Sustainability Performance Assessment Research Articles

Assessing Sustainability Performance of Community-based Fish Farming Cooperatives: A Comprehensive Checklist

Cooperative fisheries are increasingly recognized as a promising approach for small-scale fisheries management. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the key elements that drive sustainability within these cooperatives. This survey study aims to develop a sustainability performance checklist tailored for fisheries cooperatives throughout their lifecycle. Initially, a preliminary list of five-point Likert scale sustainability factors was created and reviewed through interviews with experts from both fisheries academic and executive sectors. Their feedback contributed to refining the checklist, ensuring its relevance, clarity, and simplicity. Experts from both the academic and executive sectors of fisheries cooperatives have confirmed the content validity of the economic, social, and environmental criteria included in the checklist. The data collected across 61 cooperatives. To identify the key factors influencing the sustainability performance of fisheries cooperatives throughout their lifecycle, a factor analysis was performed, employing the Varimax rotation method. The findings indicate that economic considerations are the primary focus during the initial establishment of fisheries cooperatives. As these cooperatives evolve through the growth and consolidation phases, social factors become increasingly significant. Additionally, the study highlights the essential role of environmental aspects in maintaining the stability and balance of these cooperatives. The research underscores the interdependence of economic, social, and environmental elements in fostering the sustainability of fisheries cooperatives. These insights are particularly relevant for policymakers, managers, and stakeholders in fisheries management. Furthermore, the developed sustainability performance checklist and weighting system can effectively assist in assessing and enhancing the sustainability of fisheries cooperatives.

Sustainability evaluation and life cycle assessment of concretes including pozzolanic by-products and alkali-activated binders

The construction industry's top priorities for achieving a sustainable future include minimizing the use of non-renewable resources, managing waste generation, and reducing related gas emissions. This fact emphasizes the need for using natural materials such as pozzolan as a substitute or supplemental component in the production of Portland cement concrete. This study presents a review of evaluating the sustainability performance and life cycle assessment of pozzolan-based concrete compared with ordinary Portland cement concrete using the preference selection index approach and evaluating CO2 gas emissions during material life cycle stages. Furthermore, the durability and environmental effects of using pozzolan in concrete were comprehensively investigated. The advantages of using Pozzolans-based concrete in the development of sustainability aspects have been precisely predicted through the application of the PSI method, which depends on several criteria based on the properties of different cement types. It was discovered that substituting pozzolanic material for a portion of Portland cement when producing concrete significantly reduces the environmental effects (i.e., energy use and carbon dioxide emissions).

Quantitative indicators for environmental and social sustainability performance assessment of the supply chain

AbstractIn the era of globalization, supply chains are becoming less transparent, facing pressing sustainability challenges such as the inappropriate use of natural resources, poor working conditions, and environmental degradation. This paper addresses these issues by presenting a pioneering sustainability assessment framework aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in global supply chains. Emerging from a systematic literature review and insights from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the framework comprises 91 robust performance indicators: 36 environmental and 55 social. These indicators, a mix of quantitative and semi-quantitative measures, provide a comprehensive tool for assessing the sustainability performance of supply chain actors across a range of sectors. The framework not only facilitates companies in measuring their own and their suppliers’ sustainability performance but also enhances their capacity to effectively communicate their environmental and social progress to stakeholders. Additionally, it is designed to seamlessly integrate with Industry 4.0 technologies, enabling more dynamic assessments.

The Use of DEA for ESG Activities and DEI Initiatives Considered as “Pillar of Sustainability” for Economic Growth Assessment in Western Balkans

