Evaluating the social performance of Ecuadorian textile MSMEs using Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment
Integrating sustainability into Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) poses challenges due to limited resources, low social awareness, and particular cultural factors. Despite this, MSMEs play a crucial role in countries' development since they constitute an essential actor in gene...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Cleaner Environmental Systems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266678942400014X |
| _version_ | 1797247688132001792 |
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| author | Erik Sigcha Dolores Sucozhañay Lorena Siguenza-Guzman Paul Vanegas |
| author_facet | Erik Sigcha Dolores Sucozhañay Lorena Siguenza-Guzman Paul Vanegas |
| author_sort | Erik Sigcha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Integrating sustainability into Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) poses challenges due to limited resources, low social awareness, and particular cultural factors. Despite this, MSMEs play a crucial role in countries' development since they constitute an essential actor in generating wealth and employment. Therefore, determining tools and methods to support sustainable decision-making and understanding the impacts in MSMEs is a significant challenge. This work describes the application of Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment (SO-LCA) in three case studies of the Ecuadorian textile MSME sector to analyze their impacts regarding the social dimension. To this end, 121 inventory indicators linked to workers' and consumers' subcategories were applied. Utilizing sunburst charts, social performance is analyzed at subcategory and indicator levels. Company A showed intermediate worker performance with well-managed Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). Company B excelled, particularly in OSH, social benefits, and working hours. Despite its size, Company C had the lowest overall performance but exhibited superior Consumer category performance. This application of SO-LCA in the MSME sector offers insights for systematic evaluation, identifying areas for improvement and commendable practices. The study discusses implementing SO-LCA in small firms, highlighting the need for methodological adjustments to enhance applicability in this sector. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T20:04:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-872d697a884041519e22258203d23fcf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-7894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:02:40Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cleaner Environmental Systems |
| spelling | doaj.art-872d697a884041519e22258203d23fcf2024-03-24T07:01:59ZengElsevierCleaner Environmental Systems2666-78942024-03-0112100176Evaluating the social performance of Ecuadorian textile MSMEs using Social Organizational Life Cycle AssessmentErik Sigcha0Dolores Sucozhañay1Lorena Siguenza-Guzman2Paul Vanegas3Department of Applied Chemistry and Systems of Production, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, University of Cuenca, 010107, Cuenca, Ecuador; Department of Computer Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, University of Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador; Corresponding author. Department of Applied Chemistry and Systems of Production, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, University of Cuenca, 010107, Cuenca, Ecuador.Interdisciplinary Department of Space and Population, University of Cuenca, Avenue 12 de Abril, 010203, Cuenca, Ecuador; Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, University of Cuenca, EcuadorDepartment of Computer Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, University of Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador; Research Centre Accountancy, Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumInterdisciplinary Department of Space and Population, University of Cuenca, Avenue 12 de Abril, 010203, Cuenca, Ecuador; Faculty of Chemical Sciences, University of Cuenca, Avenue 12 de Abril, 01020, Cuenca, EcuadorIntegrating sustainability into Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) poses challenges due to limited resources, low social awareness, and particular cultural factors. Despite this, MSMEs play a crucial role in countries' development since they constitute an essential actor in generating wealth and employment. Therefore, determining tools and methods to support sustainable decision-making and understanding the impacts in MSMEs is a significant challenge. This work describes the application of Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment (SO-LCA) in three case studies of the Ecuadorian textile MSME sector to analyze their impacts regarding the social dimension. To this end, 121 inventory indicators linked to workers' and consumers' subcategories were applied. Utilizing sunburst charts, social performance is analyzed at subcategory and indicator levels. Company A showed intermediate worker performance with well-managed Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). Company B excelled, particularly in OSH, social benefits, and working hours. Despite its size, Company C had the lowest overall performance but exhibited superior Consumer category performance. This application of SO-LCA in the MSME sector offers insights for systematic evaluation, identifying areas for improvement and commendable practices. The study discusses implementing SO-LCA in small firms, highlighting the need for methodological adjustments to enhance applicability in this sector.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266678942400014XSO-LCAS-LCATextile MSMEsSustainabilityEcuadorSocial impact assessment |
| spellingShingle | Erik Sigcha Dolores Sucozhañay Lorena Siguenza-Guzman Paul Vanegas Evaluating the social performance of Ecuadorian textile MSMEs using Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment Cleaner Environmental Systems SO-LCA S-LCA Textile MSMEs Sustainability Ecuador Social impact assessment |
| title | Evaluating the social performance of Ecuadorian textile MSMEs using Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment |
| title_full | Evaluating the social performance of Ecuadorian textile MSMEs using Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the social performance of Ecuadorian textile MSMEs using Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the social performance of Ecuadorian textile MSMEs using Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment |
| title_short | Evaluating the social performance of Ecuadorian textile MSMEs using Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment |
| title_sort | evaluating the social performance of ecuadorian textile msmes using social organizational life cycle assessment |
| topic | SO-LCA S-LCA Textile MSMEs Sustainability Ecuador Social impact assessment |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266678942400014X |
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