Sustainability Trade-offs Research Articles

The fallacy of profitable green supply chains: The role of green information systems (GIS) in attenuating the sustainability trade-offs

While green supply chain management (GSCM) has been studied extensively, a lack of a clear view on performance improvements arising from the adoption of GSCM practices obstructs a full understanding of resultant consequences. Moreover, there are still limited efforts to understand the contingent nature of how performance is improved in this context. This study aims to ascertain whether the GSCM implementation yields sustainability–profitability trade-offs and examine the moderating effects of green information systems (GIS) on performance improvements. Survey data were collected from 189 firms operating in the UK automotive industry and analyzed using moderated hierarchical regression. The results suggest that pursuing GSCM can bring trade-offs into play, demonstrating a paradoxical view of enhanced sustainability versus less profitability. The authors call this phenomenon the fallacy of profitable GSCM. Interestingly, high levels of GIS were found to positively moderate the relationships between GSCM practices and economic performance. This study contributes to the knowledge bank of GSCM by elucidating the mixed views about the GSCM adoption and its economic effects and refutes the fallacy that “low-hanging fruits” of GSCM are readily available. Second, this study offers new directions to balance the trade-offs between sustainability and profitability, contributing to the development of a more robust GSCM theory. Two important managerial contributions can be drawn from this study: (1) managers need to prioritize GSCM practices on the basis of having the most significant performance improvement; (2) they are encouraged to develop more robust GIS and exploit the capabilities of information sharing, supply chain traceability, and monitoring as a new pathway to attenuate sustainability trade-offs. Future studies are recommended to explore wider sectors and employ longitudinal or quasi-experimental designs to capture the effects of GSCM practices on performance over time.

Can MCDA Serve Ex-Post to Indicate ‘Winners and Losers’ in Sustainability Dilemmas? A Case Study of Marine Spatial Planning in Germany

Multi-criteria decision analyses (MCDAs) have been developed to support and evaluate decision-making on multi-layered problems. The benefit lies in creating transparency, among other benefits, especially in tackling divergent stakeholder interests. Within the energy transition, area shortage can lead to sustainability trade-offs, calling for the reconciliation of planning processes and satisfactory compromises. While ex ante MCDAs complement planning, the ex post consideration of processes has been less widely studied. Using a case study of offshore wind energy (OWP) within German marine spatial planning, we investigated the shifting weights of sustainability criteria and stakeholder interests. A multi-criteria approach (Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment of Evaluations (PROMETHEE)) addressed how decision-making can be iteratively traced, and the winners and losers indicated in sustainability dilemmas, such as between climate and biodiversity implications. Findings illustrate that stakeholders are divided in the green-on-green dilemma. The ‘winners’ embrace the branches of energy and climate protection. It remains a question though for ‘losers’ how weighting decisions of sustainability goals can be detrimental, such as ‘good environmental status’, and what kind of balancing occurs. How compromises are found, such as through transparency and solid justification, is crucial in satisfactorily solving trade-offs for public interests. PROMETHEE makes revealing stakeholder constellations within policy dynamics feasible, though assuming there is the will to work multidisciplinarily within future planning decisions.

Considering sustainability trade-offs in bushfire policy for the wildland-urban interface

ABSTRACT In Australia, bushfire risk in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) is increasing due to climate change and urbanisation. Like other complex issues, policy strategies for addressing bushfire risk are multi-faceted, involve diverse stakeholders, and are highly contested. Based on a case study of south-west Western Australia (south-west WA), we identify three key policy strategies for adapting to increased bushfire risk in WUI areas: broad-scaled prescribed burning, local bushfire risk management and land-use planning. We examine these policy strategies, firstly, to contrast their institutional arrangements and framing of goals and actions, and, secondly, to explore sustainability trade-offs. This analysis found that all policy strategies for adapting to increased bushfire risk in WUI areas have sustainability trade-offs that need to be considered. In particular, the research identified that the current bushfire policy regime has likely consequences for biodiversity conservation, nature-based interactions, health and wellbeing and local economic development. We argue that to avoid maladaptation, more sophisticated models of risk assessment, which consider the sustainability trade-offs of bushfire policy decisions and actions are needed.