Data envelopment analysis (DEA), which is frequently used in efficiency analysis, has also been applied to the measurement of entrepreneurial efficiency for the attainment of desired values of macroeconomic indicators (such as the objectives of sustainable economic growth). For this application, DEA takes into account the economic, environmental, and social impact of entrepreneurship as the three dimensions of sustainability. This paper aimed to investigate the potential for a scalable (in diversity, equity, and inclusion dimensions) DEA application in sustainable entrepreneurship performance (SEP) assessment through three channels (assessing SEP without ESG activities; ESGàSEP; ESG (DEI)àSEP) and present an empirical study related to economic growth assessment and its environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) determinants across selected Western Balkans (WB) and European Union (EU) companies, based on the use of the proposed scalable DEA. It highlights how crucial a scalable nonparametric approach to macroeconomic efficiency analysis is and provides a more comprehensive perspective to the researchers on this issue. This study used a non-oriented DEA model with variable return-to-scale in a group of 60 WB and 60 EU companies, all of which adopted ICT/Blockchain (BC) technologies (the 11 ESG metrics). The annual corporate data was collected for seven years from 2017 until 2023. We projected the selected data to three country particularities (mass acceptance, adoption, and implementation of ICT/BC; mass labor force return from overseas; and ethnic, cultural, and religious particularities) and performed statistical analysis. Our findings estimate the influence of these three particularities on economic growth potential. In all countries’ cases, we found a statistically sound (significant, positive) correlation between ESG and SEP’s economic growth quality performance. Particularly, when corporate social and DEI initiatives mediate (channel III), SEP’s economic growth gains the best performance (+18%) in countries with ethnic, cultural, and religious particularities (BiH, NM), a +17% in countries enjoying massive labor force return from overseas (AL) and performs well in quality (particularly in the innovation and integrity) SEP performance success dimensions (all WB and EU countries). The proposed scalable DEA shows clearly, by performing an empirical analysis, which modern business (adopting ICT/BC) is the most effective in achieving sustainability projected to country particularities, helping corporate management to improve economic growth efficiency.

Exploring the Relationship between Sustainability Performance, Sustainable Competitive Advantages, and Firm Performance in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of Pakistan

Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) play a critical role in every economy, contributing significantly to gross domestic product (GDP) and employment creation. However, tackling the negative environmental effect of SMEs is critical to their overall performance. Achieving sustained success necessitates a mix of elements that create a competitive advantage and assist the accomplishment of triple-bottom-line objectives. While previous research has explored business performance and sustainability individually, there is minimal understanding of how sustainability performance impacts firm performance, with sustainable competitive advantages serving as a mediator. Our continuing research aims to fill this knowledge gap by investigating the influence of sustainability performance on firm performance, particularly in SMEs businesses, and by investigating the possible mediating role of sustainable competitive advantages. We assess sustainability performance across three dimensions: economic, environmental, and social. Financial and market performance, quality performance, and innovation performance are used to evaluate firm performance. We use partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze data from 370 SMEs firms in Pakistan. Our findings give empirical support for the Resource-Based Theory stressing dynamic capacities and provide useful insights for SMEs on effective resource allocation and the implementation of sustainable practices. However, this study has limitations, including its focus on SMEs in Pakistan, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other regions and sectors. Future research should consider broader geographic and industry contexts to validate these results. This work makes a theoretical and managerial contribution to improving corporate performance.

Systemic sustainability assessment: Analyzing environmental and social impacts of actions on sustainable development

An improved sustainability performance of one system does not automatically lead to an improved sustainability performance of larger systems (society and nature). A reliable sustainability assessment must be carried out to improve environmental and social sustainability performance for whole systems. It is necessary to show how a system of interest at any scale should (and can) improve sustainability performance. An examination of the literature on sustainability assessment highlights a lack of a systems perspective in most sustainability assessment frameworks. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to provide a framework that enables an assessment of environmental and social sustainability performance, taking systemic aspects into account. This assessment framework is based on a definition of first- and second-order sustainability performance. The former focuses on narrow efficiency issues, while second-order sustainability performance focuses on systemic effectiveness and covers sustainability impacts on society and nature. Improving the first-order level (narrow perspective) will not automatically lead to an improved second-order sustainability performance (systemic perspective). Thus, systemic effectiveness is not automatically increased in the case of first-order sustainability performance. Therefore, three essential dimensions have been identified and combined in an assessment framework, i.e., the dimension of scale, the decision horizon, and sustainability principles. The conceptualized assessment framework allows to analyze whether an action of a system of interest (e.g., corporate action, any process, project, or policy) contributes to global sustainable development.

