Achievement

The IGERT students from Michigan Tech and SUBR have created a framework for conceptualizing indicators of social impact that could be incorporated into existing life cycle assessment tools. The framework considers a range of stakeholder groups (i.e., employees, customers, stockholders, community members, supply chain partners, and governmental organizations) and the needs of those groups (i.e., basic, safety/security, affiliation, esteem and self-actualization needs). The students have generated a list of potential indicators that address each combination of stakeholder and need, and these indicators were used to establish a survey. The survey is currently being used as part of a Delphi study, with the panelists drawn from academia, industry, government, and non-governmental organizations. The end result of this study will be a comprehensive list of social sustainability indicators that are suitable for a U.S. business to incorporate into its decision-making processes.