The role of sustainability in the emergence and evolution of bioeconomy clusters: An application of a multiscalar framework

Bioeconomy clusters, besides stimulating economic and innovative performance, are expected to promote sustainable regional development. Despite their growing popularity, there is still a lack of awareness about how these clusters contribute to sustainability. This paper aims at increasing our understanding of the processes through which bioeconomy clusters generate sustainability effects and promote the bioeconomy transition. We analyze the event-history of the French Bazancourt-Pomacle cluster and interpret its development as a continuous interplay among its geographical, institutional, and structural scales to capture how these dynamics eventually affect specific sustainability scales. The results of the scale analysis reveal that the actors of the biocluster maintain a certain mode of action by organizing their activities along scales related to the valorization of local natural resources, whereas improvements of sustainability appear as a posteriori result of these activities rather than an aim in itself. Our study contributes with novel insights to the literature on sustainability transitions and clusters as well as demonstrates the potential of the scale-perspective for identification and measurement of sustainability trade-offs in a way accessible to policy makers.

315 Recognizing and Balancing Sustainable Trade-Offs in the Swine Industry

Abstract Recognizing and balancing trade-offs that constitute sustainability, economics, and practical reality is essential for practice adoption. There are many situations where producers have aligned all three criteria. Advancement of in-barn practices such as water cups compared to nipple drinkers provides for improved water conservation and economics. Also, injection of manure slurry directly into the soil decreases atmospheric nitrogen losses, reduces phosphorus runoff, reduces or eliminates inorganic fertilizer applications, and improves soil health and fertility. The use of dietary synthetic amino acids to lower nitrogen excretion or feed additives such as phytase to lower phosphorus excretion are widely used and are economical sustainable practices. Increasing whole farm productivity through improved pig survivability is a means to achieve a win-win tradeoff. Improving pig survivability with advancements in-barn management practices, genetic selection, health and nutritional programs will directly impact the sustainability of pork producers. However, everyday examples are also present where these criteria conflict. The use of feed by-products in diets to reduce feed cost per pig are common. However, these types of dietary ingredients, in particular dried distiller grains with solubles (DDGS) is lower in protein digestibility then soybean meal and corn, thus increases nitrogen excretion. At a higher inclusion such as 30% of the diet, the nitrogen excretion level would be raised by approximately 15%. Also, as the value of corn oil has increased for other industries, ethanol plants are extracting more oil from DDGS, in turn the net energy concentration is lowered. This results in pigs having poorer feed efficiency, thus increasing total manure production. Thus, the economic feed cost advantage has a tradeoff with increased nitrogen excretion and manure production. Pork producers will continue to be progressive and create opportunities to further combine sustainability, economics, and practical reality of implementation.

Developing context-specific frameworks for integrated sustainability assessment of agricultural intensity change: An application for Europe

Agriculture plays a central role in achieving most Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable intensification (SI) of agriculture has been proposed as a promising concept for safeguarding global food security, while simultaneously protecting the environment and promoting good quality of life. However, SI often leads to context-specific sustainability trade-offs. Operationalising SI thus needs to be supported by transparent sustainability assessments. In this article, we propose a general systematic approach to developing context-specific frameworks for integrated sustainability assessment of agricultural intensity change. Firstly, we specify a comprehensive system representation for analysing how changes in agricultural intensity lead to a multitude of sustainability outcomes affecting different societal groups across geographical scales. We then introduce a procedure for identifying the attributes that are relevant for assessment within particular contexts, and respective indicator metrics. Finally, we illustrate the proposed approach by developing an assessment framework for evaluating a wide range of intensification pathways in Europe. The application of the approach revealed processes and effects that are relevant for the European context but are rarely considered in SI assessments. These include farmers’ health, workers’ living conditions, cultural heritage and sense of place of rural communities, animal welfare, impacts on sectors not directly related to agriculture (e.g., tourism), shrinking and ageing of rural population and consumers’ health. The proposed approach addresses important gaps in SI assessments, and thus represents an important step forward in defining transparent procedures for sustainability assessments that can stimulate an informed debate about the operationalisation of SI and its contribution towards achieving SDGs.