A sustainability-oriented approach for performance assessment of existing buildings and a case study

The practice of sustainable buildings has become a general trend in urban development. Yet, with the rapid development of urban renewal, the performance of existing buildings often fails to meet the actual needs of sustainable urban development. To improve the performance of existing buildings, it is urgently needed to transform the existing structures and upgrade their functions and facilities. However, the pertinent guidelines have often been unclear for assessing the performance of existing structures, and a sounder and quantitative sustainable performance assessment approach has been lacking to guide decisions on the restoration, protection, or demolition of existing buildings. Based on a multi-expert consultation methodology, we proposed a revised flexible comprehensive assessment system and a comprehensive sustainability assessment approach. The system includes 4 categories, 7 quantitative and 47 qualitative indicators. Specifically, the assessment system involves a series of steps: 1) building a hierarchical model, 2) defining assessment indicators/items and constructing a judgment matrix, 3) determining the weight coefficients of the indicators, 4) collecting/calculating quantitative and qualitative data, 5) analyzing the data and results, and 6) drawing the assessment conclusions. A case study was presented to demonstrate the application of the approach. Compared to current practices, this comprehensive assessment system may serve as a scientifically sounder and quantitative approach to guide sustainable development of existing urban buildings.

Dual Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Index for Corporate Sustainability Assessment Using Blockchain Technology

Investors are increasingly relying on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) indexes to obtain a third-party assessment of corporate sustainability performance. Various ESG indexes are, therefore, released by prominent rating agencies, including MSCI, Sustainalytics, Refinitiv, etc. However, existing ESG indexes overvalue the usage of massive ESG metrics while ignoring various ESG disclosure levels, leading to critical issues such as limited company coverage, inflexible ESG framework, and obscure assessment processes. This paper proposes a novel Dual ESG Index (DESGI) model using blockchain technology to provide a flexible and transparent corporate sustainability assessment. Firstly, the DESGI model is developed by analogy to the rationale and concepts of the academic credit system due to its advantages of scalability and flexibility. Secondly, blockchain is used to build a transparent environment for ESG assessment. Thirdly, the smart contract and crypto token, as the core blockchain constructs, are used to achieve the dual-dimensional ESG depth and width assessment using ESG GPA and ESG credit, respectively. Finally, a case study is carried out to validate the DESGI by using real-life ESG data and comparing it with four existing ESG indexes. Several managerial implications are also found: (1) DESGI can expand the scope of companies evaluated by ESG criteria regardless of company size or scale; (2) DESGI provides a good potential to fight against greenwashing through the blockchain-based traceability; (3) DESGI can identify the ESG elites who disclose fewer ESG metrics but with excellent ESG performances, which can hardly be achieved using traditional ESG indexes.

Sustainability performance assessment of freight transportation modes using an integrated decision-making framework based on m-generalized q-neutrosophic sets

The freight transport industry is one of the primary sectors responsible for excessive energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Restructuring international and domestic freight transport chains based on sustainability and green transportation is critical for practitioners and policymakers to reduce pressure on the logistics and transportation industries. This study aims to develop a mathematical model for selecting the most appropriate transportation type, and accordingly, the optimal route in transportation operations to improve the sustainability performance of the freight transportation industry. Therefore, the main goal is to choose the most suitable route and transportation type which contributes to create a more eco-friendly and sustainable transportation system. For this purpose, Neutrosophic Number-based Delphi (NN-Delphi), m-Generalized q-Neutrosophic Sets (mGqNSs)-based Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (MGqNS-SWARA) and mGqNSs-based Additive Ratio Assessment (mGqNS-ARAS) are developed and implemented to set the influential criteria, compute the weights of these criteria, and identify the sustainability performance of the freight mode variants, respectively. According to the final results, "Cargo security" and "Accident rates" are the most important criteria with a relative importance score of 0.0237, contributing to the sustainability of load transport modes. Moreover, "Maritime Transport Mode" is identified as the most sustainable transportation type with a relative importance score of 0.7895. Finally, it is revealed that there is a positive relationship between maritime transport and sustainability.

Lean and sustainability assessment in the sawmill industry using Sus-VSM: A case study in the context of Fiji

Waste from the perspective of lean manufacturing and sustainability has a huge influence on economic, environmental, and societal aspects. The inefficiency of the current manufacturing systems poses a huge risk to small and medium size sawmills going out of business as current prices of fossil fuel and associated emissions continue to rise at an alarming rate. In this case study, a local sawmill has been investigated to improve process efficiency using sustainable value stream mapping in the context of Fiji. The produced timber with the highest demand is selected as the product and a complete assessment is done on the downstream operation to compile data and develop the current state map. The current state map incorporates sustainability pillars to address the lacking factors such as energy and water consumption, raw material usage, labor physical load, and workspace noise level along with standard lean manufacturing time-based metrics. Sustainable value stream mapping allowed the research team along with a panel of experts to identify processor 2 as the root cause of bottlenecking, unnecessary material movement/transportation, and high physical load index score. Implementing a multi-blade horizontal bandsaw in place of processor 2 reduces; energy consumption for transport, energy consumption for processing, VAT, NVAT, process water consumption, raw material usage, and carbon emission by; 34.9%, 8.72%, 6.37%, 20%, 24.71%, 3.05%, and 10.33% respectively without compromising productivity. The findings of this research suggest evaluating and assessing sustainability performance using Sus-VSM in the sawmill industry unveils potential economic, environmental, and societal benefits.

