Sustainability Assessment Tools for Dairy Supply Chains: A Typology

Rita Paçarada (), Stefan Hörtenhuber, Torsten Hemme, Maria Wurzinger and Werner Zollitsch
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Rita Paçarada: Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Institute of Livestock Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Stefan Hörtenhuber: Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Institute of Livestock Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Torsten Hemme: International Farm Comparison Network—IFCN, 24118 Kiel, Germany
Maria Wurzinger: Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Institute of Livestock Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Werner Zollitsch: Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Institute of Livestock Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1180 Vienna, Austria

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-21

Abstract: The dairy sector faces increasing pressure to adopt sustainable practices. Various tools have been developed to evaluate sustainability of the dairy supply chain. This paper provides an overview of these tools, highlighting their strengths and limitations regarding sustainability dimensions, indicators, and system boundaries. A systematic literature search identified 27 tools that were then categorized into a typology based on dimensions of sustainability, geographical applicability, and accessibility. In-depth analysis was conducted on six tools: Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture (SAFA), Sustainability Monitoring and Assessment RouTine (SMART), Response-Inducing Sustainability Evaluation (RISE) 3.0 version, Swiss Agricultural Life Cycle Assessment (SALCAsustain), MOnitoring Tool for Integrated Farm Sustainability (MOTIFS), and Technology Impact and Policy Impact CALculations (TIPICAL). Assessment focused on the relevance of covered sustainability dimensions to the dairy sector, level of supply chain coverage, type of indicators, accessibility, and practicability. The review identified tools which integrate multiple sustainability aspects in a comprehensive way (SAFA and SMART) and tools offering accurate quantification of the impact on sustainability dimensions of the production system (SALCAsustain, RISE, MOTIFS, TIPICAL). Only two tools extend assessment past the farm gate (SAFA, SMART). Future users should select tools based on the specific objectives of measuring sustainability in dairy systems. This review contributes to the literature by addressing various aspects of sustainability assessment tools, by addressing the need for an integrated and comprehensive view, and by considering the entire dairy supply chain.

Keywords: dairy sector; sustainability dimensions; sustainability indicators; comprehensiveness; sustainability evaluation; sustainability themes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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