Sustainability Trade-Offs in Media Coverage of Poverty Alleviation: A Content-Based Spatiotemporal Analysis in China’s Provinces

Poverty alleviation has always been fundamental for China to achieve the goal of creating a moderately prosperous society. This study conducted a content-based spatiotemporal analysis of media coverage, regression analysis of panel data, and text mining to examine how China’s Targeted Poverty Alleviation (TPA) Strategy is characterised by online mainstream media platform. A total of 10,857 articles related to TPA in 31 specific provinces of mainland China were collected and analysed by Natural Language Processing (NLP) analysis. The results of this study indicated that spatiotemporal distribution of TPA coverage was consistent with the typical logic of the Chinese government in policy implementation based on spatial and social marginalisation. Media attention on TPA is influenced by economic, environmental, and community sustainability indicators, reflecting the sustainability trade-offs in TPA-related media coverage. The keywords embedded in media coverage indicated that agricultural product promotion in extremely impoverished areas and the experiences of economically developed agricultural areas were essential for poverty eradication. Keywords emphasise top-down administrative-led poverty governance for extremely impoverished areas and local autonomy for relatively impoverished areas. This study provides perspectives for antipoverty governance and media empowerment in the postpoverty era in China.

Exploring trade-offs between basic and advanced sustainable supply chain practices among consumer electronics: a social media analytics approach

PurposeThis study explores the sustainable supply chain trade-offs in the electronics industry.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a social media analytics approach and analyses Twitter posts from August 2017 to December 2021. Thematic analysis is applied to discover the pattern in sustainable supply chain trade-offs based on the consumers' perceptions. In addition, a chi-square test was used to measure whether a relationship exists between product groups and sustainable supply chain perceptions.FindingsThe results indicate that environmental practices are the most frequent topic among consumers on social media. Further, although basic sustainable supply chain practices are prioritised in the environmental aspect, advanced sustainable supply chain practices take precedence over basic ones in the social dimension. The result from the chi-square independence test reveals that there is no significant relationship between different products and perceptions of consumers except for economically advanced sustainable supply chain practices.Practical implicationsThe main implications of the present study are to offer a fast and efficient method to marketers and companies for discovering customer perceptions. In a way, they can identify where the quality of practices needs to improve in their supply chains to gain customer satisfaction. Additionally, the authors suggest industries declare their trade-off preferences between sustainable supply chain practices transparently.Originality/valueThe findings extend the abundance of sustainable supply chain literature by identifying the sustainable supply chain trade-offs among consumer electronics. Also, the reason for customers' dissatisfaction is provided. In the end, six propositions are presented based on the explorations.

A Maturity-Based Perspective on Sustainability Implementations

With the increasing number of firms adopting different sustainability practices, the theoretical and practical understanding of sustainability has been changing in depth and scope. This transition has fundamentally changed the way firms make sustainability trade-offs. The extant literature on trade-offs tends to focus on established firms that predominantly indulge in market-oriented decisions where economic priorities drive the deployment of scarce resources to “other” sustainability dimensions. In contrast to a market-oriented understanding, emerging studies on highly committed firms have demonstrated the importance of nonmarket-based factors that bolster the social, environmental, and political standings of firms. Such studies have cast doubts on our current understanding of the trade-off between different dimensions of sustainability. Aiming to inform the sustainability trade-off literature, we carried out a mixed-method study to explicate the rationale and dynamics of trade-offs between sustainability practices.

Sustainable food cold chain logistics: From microenvironmental monitoring to global impact.

Food cold chain logistics (FCCL) is a systematic engineering process involving the use of a low-temperature environment to maintain the quality and safety of perishable food and reduce food loss and waste (FLW). From a mechanism perspective, FCCL must balance resource costs for a required level of food quality and safety with the costs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the context of global warming, the sustainability trade-off between FLW and environmental impact has recently become an important topic in research on efficient, green FCCL. This is mainly reflected in technological innovation, management optimization, and policy responses. With a focus on three levels (micro, meso, macro), this review analyzes current research areas and the gaps and challenges of FCCL in microenvironmental monitoring, life cycle assessment (LCA), and global impact. Future trends pertaining to FCCL in technology, management, and industry and sustainable development are also summarized. Future trends involving sustainable FCCL must be intelligent, systematic, and low carbon. Industry empowerment through next-generation information technologies (e.g., IoT, AI, big data, blockchain) will promote the multidimensional perception, real-time information transmission, and sustainable control of microenvironmental monitoring, as well as support LCA management transformation from fragmentation to system integration. From a macro level, due to the serious global loss of perishable food, the FCCL scale demand is growing greatly, causing a huge environmental burden. Global cooperation, low-carbon consensus, and appropriate policies will become the basis for promoting sustainable FCCL development.