Sustainability and operational performance assessment of supermarket air-conditioning architectures using secondary fluids and slurries

Secondary loop architectures and phase change material (PCM) slurries could reduce the environmental impact of refrigeration and air-conditioning systems by lowering significantly the amount of primary refrigerants. However, there is a barrier to their industrial development due to the lack of studies on their behaviour in operational scenarios. The present work analyses the behaviour of different secondary loop systems in an industrial context, here the air conditioning of a supermarket in France. For this purpose, a generic approach, developed in previous work, is proposed to assess their potential of adoption. This modelling approach is able to describe the sustainability and operational performance (energy, environmental, economic, social) of refrigeration systems. After validation of the model on real architecture and components, five standard or new architectures were tested: centralized direct expansion system; secondary loop system with ethylene glycol water; secondary loop system with ice slurries, TBPB hydrate slurries or CO2 hydrate slurries. The main results of this study show that new secondary systems using hydrate slurries have better cooling energy performance than direct expansion or classical brine / ice slurry secondary systems. Moreover, even including pumping power, the life cycle climate performance of secondary loop systems is much better than that of direct expansion systems. However, the total cost of ownership of direct expansion systems is lower than that of secondary systems, but with little differences for smaller pipes. Finally, trade-offs between several performances can be proposed. For example, some architectures with suitable pipe diameters could meet TCO/LCCP-based and CAPEX/pumping-based trade-offs.

Contributions to the development of the analytical tools of sustainability reporting

The purpose of this paper is to research the premises for the development of analytical tools for reporting sustainability activities at the microeconomic level. Based on the synthesis of specialized literature, the analysis of policy documents and analytical reports of international and European organizations, it was hypothesized that the current corporate reporting framework does not meet the informational needs of stakeholders. In order to identify the methodological issues regarding sustainability reporting, both the national practice in the field of monitoring and reporting of the National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova regarding ODD2030 and the corporate practice were analyzed, being examined non-financial reporting documents of the Purcari S.A. group and of the State enterprise „State Administration of Roads”. Traditional research methods were applied in the research: monographic, analysis, synthesis, comparison. The carried-out research allowed the authors to systematize qualitative and quantitative performance indicators (KPI) for measuring and evaluating the entity’s sustainable performance. It was concluded that at the national level, the system of indicators for monitoring progress in achieving the 2030 Agenda is developed, but at the microeconomic level, the necessary analytical and methodological framework is missing. In this context, the conducted research provides a theoretical framework for the relationship between the accounting information system and business sustainability. In addition, the study provides a methodological framework for the sustainability reporting procedure and the KPI system for sustainability performance assessment.

Impact of Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Resources on CO2 Emission: Empirical Evidence from SAARC

When assessing sustainability performance, researchers often ignore the implications of combining energy, economic, and environmental factors. To address this void, we assess the consequence of energy dis-aggregation proceeding carbon emissions in SAARC nations. The majority of energy resources are renewable and non-renewable, which contributes to a rise in carbon dioxide emissions. This study aims to provide a thorough understanding of the energy utilization dioxide emissions nexus. The panel data sets covering the period 1971-2020 for the SAARC nations have been used for analysis. The data set was used to assess the effect of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on emissions of carbon dioxide by factoring in other CO2-producing variables such as urbanization, primary and secondary education, globalization, and economic development. Panel Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) was used to examine the connection. According to research comparing the impact of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption upon Carbon dioxide emission, whereas non-renewable energy consumption increases CO2 emissions, renewable energy consumption decreases them. Urbanization, globalization, primary education, and economic growth increase carbon emissions, while secondary education contributes to environmental quality improvement via CO2 reduction. Therefore, increasing the usage of renewable energy and enhancing awareness through higher education may help SAARC nations to reduce pollution emissions.

