Sustainability assessment of entire forest value chains: Integrating stakeholder perspectives and indicators in decision support tools

The optimization of value chains is an important process to promote sustainable development, since value chains are closely linked to the satisfaction of human needs and combine different driving forces for environmental change. This article presents a methodological approach for the participatory development of value-chain wide sustainability indicator sets and their integration into a decision support tool in the specific case study of the chain “construction and refurbishment with wood”. There are numerous indicator sets for sustainable development of forests and sustainable forestry available at different levels, ranging from local, regional and national to global scale assessments. Some efforts were also made to integrate later production stages of forest value chains (such as wood processing) in the assessment scope (e.g. for chain-of-custody certification). However, no indicator set has so far been available covering environmental, social and economic aspects for the entire value chain of building with timber. This gap was closed through applied sustainability research in the project “Holzwende 2020: Sustainable future markets for wood in the building sector”.     

帮助小的和不那么小的企业提高他们的三重底线成绩

要维持其市场地位,中小企业就必须提高他们的效率.然而,他们往往因为缺少时间、金钱和信息而难以对他们自己的活动、制定目标以及因此不断提高产品和服务(经济上、社会上和环境上)做出正确估价.现有的复杂的国际环境管理方案,对于中小企业常常不适用.不同级别信息"门童"间的合作,对于提高中小企业的环境与社会健康生产方式意识、教给他们日常业务中一体化关注环境与社会的方法、确立经济地位以及奖励这些努力,都是十分必要的.     

在全球化的世界经济中中小企业所面临的挑战

中小企业越来越期望对他们自己环境和社会影响负起责任来(正如跨国公司所做的那样),理解不同利益相关者的兴趣和要求,并且通过更大的透明度证明自己的行为是负责任的.许多要素既可以阻碍也可以驱动较小企业推动法人环境与社会责任战略的实施.为了克服实施这类战略的障碍,适合小型或中等企业需要的方法才可用.在某些领域.会同跨国公司这个关键的利益相关者团体一起,这方面的促进努力已经行动起来了.     

帮助小的和不那么小的企业提高他们的三重底线成绩

要维持其市场地位,中小企业就必须提高他们的效率.然而,他们往往因为缺少时间、金钱和信息而难以对他们自己的活动、制定目标以及因此不断提高产品和服务(经济上、社会上和环境上)做出正确估价.现有的复杂的国际环境管理方案,对于中小企业常常不适用.不同级别信息“门童“间的合作,对于提高中小企业的环境与社会健康生产方式意识、教给他们日常业务中一体化关注环境与社会的方法、确立经济地位以及奖励这些努力,都是十分必要的.