Competing for food waste – Policies’ market feedbacks imply sustainability tradeoffs

Reducing food waste and reusing it as animal feed are often regarded promising solutions to enhance sustainability. Hitherto, food waste policy assessments rarely account for interdependencies between reduction and reuse interventions, and how their market - including trade - feedbacks influence sustainability outcomes. Here, we apply a global agricultural economic model to assess the impact of food system feedbacks on sustainability when EU consumer food waste is reduced or reused as pig feed. Our results show that food waste interventions easily result in sustainability tradeoffs. Halving food waste generates larger EU emission savings than its valorization as pig feed. EU savings remain below those expected when not considering market feedbacks, but additional emission savings are projected to arise abroad as consequence of shifting trade flows. When food waste is halved, decreasing food prices improve food access for consumers but reduce farmers’ income. The use of food waste as pig feed is only economically competitive if this novel feed is comparably cheap but then it stimulates pig production and imports of protein feed with potentially unsustainable consequences. Food waste reduction limits the amount of food waste biomass available for valorization. This could create unintended competition for food waste biomass. Thus, clear food waste reduction and valorization targets are needed, potentially focusing valorization on inedible waste parts only. Policy-makers need to consider such interdependencies when designing food waste interventions.

An Introduction to A Framework for Sustainability Thinking

Van Antwerp, Jeremy and Matthew Kuperus Heun. 2022. A Framework for Sustainability Thinking: A Student’s Introduction to Global Sustainability Challenges; (Springer, Cham) 275 pp. ISBN 978-3-0317-9184-0. A Framework for Sustainability Thinking: A Student’s Introduction to Global Sustainability Challenges presents basic information related to sustainability challenges in the context of a cognitive framework that allows students to evaluate problems and potential solutions from a quantitative perspective. Moreover, numerous end-of-chapter discussion questions and project ideas examine moral, ethical, and worldview aspects of sustainability choices and tradeoffs between different approaches to sustainability.

Examining impact and benefit agreements in mineral extraction using game theory and multiple-criteria decision making

This research takes a novel approach to analyzing impact and benefit agreements (IBA) using multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) and game theory. Local communities, which are often Indigenous communities, face with difficult decisions regarding the trade-offs of impacts vs. benefits from mineral resource development. Analyses of IBAs typically focus on their economic benefits but fail to consider environmental, socio-cultural, and other sustainability criteria. By not considering these criteria, current methods struggle to predict if an IBA is adequate or if it will be accepted. This research develops a model with MCDM that balances complex sustainability trade-offs for communities during mineral development negotiations. Bargaining positions of companies or impacted communities are also an essential, yet understudied factor in IBA analyses. Game theory is employed to show how bargaining positions can affect the compensation included in an IBA. In all, this research develops a model that can consider different criteria, value systems, and the implications of cooperation or competition to predict if an IBA will be accepted. This study provides recommendations, which can be applied other resource development projects which impact communities. The model shows the importance of flexibility in design, power dynamics in bargaining, cooperation, and knowledge sharing.

Cropping systems intensification and diversification: risk, vulnerability and adaptation in southwest coastal Bangladesh

ABSTRACT Delta ecosystems are vulnerable to climate change from rising temperatures and altered rainfall patterns, as well as further threats from salinity and erosion due to coastline exposure. Smallholder farmers in deltas are adapting to these risks through cropping systems intensification and diversification, but it is unclear which cropping options offer better profitability and less risk and what transformational support is needed. Using qualitative and quantitative primary field data from southwest coastal Bangladesh, this research analysed risk perceptions and adaptation responses and evaluated the profitability of seven cropping systems. Rainfall anomalies, extreme weather events, and seasonal price fluctuations were core risks for farmers. Risk management strategies included adjusting sowing/transplanting dates, changing crop cultivars, increasing chemical applications, storing irrigation water, and seeking market updates. The dominant systems (rice/rice/fallow, rice/fallow/fallow) had the lowest profitability, while systems with vegetables had the highest profitability. The risk analysis estimated that the dominant systems would incur losses every three years and rice/watermelon/fallow every eight years, but vegetable- or jute-based systems’ risk was negligible. However, expanding vegetable-based systems is constrained by higher input costs, lack of capital, labour-intensive practices, market access, and persistent environmental risks. Therefore, multiple strategies are required by public and commercial actors at multiple levels to support smallholders to promote sustainable trade-offs between diverse risks, short-term profitability, and sustainable managing labour, capital, and inputs. The findings highlight the need for agricultural policies and intervention programs to address production technologies, market access, financial services, and extension and training for production and agribusiness skills.

