A composite index to measure sustainability of supply chain management in construction companies

Companies in the construction sector are increasingly aware of the importance and challenges of sustainability. In recent years, construction companies have introduced some sustainability initiatives and have embraced the concept of sustainability indicators. However, measuring a company’s performance on a wide range of sustainability indicators is challenging. Integration of supply chain sustainability indicators is required. This article presents a methodology for easily consolidating existing supply chain indicators into a single analysis that requires minimal resources. First, the list of 38 sustainability indicators of the supply chain was defined and divided into 7 sustainability groups. The experts were then asked to rank the sustainability groups and the supply chain sustainability indicators within each group according to their importance using the rank sum weighting method. The survey questionnaire was distributed to the respondents via paper or email to 24 academics and top/middle managers of construction companies. Global normalized weights were employed to determine the final indicator rankings. For normalization, target values were suggested for each indicator. Finally, a composite sustainability index for a construction company’s supply chain was developed. The developed composite sustainability index provides a global view of sustainable supply chain management in construction companies, allowing supply chain indicators to be related to their objectives. The developed composite index can be used by supply chain managers in construction companies to assess their organization’s contribution to supply chain sustainability.