Establishing an Instrument for the Assessment of Green Packaging Practices in Small and Medium-Sized Food Service Enterprises

Sustainable packaging has become a key driver of environmental responsibility in the global food service industry. However, tools to measure green packaging practices among small and medium-sized food service enterprises remain limited. This study fills that gap by developing and validating a multidimensional instrument tailored to the specific operations of these enterprises. Using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach, qualitative interviews with eight small and medium-sized food service enterprise owners identified core sustainability concepts, which guided the development of a 20-item, four-point Likert scale questionnaire. A sample of 385 small and medium-sized food service enterprise owners, selected using Cochran’s formula, was surveyed to test the tool. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed four underlying factors—branding, functions, pricing, and appearance—that explained 51.40% of the total variance. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed the model’s strength, showing excellent fit indices (CFI = 1.000, TLI = 1.000, RMSEA = 0.010), while Cronbach’s alpha coefficients (0.707–0.868) indicated high internal consistency. The findings highlight the dual necessity of integrating sustainability into brand identity while balancing functionality, cost, and visual appeal. This instrument provides a rigorous, empirically validated framework for assessing green packaging practices among small and medium-sized food service enterprises, supporting comparative research across contexts and guiding policy development. Beyond academic value, the instrument offers practitioners practical metrics to align environmental objectives with competitive advantage amid rising consumer demand for sustainable options.