Sustainability assessment of water management at river basin level: Concept, methodology and application

A practical approach for understanding and monitoring the sustainability of a river basin as a complex socio-hydrological system is to co-develop an indicator-based assessment framework with the help of the major stakeholders. This study defines the concept of Sustainability Assessment (SA) in the context of water management at basin level. A step-by-step methodology is proposed and further applied for developing indicator-based SA framework in the complex and overexploited Mashhad Basin in Iran. The methodology is based on a participatory approach that includes forming an expert panel of basin stakeholders, co-creating goals and objectives, identifying and screening indicators, and shaping the final SA framework. We identify 332 potential indicators from existing literature. Using selection criteria and two-round of fuzzy Delphi method, we adapt 25 fit-for-purpose indicators relevant to sustainable water management in Mashhad Basin. Subsequently, a SA framework is developed by categorizing final indicators into four main components (Technical, Environmental, Economic and Social) and ten subcomponents to provide better links and insights of the basin water management practices between different groups of stakeholders. Finally, using a weighting scheme through the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), a sustainability index is constructed by aggregating the indicators. The results indicate that Mashhad Basin is in a critical unsustainable condition with a sustainability index at 0.34 out of 1. Analysis of the relative importance of the adapted indicators shows that the top-four ranked indicators (including water productivity, access to safe drinking water, renewable groundwater dependency and water pollution) have almost 40% contribution to the basin sustainability index. Such indicator-based SA framework can support identification and analysis of major sustainability trade-offs. Additionally, it can provide an effective tool for achieving water-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We therefore highly encourage further development of indicator-based SA frameworks in the context of water management at basin level.

Underpinning Hawley’s Risk Theory of Profit on Risk Intelligence and Sustainability Relations of SMEs in Nigeria

Sustainable development is one of the topical issues posing a global challenge to the business world. To remain successful in today's competitive business environment, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) must find a way to exist by adapting to dynamic sustainability challenges. The study aimed to examine Hawley’s Risk Theory of Profit's underpinning role in explaining the connection between Risk Intelligence (RI) and SMEs’ sustainability (SUS). It was understood that risk could pose both opportunities and threats to business, and therefore, proactive detection is paramount to address the risk capable of ridiculing sustainability. Therefore, we proposed integrating the moderating role of financial performance in the relationship between Nigerian SMEs' risk intelligence and sustainability. The study found Hawley’s theory relevant to risk and sustainability tradeoff. Previous studies proxied risk intelligence by knowledge management, financial literacy, and risk-taking propensity, which paved the way for developing a framework for attaining sustainable SMEs in Nigeria. We concluded that SME’s sustainability could be ensured by effectively managing inherent risks and should be incorporated into Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) systems.

Meat Consumption and Sustainability

Meat has become a controversial topic in public debates, as it involves multiple sustainability dimensions. Here, we review global meat consumption trends and the various sustainability dimensions involved, including economic, social, environmental, health, and animal welfare issues. Meat has much larger environmental and climate footprints than plant-based foods and can also be associated with negative health effects. Technological options can help to increase the sustainability of meat production, but changes in consumption are required as well. At least in high-income countries, where people consume a lot of meat on average, notable reductions will be important. However, vegetarian lifestyles for all would not necessarily be the best option. Especially in low-income countries, nutritious plant-based foods are not available or affordable year-round. Also, livestock production is an important source of income for many poor households. More research is needed on how to promote technological and behavioral changes while managing sustainability trade-offs.

