Sustainability Indicators at the Firm Level

Abstract

Summary After reviewing recent attempts to develop sustainability indicators, this article shows how the principles of productive efficiency can be used to elaborate such indicators at the firm level. The theory of productive efficiency is somewhat expanded to incorporate fundamental issues of sustainable development: environment, equity, and futurtty. Efficiency, in the expanded notion of productive efficiency, is viewed as a necessary condition for sustainability. Working with aggregate performance indicators, it is important not to lose track of the relevant basic information. Therefore, instead of elaborating one unique indicator; we propose to implement several kinds of indicators, each of which stresses one particular focus (e.g., environmental vs. social concems). The definition of sustainable development indicators is illustrated with reference to a small data set of U.S. fossil fuel‐fired electric utilities. In a sustainabiltty perspective, two important aspects are stressed, namely, the use of nonmewable resources and the inclusion of employment as a variable to maximize rather than an input to minimize. The article ends with a discussion of the significance of, and limits to, the proposed indicators.

A comparison of sustainability theory with UK and European airports policy and practice

“…This said, setting wholly reliable limits for global environmental sustainability is precluded (Tyteca, 1999) because we have insufficient ecological understanding to relate ecological system values to specific scales and limits (Gudmundsson and Höjer, 1996). We cannot be certain which system components are critical, or what their critical levels of functioning are.…”

Socio-Eco-Efficiency Analysis of Highways: A Data Envelopment Analysis

“…Instead, input and outputs that are not in direct interest in the framework were omitted. Callens and Tyteca (1999) and Tyteca (1999) utilized DEA to account for economic, social, and environmental indicators. In this approach, the indicators are utilized to compare DMUs that produce similar products within a specified time period.…”

Sustentabilidade e desenvolvimento sustentável: uma taxonomia no campo da literatura

“…In this context, evolution has brought many forms of sustainability assessment, such as: indicators and indices (TYTECA, 1999;HUE-TINGA;REIJNDERSB, 2004;MOLDAN et al, 2012;HAK et al, 2012;DAHL, 2012;Singh et al, 2012), environmental tools (HOLLAND, 2003;GAUSSIN et al, 2013), frameworks for organizational analysis (BITHAS; CHRISTOFAKIS, 2006;AMBEC;LANOIE, 2008;ISAKSSON;STEIMLE, 2009). …”