Sustainable development and performance assessment of concrete incorporating biofuel waste

This study focuses on investigating concrete's engineering properties when sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) is used as a partial substitute for cement. SCBA is obtained by sintering bagasse at 700 °C for one hour. The research analyzes various properties of SCBA concrete at different water-cement ratios (0.3, 0.4, 0.5) and curing periods (7, 28, 56, and 91 days), including fresh-mixed properties (slump, flow, unit weight, setting time), engineering characteristics (compressive, splitting strength, pozzolanic index, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), resistivity, sulfate attack, and water absorption), and microscopic properties. Key findings indicate that replacing 5% cement with SCBA improves workability, but higher substitution levels reduce workability and accelerate setting times. Compressive and splitting strength decrease with increased SCBA substitution, but still meet acceptable standards. UPV follows a similar trend. In terms of durability, concrete resistance improves with higher SCBA substitution. The study suggests that incorporating 5% SCBA enhances the hydration reaction of cement, leads to superior strength, UPV, lower water absorption, and reduced weight loss in sulfate tolerance tests, and improves long-term durability. The research underscores the potential of SCBA as a valuable resource for environmentally responsible and sustainable concrete production.

Co-creating sustainability performance accounts in cities via tinkering and bricolage

PurposeExisting performance assessment frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), struggle to incorporate diverse voices and representations of heterogeneous contexts. Cities, in particular, present a challenging context for sustainability performance assessment as they pursue new forms of governance based on the multiplicity of actors and inter-organisational collaboration. This study explores how sustainability performance accounts are created at the urban level within collaborative forms of governance and amidst the plethora of available devices for performance assessment.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a case study approach. Qualitative methods are mobilised to study a large European project focused on the urban transition to a circular economy in six participating cities. The construction of sustainability performance accounts is studied via the Actor-Network Theory lens.FindingsThe study highlights that when it comes to sustainability assessment in city initiatives, existing performance assessment devices are adapted and modified to fit local needs and other sources of performance information are spontaneously mobilised to address the different dimensions of sustainability.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the public sector accounting literature by explaining the process of modifying existing devices for performance assessment to allow for the co-creation of accounts and by illuminating the spontaneous way in which performance information is generated and combined.

Territorial sustainability performance assessment in African context: Case study of the Moroccan provinces

Territorial sustainability performance is becoming a core subject and an important governing tool for defining policies and strategies from the global to local scale. In this regard, this research has two main objectives. The first one is to develop composite indicators considering the social, environmental, and economic aspects as coupled systems for assessing the territorial sustainability performance (TSP) at the provincial level of Moroccan territory. The second objective is to identify provinces having difficulties in reaching economic growth, social equity, and environmental preservation. Using the standard constant-elasticity-of-substitution function, the TSP index was calculated based on 33 indicators, including 15, 13, and 5 for economic, social, and environmental indicators respectively. The evaluation was conducted at three levels: first; from indicators to nine dimension indices (Occupation, Education, Employment, Public Services, Health infrastructure, Tourism, Mobility, Vegetation, and Climate); second, from these dimensions to the three main aspects of sustainability; and finally, the TSP index. The results obtained from the composite index (TSPI) show that the majority of the Moroccan provinces present a low to moderate sustainability performance, requiring an effective improvement in those provinces' management. To better analyze the dimension performances and illustrate weaknesses and strengths, Moroccan provinces were subdivided into 5 main clusters using hierarchical and non-hierarchical Cluster-Analyses. The outcomes show that 62% of Moroccan provinces present some weaknesses in employment, education, and tourism. However, the public services, health infrastructure, and climate are the strengths of the remaining Moroccan provinces. These findings can be considered a valuable information system for adequate decision-making and enhancing vision in territorial planning and management.

Environmental sustainability performance assessment in relation to visibility in African regions with interpretable machine learning

Most African countries have developed their economies without causing large-scale ecological damage, yet they face severe challenges from global climate change and COVID-19 epidemic. To address this paradox, explainable machine learning coupled with panel data models are proposed to examine the different performances of Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Eritrea in terms of environmental sustainability measured by visibility. The results show that all countries except Zimbabwe have inverted N-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curves (EKCs), suggesting that the economic development works against environmental sustainability. Based on the modified TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution), Cameroon’s environmental sustainability performance is particularly poor, while Eritrea’s is better. Meanwhile, Eritrea is not exogenously threatened by epidemics, while Cameroon and Ghana are. By integrating the multidimensional Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) achievement pathway assessment system, Zimbabwe may be moving towards green growth. More importantly, the Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) technique is applied to quantify and visualize the socio-economic drivers of environmental sustainability. The results depict that, in addition to meteorological drivers, per capita income plays a leading role. In conclusion, we can validate the contribution of artificial intelligence algorithms to the SDGs and employ a comprehensive method for assessing SDG performance linking environment, economy, and public health. This could lead to some key recommendations for policymakers and international investors to better contribute to the SDGs.

