Development of weighted triple-bottom line sustainability indicators for the Malaysian food manufacturing industry using the Delphi method

Abstract

The lack of industry-specific and applicable indicators is one of the major hurdles to measure and improve sustainability performance of manufacturing activities. Most of the available indicators are generally long lists of proposed and important indicators rather than applicable ones. Additionally, previous research on sustainability indicators has not covered all three dimensions of sustainability (triple-bottom line concept) in a comprehensive way. Furthermore, much of the related research has been conducted in developed countries, such as Europe, USA, etc., and mostly for metal manufacturing activities. Thus, the main objective of this article was to develop weighted and comprehensive sustainability indicators for the Malaysian food manufacturing industry. For this purpose, the Delphi method was used while engaging various experts from academia, research center and industry. The weights of indicators were calculated based on the applicability scores assigned by the experts. Effort was also undertaken to get the experts’ agreement or consensus on the inclusion of indicators. Along with various useful results, it was found that the social dimension of sustainability was more crucial for the Malaysian food manufacturing industry which was then followed by the environmental and economic dimensions. The study finalized a total of 57 indicators which consisted of 19 environmental, 14 economic and 24 social indicators. Based on the global priority of indicators, the usage of electricity, usage of raw materials and cost of raw materials were the top three sustainability indicators.