Sustainability performance of small and medium dairy enterprises in Brazil

The sustainability performance of dairy enterprises can be improved using specific assessments indicators and indices. However, selecting a set of indicators and creating a specific sustainability index for dairy enterprises is challenging. This study aimed to assess the sustainability performance of small and medium dairy enterprises using an indicator set and indices encompassing the three dimensions of the triple bottom line approach. Hence, a specific indicator set was selected based on the literature, and a sustainability index was structured based on the process of normalisation, mean weight, aggregation, and sensitivity analysis. Empirical validation was carried out with 32 small and medium dairy enterprises in Brazil using a questionnaire to evaluate sustainability performance. The results demonstrate that the indicator set, sub-indices (environmental, social, and economic), and index are adequate and consistent for diagnosing and identifying areas of improvement in the sustainable performance of small and medium dairy enterprises. In our sample, the highest efficiency regarding sustainability performance was related to economic sub-index indicators, whereas the lowest efficiency appeared in environmental and social sub-index indicators. The application of the sustainability index delivered essential information to consultants and managers of dairy enterprises to improve resource use and minimise the environmental and social impacts of their companies. The study posits that the specific sustainability index for small and medium dairy enterprises is a powerful management resource that can diagnose positive and negative points in a company related to the triple bottom line dimensions. Furthermore, the study provides suggestions for the use of the sustainability index, contributions to sustainability performance improvement, and limitations.