities. With the growth and development of the region, new questions, and concerns regarding sustainability in the business environment were generated. In this sense, the Sustainability Tripod and its extension, the Multiple Bottom Line, were proposed to analyze the economic, social, environmental, ethical and governance dimensions. In this sense, the present work sought to identify the reality of the dimensions of sustainability in the environment of micro and small companies of the Portal da Amazônia that used the resource of the Constitutional Fund for Financing of the North (FNO) for business development. To capture the data, a field survey was carried out with 111 companies that used FNO resources in the period from 2018 to 2022. After the survey, Excel was used for data processing and subsequent analysis. As a result, in the economic dimension, the ability of micro and small companies to expand their revenues was identified, with the responsibility of expanding the use of facilities and an integrated corporate composition to guarantee the economic life of the entity. In the environmental dimension, business actions involving the issuance of environmental licenses and their practices in the operation of the business were observed, while in the social dimension, the expansion of the supply of job openings and an organization dedicated to serving people could be seen. In the Governance dimension, actions of administrative responsibility, control and good practices by the companies interviewed were observed. Closing the context of the dimensions, ethics guides the business of micro and small companies surveyed. Responsibility with the business, both internally and externally, signals an important emphasis on this dimension. The outputs obtained provided the opportunity for theoretical generalizations regarding the confrontation of the reality described in the dimensions of sustainability in the business environment of micro and small companies of the Amazon portal and the theoretical framework that involves the theme.

The article discusses economic growth influence to sustainable development. According to the collected theoretical material, it analyzes the impact of economic growth to social and environmental dimensions of sustainability. The analysis of statistical data using integrated index of sustainable development allowed evaluating the impact of economic growth to sustainable development in in Lithuania on 2000−2011. Studies carried out in foreign universities confirmed a hypothesis that further extensive studies are necessary in order to understand the essence and evaluation of the concept of sustainable development. The basic idea behind the scientific problem studied in the paper can be described as the following: what are the regularities of the concept of sustainable development and its evaluation, that allow assess the economic growth influence to dimensions of sustainability and to sustainable development of the country. The main problem of the paper is stated as follows: how to achieve economic growth considering economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development? Research object – the impact of economic growth to dimensions of sustainable development. Research aim is to analyze and assess dynamics of sustainable development dimensions in Lithuania. Research tasks: theoretically to analyze the influence of economic growth to social and environmental dimensions; after methodological calculations of indicators of sustainable development in Lithuania, to evaluate the tendencies of changes of sustainable development dimensions and to forecast perpectives. Research methods contributing to this paper are: systematic scientific literature analysis, statistical data and comparative analysis, regression analysis, use of SPSS 17 (Statistical Package for Social Science) and Package Microsoft Excel. Theoretical analysis done in the paper quit well show, that systems of assessment of influence of economic growth to sustainable development must take in account three closely related dimensions: economic, social and environmental. Integrated sustainable development index and trend were used and evaluated that the biggest increasing of index was noticed by given stable inflation rate. Analysis done in the paper quit well show, that for problems solving can be used fiscal instrument – taxes. Keywords: sustainable development; economic growth, environment, social deimension, index. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.15181/rfds.v12i1.685

<p><strong>Background</strong>. As a strategy to design actions aimed at sustainable development at the local level, it is necessary to carry out a thorough diagnosis of the social, economic and environmental dimensions that affect the sustainability of a community. <strong>Objective.</strong> With that in mind, this research evaluated the sustainability of the natural resource management of the productive units in the Yungañan River micro-basin in the Ecuadorian Andes in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their actions as well as the possible internal differences between the different management systems. <strong>Methodology.</strong> For the execution of this work, 25 indicators were developed in a participatory manner, organized into 8 attributes that respond to the social, economic and environmental dimensions, following the methodology proposed by Sarandón (2002). These indicators were evaluated in the field through interviews and the results were weighted on a scale of 0 to 4 for analysis. In order to verify similarities and differences between the different productive units, a cluster analysis was carried out and a t-test was performed to verify significant differences between the indicators evaluated. <strong>Results.</strong> If we consider each dimension analyzed, the economic dimension reached an average value of 2.14, the social dimension 1.65 and the environmental dimension 1.80. Consequently, the average of all the indicators measured through the General Sustainability Index (GSI) was 1.86, which indicates deficient sustainability in the sector, with critical values for the social and environmental dimensions. With respect to internal differences, two groups were identified that were mainly conditioned by differences in the economic dimension. <strong>Implications.</strong> <span>The main aspects to be addressed in the sector to improve its sustainability were identified and the usefulness of the methodology employed for studies of similar characteristics was highlighted.</span> <strong>Conclusions.</strong> In order to design an effective strategy for the community’s development, the strengths detected in this study must be taken into account, such as the relatively efficient management of the community’s crops, and weaknesses, such as the lack of technical training, the lack of association and the difficulties of access to the sector, as well as the internal differences detected between the different productive units.</p>

