Title: A conceptual framework for the assessment of sustainability indicators using IF-THEN rules approach: a case study

Authors: K. Jayakrishna; S. Vinodh; K.E.K. Vimal

Addresses: School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Production Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli-620 015, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Chennai – 602 117 Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: The objective of this study is to assess the extent of environmental, economic and social indicators prevailing in the case organisation. A refined 15 indicator based comprehensive model for encompassing sustainability was developed with the input from literature and experts' view. IF-THEN rules approach was used to evaluate the current sustainability level of an Indian automotive component manufacturing organisation. The assessment disclosed that the organisation is sustainable to an extent of 60%. Further, the gap analysis is conducted to identify the critical indicators in which needs immediate action in environmental, economic and societal perspectives. The proposals were made to fulfil the gaps in environmental, economic and societal perspectives. The organisation sustainability level is expected to improve subjected to implementation in the case organisation.

Keywords: sustainable development; sustainability indicators; sustainability assessment; IF-THEN approach; composite sustainability index; defuzzification; triple bottom line; Indian automotive component manufacturing; gap analysis; life cycle assessment; sensitivity analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2019.103570

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2019 Vol.34 No.3, pp.361 - 384

Received: 20 Feb 2017
Accepted: 29 Aug 2017
Published online: 12 Nov 2019 *

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