Holistic and Sustainable KPIs for Food Systems

Abstract

Food is one of the strongest influences to affect both human health and sustainability. The food sector is responsible for a substantial share of all greenhouse gas emissions in the world, and the demand for more sustainable diets has increased. The individual is starting to realize one's own possibility to contribute to a more sustainable society, and people are willing to change their habits to become more sustainable. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to create holistic and sustainable KPIs for food systems that encourage improvement. The KPIs aim to measure and quantify sustainability from three perspectives; environmental, economic and social sustainability.

The methodology used is a framework consisting of five focus areas
aiming to create sustainability indicators. The purpose of the five focus areas are to establish vision, indicator framework, indicator selection, stakeholder participation and lastly communication design and strategy. 13 KPIs have been developed, focusing on electricity usage, water usage, GHG emissions, waste management, well-being and expenses. The target group, aimed to use the KPIs, consists of students living in Sweden, making the KPIs adjusted to a student’s lifestyle. The KPIs range from 0-100 %, and a final sustainability ranking is provided through a weighted average of the 13 indicators. The indicators are presented in a radar chart to increase awareness of the students' every day habits, and aim to encourage improvement to increase the sustainability ranking.

Hanna Borgefeldt & Emma Svensson

Download the thesis Holistic and Sustainable KPIs for Foor Systems (pdf 1.6 MB)