A review of sustainability trade-offs affecting suppliers in developed and less developed countries

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the current state of research on sustainability-related manufacturing trade-offs (i.e. giving preference and priority to one dimension over others) that affect suppliers in developed and less developed countries (LDCs). There is growing pressure on suppliers to adopt sustainable practices into their global supply chains. Successfully implementing all three dimensions of the triple bottom line (TBL) imperative can provide organizations with an added capability and potentially result in competitive advantage and a focus on sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the long run. However, designing supply chains for achieving the TBL requires suppliers to recognize and overcome numerous trade-offs.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review comprising 71 papers published between 2004 and 2020 was undertaken using a content analysis approach to identify trade-offs affecting suppliers.FindingsThis study firstly identified eight sustainability-related trade-offs affecting suppliers from a TBL perspective in both developed and LDCs, consequently, allowing for a detailed discussion on trade-off factors and conditions unique to both developed and LDCs. Together, these findings enable this study to present initiatives and investment-related decisions for supply chains from a TBL perspective.Originality/valueIn spite of the plethora of studies on sustainable supply chains, there is little research on trade-offs, specifically those affecting sustainability of suppliers operating in LDCs. This paper addresses this critical gap and advances the literature on sustainability-related supply chain trade-offs.

A hierarchical coupled optimization approach for dynamic simulation of building thermal environment and integrated planning of energy systems with supply and demand synergy

In the low-carbon transition process of urban energy systems, synergistic planning with different sectors faces challenges in terms of modeling complexity, optimization accuracy and computational cost due to inconsistent granularity of models and methods. This study proposes a hierarchical coupled optimization method for cross-sectoral synergistic planning for supply and demand sides of urban energy systems. It integrates thermal load simulation of different demand-side energy-saving retrofits based on state space method with mixed integer linear programming of whole energy systems. This method enables reduced-order description of the time-varying multidimensional process while preserving the dynamic characteristics of demand-side to solve the problems of precision and scale difference in simulation and optimization. The case study shows that the optimal demand-side strategy enables 48.20% building energy-saving, while the optimal supply-side technology enables 36.77% emissionreduction throughout the year. The emission reduction rate of the whole systems can be further increased by 6.16%∼30.42% after the combination of passive and active energy-saving means. Meanwhile, compared with the baseline scenario, the synergistic optimization solutions in this case results in a 24.22% decrease in net present value of cost and a 50.35% decrease in total carbon emission. This means that the energy-saving and emission reduction potential of the integrated systems can be further exploited through the integration of multiple building retrofit strategies and renewable technologies. This hierarchical approach helps to design effective cross-sector synergistic solutions that achieve a reasonable trade-off of economic benefits and environmental sustainability of the whole systems. Overall, this study integrates different models and approaches of the supply and demand sectors to provide flexible and integrated solutions for low-carbon design and operation management of urban energy systems with building energy-saving retrofit.

Sustainability Performance Assessment of the Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS): A case study in Beijing Farmers Market

Among the range of incentives that might motivate farmers to adopt more sustainable practices, focus is given on the role that institutional innovations such as PGS could play in the transition to sustainable agriculture. PGS are established by producers, consumers, local authorities and other interested stakeholders who collectively ensure that agreed sustainable agricultural practices are adopted. Despite the growing popularity, there is no an experimental assessment of sustainability performance (SP) of PGS in order to better understand the role of PGS in sustainable agriculture. The objective of this study is to (a) assess a sustainability performance of PGS comprehensively, (b) perform a systematic assessment of synergies and trade-offs between sustainability dimensions and themes and (c) quantify the real influence of the selected sustainability themes on the least evolved theme. The Sustainability Assessments of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) Guidelines published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provides a transparent and aggregated framework to encompass all aspects of sustainability as well as to understand how strength, weakness and progress could be tackled in the farming systems. This study used the indicator-based SAFA consistent SAFA Tool to assess sustainability performance (SP) of the Beijing Farmers Market (BFM) PGS in China. Based on the respective sustainability scores, the synergies and trade-offs between sustainability dimensions and themes were analyzed using the non-parametric Spearman correlation test, and a linear regression analysis was applied to identify the influence that selected sustainability themes have on a poorly rated theme. The results displayed trade-offs between economic dimension and other three sustainability dimensions, due to vulnerability theme which is a most challenging and poorly-rated theme. Whereas the holistic management, biodiversity and water themes had a significant effect (P<0.05) with the capacity to decrease vulnerability level by 43.4%, 41.4% and 37.3%, respectively. Through its positive influence, social dimension enhanced the achievement of sustainability goals on other dimensions. The study further argues that with a committed and supportive consumer base PGS could become a reservoir of social capital to build a fair and sustainable community. This study presents a new perspective leading to a guideline for other PGS initiatives those early in the sustainability journey.