Sustainable development is based on environmental, social, economic, and technical dimensions. In this study, the sustainability of wastewater treatment techniques in urban areas of Iraq was assessed using a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA)/the weighted sum model (WSM). The analysis was performed on 13 operating wastewater treatment plants in 10 provinces, Iraq, using a questionnaire sheet with the assistance of 52 specialists in the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works, Iraq. Four types of wastewater treatment techniques (Conventional Treatment, Oxidation Ditches, Aeration Lagoons, and membrane bio-reactor (MBR)) were assessed. The environmental, social, economic, and technical dimensions were represented by 11, 5, 7, and 4 indicators, respectively. The main results of this study indicate that the sustainability of MBR recorded the highest total importance; the order of the total importance from the highest to the lowest was: MBR > Oxidation Ditches > Aeration Lagoons > Conventional Treatment. The environmental dimension proved its dominance in the four studied treatment techniques' sustainability as it recorded the maximum contribution to sustainability. While the technical dimension recorded the least contribution to sustainability, the order from the highest to the lowest was: Environmental Dimension > Economic Dimension > Social Dimension > Technical Dimension.

Purpose – This study analyzes the reflections of information sharing and collaborative innovation in the social responsibility, in its environmental, economic, and social dimensions, of cooperatives that form part of strategic alliances. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted of managers of Brazilian agricultural cooperatives that have strategic alliances and 91 valid questionnaires were obtained. The data collected were analyzed through structural equation modeling. Findings – Information sharing had positive effects on collaborative innovation and the environmental dimension of social responsibility. No significant relationships were found between information sharing and social responsibility, in the economic and social dimensions, nor between collaborative innovation and social responsibility, in the environmental and economic dimensions. Originality/value – The main contribution of the research is to examine the links between information sharing, collaborative innovation, and social responsibility. The study provides empirical evidence that information sharing between cooperative partnerships favors the exploration of new knowledge/technologies. It also reveals that information sharing helps social responsibility in its environmental dimension by providing information that can contribute to reducing the environmental impact of the activities of cooperative alliances. However, it suggests that information sharing influences collaborative innovation and social responsibility in its environmental dimension, but not in its economic and social dimensions.

Purpose: Analyze sustainability in the socio-environmental management of the judiciary, from the perspective of indicators defined by the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and propose a sustainability index for the socio-environmental management of the PJ. Theoretical framework: Indicators are present in everyone's lives, they are everywhere. They are considered a management tool. Models for assessing sustainability through specific indicators and indices have been the subject of study in several studies, from the perspective of different dimensions. Method: Application of the methodology proposed by Calório (1997), combined with Daniel et al (2001), Sobral, Almeida and Gomes (2012), Faccioli and Gomes (2021) and adaptations, with 21 indicators in the environmental, economic and social dimensions in 9 categories defined by the CNJ aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The Sustainability Index, its classification and scenario analysis are obtained. Results and discussion: An index and model aimed at evaluating the socio-environmental sustainability of the judiciary is presented, in which the general sustainability index - IS0-100 was 20.24%, a level considered bad and classified as a pessimistic scenario, pointing out a warning for the economic and environmental dimensions, in the categories: paper, disposable cups, electricity and mineral water, due to expenses/consumption. The indicators consumption of returnable packaging for mineral water (IA9) and expenditure on mineral water in returnable packaging (IE8) presented the highest level of unsustainability (0.0%). Implications of the research: This research demonstrated that the methodology can be applied to the Judiciary sphere, in the Courts of Justice, and that it has implications in the form of monitoring, and can be used as a parameter for evaluating sustainability in socio-environmental management and contribute to decision-making. Originality/value: The literature is silent in relation to socio-environmental management in the judiciary with the SDGs, there is a lack of studies to assess sustainability. Thus, the knowledge developed in this research fills a gap by proposing a Sustainability Index for this sphere of power.