Towards a net-zero carbon economy: A sustainability performance assessment of innovative prefabricated construction methods for affordable housing in Southern Africa

Recently, efforts to mainstream sustainability principles into affordable housing projects through the adoption of modern methods of construction, like innovative prefabricated construction methods (IPCMs), have been observed. However, limited studies have evaluated the sustainability performance of IPCMs deployed to affordable housing projects in Southern Africa, where the delivery of sustainable affordable housing remains a regional imperative. This study bridges this gap by assessing the sustainability performance and index scores of six IPCM variants implemented on affordable housing projects. The study adopted a two-phased quasi-experimental research design. In the first phase, the technical specification, lifecycle energy and cost and actual performance of these variants under varying conditions pertaining to sustainability were assessed and compared. The Sustainable, Innovative, Affordable Housing (SIAH) framework was adjusted to enhance its utility for computing sustainability index scores using expert opinions. Afterwards, the experts computed the sustainability index score for each case using the adjusted SIAH framework. Subsequently, the Edge App and SimaPro were used to simulate the sustainability performance of these variants under varying conditions. The study's results indicate higher overall sustainability performance of IPCMs compared to conventional methods. Moreover, the research results proved that the monolithic IPCMs were more suitable for net-zero carbon buildings. The study highlights the SIAH framework's usefulness as an assessment tool for determining the sustainability performance of affordable housing projects and for successfully selecting optimum IPCMs to implement towards eliciting such performance. It is expected that this study's results will contribute towards advancing the SIAH agenda in Southern Africa.

The influence of sustainability assurance report format and level on nonprofessional investors’ judgments

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the influence of sustainability assurance report format (separate versus combined with financial information assurance) and level (limited versus reasonable) on nonprofessional investors’ judgments.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a 2 × 2 between-participants experiment with 436 US nonprofessional investors. The authors manipulate sustainability assurance report format and level to identify differences in judgments of information credibility, investment desirability and investment amount.FindingsThis study finds that sustainability assurance level influences participants’ judgments only when the financial and sustainability assurance reports are presented separately. Specifically, participants assess sustainability performance information as more credible and make higher investment judgments when presented with a separate limited, as opposed to reasonable, assurance sustainability report.Practical implicationsThe International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board expressed concerns regarding whether assurance reports accompanying emerging forms of extended external reporting (EER) effectively communicate the level of assurance provided by the independent practitioner. The result that assurance level does not influence investor judgments in the combined reporting format appears contrary to the idea that integrated reporting should provide connectivity between financial and sustainability information. The finding that investors make higher investment and credibility judgments with limited assurance is inconsistent with the intent of sustainability assurance professional guidance and recent research results. Together, the findings suggest that investors may not be able to distinguish between differing levels of sustainability assurance when this information is presented in a combined report format.Social implicationsStandard setters should consider how sustainability assurance report format and assurance level impact nonprofessional investor judgments.Originality/valueResearch on the effects of EER assurance report format is sparse. The results indicate that even slight changes in assurance report wording may cause investors to perceive that a limited assurance report conveys a higher assurance level than a reasonable assurance report.

Sustainability performance assessment of Tunisian public transport companies: AHP and ANP approaches

This paper suggests a 29-indicator based transport sustainability governance index to shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of eight regional transit operators in Tunisia using the absolute measurement approaches of analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and analytical network process (ANP). Despite the difference in the overall sustainability scores, four companies have obtained the same ranking orders under both methods. The rest of the firms were ranked differently. Although both models generated interesting insights, ANP outperformed AHP in terms of priority distribution and significance of findings due to its capability of incorporating and quantifying criteria interdependencies. This research is the first in the literature that combines the three sustainability pillars with the governance principles using the direct rating approach of AHP and ANP to evaluate public transport firms.