Prioritizing Sustainability Indicators: Using Materiality Analysis to Guide Sustainability Assessment and Strategy

Abstract

Despite the growing awareness of complexity in sustainable development, the practical implementation of sustainability assessment through the use of sustainability indicators requires prioritizing the myriad indicators available. This study identifies the highest priority sustainability indicators for the New Zealand wine industry using materiality analysis. Thirteen information sources representative of different stakeholder perspectives considered to drive the need for sustainability assessment are analysed to provide a measure of sustainability issue salience and risk. Based on a meta‐analysis of relevant information, it is found that environmental issues make up the highest priority issues, followed by social issues relating primarily to worker wellbeing. Significantly, economic and governance issues were not found to be high priorities. These findings are discussed in the context of the common bias in agricultural sustainability assessment towards environmental issues, and the broader business implications for sustainability assessment, strategy and policy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

The Influence of Distributive Justice on Agricultural Environmental Sustainability

“…Sustainability assessment at a farm level is often part of a higher-level sustainability program, such as at a regional, national, or industry wide level [19]. An example of this is the New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard (NZSD) which establishes industry level sustainability assessment frameworks [20]. Targets are set at a high level and responsibility for meeting the targets divided up amongst participants either equally, or through a distribution mechanism that takes other factors into account.…”

Sustainable development of agriculture: contribution of farm-level assessment tools

“…External drivers of sustainability include market demand and regulatory requirements (Whitehead, 2016). Market demand for sustainable food products could present an incentive to change towards more sustainable practices.…”

“…Without this insight, sustainability assessment tools function as a black box, in which farm data is entered and a performance result comes out. This might not only give a false impression of objectiveness, as if all aspects are fixed and non-negotiable, but also limits the possibility to understand and explain the results and identify actions for improvement (Whitehead et al, 2016). This could be a reason for current challenges in implementing assessment results (Binder et al, 2010;Triste et al, 2014), and the need for additional efforts to translate assessment results into action (Chapter 3).…”

“…Moreover, concerns arise about, for example, the economic viability of agriculture, and its impact on public health and animal welfare (Boogaard et al, 2011;IAASTD, 2009;Wiskerke, 2009). At the same time, regulatory requirements, societal desires and market demands are changing and increasingly require farmers to report the impacts of their products on issues such as food safety, carbon footprint, and animal welfare (Muller et al, 2012;Whitehead, 2016).…”

“…To address these challenges, a development towards a more sustainable agriculture is needed (Pretty, 2008;Whitehead, 2016). A definition of sustainable development used generally in agriculture is the one in the report 'Our Common Future' of the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), also known as the Brundtland report: 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs ' (WCED, 1987).…”