Measuring the Level of Sustainability in a Small and Medium Companies: EAN Sustainability Index Case

The analysis of the impact of the concept of sustainability in the companies generallyuse a big number of indicators; however, is very common to measure the appropriation ofsustainability into the companies as specific aspects that make up sustainability (environmental,social or economic) and not with an integral vision (triple bottom line). Design/methodology/approach: This situation leads to the fact of being impossible to generatea consistent follow-up, from a statistical perspective, on the evolution of the degree ofappropriation and impact of sustainability as a tool for improving business effectiveness, sincethe qualitative parameters are subject to a highly subjective approach by those who collect theinformation, also highlighting the development of different indices that may provide partial ornon-integral interpretations on the subject. Findings: The present research proposed and analyzed previous research criteria and variablesto determine how these qualitative and quantitative variables can be used as inputs in an indexthat allows measuring objectively and under a series of standard criteria, the degree ofappropriation and implementation of sustainable production in small and medium companies. Research/practical implications: The present case study was developed as exploratoryresearch, for to generate an analysis and relationship basis of the measure factors, and to collectdata about the economic, environmental and social indicators for SMEs in Colombia. Originality/value: The EAN Sustainability index is the first sustainability indicator that, fromthe measurement idea for one incubator, can be used for SMEs in Colombia, and the work withthe economic development secretary of Bogotá is a preliminary proof of it.