Sustainable indicators at factory level – a framework for practical assessment

Paper in proceeding, 2012

Sustainable development is “the development that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Interpreted in a production systems perspective this means: “The system which produces goods or services by the application of the manufacturing methods that are non-polluting, preserving energy and natural resources, economically feasible, occupational health and safety implementation and rewarding for all employees”. Manufacturing companies need to be able to measure their progress and several frameworks with indicators are proposed in the literature. Only a few of the proposed Sustainable Performance Indicators are directly applicable at factory level. In this article, a set of suitable indicators is proposed with the aim that the indicators will measure progress as well as being comparable between factories. An empirical study for evaluating the proposed set of parameters is outlined which will clarify the industrial relevance and the opportunity to implement these into a framework that could be used in practice. This framework and set of indicators will be used in future surveys, national in Sweden as well as international comparison, e.g. in UK and Brazil.