A process-focused guide for sustainable manufacturing: Integrating indicator-based sustainability assessments

Sustainable manufacturing is the pathway towards minimising the impact on natural ecosystems when producing products. Sustainability assessments are a measuring tool used to educate and inform stakeholders on the pathway either towards or away from sustainability. Existing sustainability assessment tools for manufacturing are applicable at different levels, such as product, process or sector, using varying indicators. There are various standards. Selecting the best-suited set of indicators for the purpose of the sustainability goals for the relevant context can be difficult. This paper presents a review of indicators relevant to the measurement of manufacturing companies’ sustainability. A guide is derived for developing a relevant set of indicators for a specific company. A quantitative survey was conducted in a manufacturing company using the guide, as well as selected indicators applicable to manufacturing to verify relevance. The study yields a sustainability assessment guide, indicator selection criteria and a list of sustainability indicators applicable to manufacturing companies. These findings offer valuable insights for enhancing sustainability within manufacturing companies, aiding decision-makers in recognising and addressing sustainability issues and contributing to the advancement of knowledge in sustainability assessments in manufacturing contexts.