Developing indicators of sustainable production

This dissertation proposes a new tool for operationalizing the concept of sustainable development at the level of the individual firm— indicators of sustainable production. Such indicators help raise awareness, inform decision-making and promote continuous improvement.; The dissertation is comprised of four manuscripts.; The first manuscript discusses the business case for sustainable development and introduces sustainable production as a way to equally address different aspects of production (environmental and occupational, social and economic). Indicators are suggested as a tool for operationalizing this concept and their objectives, scope and desirable qualities are outlined.; The second manuscript analyzes existing sustainability indicator frameworks for business to identify strengths and weaknesses in the current practice. Four indicator frameworks are evaluated in a greater detail. The paper concludes with a summary and recommendations for developing a new framework and methodology for indicators of sustainable production.; The third manuscript is the core of the dissertation. Building on existing indicator work and the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production framework, a new methodology of core and supplemental indicators of sustainable production is suggested. Twenty-two core indicators are proposed and a detailed guidance for their implementation is included.; The fourth manuscript presents the results of testing the methodology at three companies in New England. It concludes with a summary of the key lessons learned and recommendations for future work.; The main benefit of the dissertation is the development of a set of integrated indicators of sustainable production and a methodology for companies to use these and create additional production-specific indicators. Such indicators link environmental, social and economic aspects of industrial activities and allow companies to benchmark their achievements. They promote the learning experience for companies, since the implementation is done through the organizational learning process. The developed sample set of indicators may eventually become the basis of standardized sustainability indicators for companies.