The social pillar of sustainability: a quantitative approach at the farm level

Gaviglio, Anna; Bertocchi, Mattia; Marescotti, Maria Elena; Demartini, Eugenio; Pirani, Alberto

doi:10.1186/s40100-016-0059-4

Agricultural and Food Economics

Table 3 Framework: sub-indicators, indicators and dimensions

From: The social pillar of sustainability: a quantitative approach at the farm level

Farm characteristic	Source	Code	Sub-indicator	Score range	Code	Indicator	Max score
Number of products involved in quality certified products	Questionnaire	S_1_a	Quality certified commodities	0–∞	S_1	Quality of the products	20
Number of quality certified products	Questionnaire	S_1_b	Quality certified food products	0–∞
Number of vegetal organic products	Questionnaire	S_1_c	Vegetal organic production	0–∞
Number of animal organic products	Questionnaire	S_1_d	Animal organic production	0–∞
Aesthetics care of rural buildings	Questionnaire	S_2_a	Aesthetics of rural buildings	0–4	S_2	Rural buildings	12
Maintenance of the original use of the rural buildings	Questionnaire	S_2_b	Maintenance of the original use of the rural buildings	0–4
Number of buildings built or renovate using “green techniques”	Questionnaire	S_2_c	Green building techniques	0–∞
Maintenance of the farm green spaces	Questionnaire	S_3_a	Green maintenance	0–4	S_3	Landscape and territory	18
Presence of hedges, rows and wooded bands	Questionnaire	S_3_b	Hedges, rows and wooded bands	0–4
Maintenance of the roads and paths	Questionnaire	S_3_c	Maintenance of the roads and paths	0–4
Number of crop species/UAA (N/ha)	SIARL Database	S_3_d	Crop diversification	0–6
Selling through direct sale (farm shop)	Questionnaire	S_4_a	Direct sales	0–3	S_4	Short food supply chain	30
Selling through online website, portals, etc.	Questionnaire	S_4_b	Online sales	0–1
Income from short chain channels/income from conventional channels (%)	Questionnaire	S_4_c	Direct sales relevance	0–20
Number of product sold through direct sale channels	Questionnaire	S_4_d	Product sold through direct sales	0–∞
Sales through ethical purchasing groups	Questionnaire	S_4_e	Sales through ethical purchasing groups	0–3
Sales through farmers’ markets	Questionnaire	S_4_f	Sales through farmers’ markets	0–2
Sales to restaurant and shops	Questionnaire	S_4_g	Sales to restaurant and shops	0–2
Sales to dining halls	Questionnaire	S_4_h	Sales to dining halls	0–3
Social services (e.g. snow removal, composting, maintenance of private and public green areas)	Questionnaire	S_5_a	Social services	0–2	S_5	Related activities	20
Type of related activities (e.g. agritourism, B&B, restaurant)	Questionnaire	S_5_b	Type of related activities	0–10
Educational farm, teaching	Questionnaire	S_5_c	Educational farm	0–5
Presence of other social activities (e.g. disadvantages people, children, social inclusion)	Questionnaire	S_5_d	Social activities	0–5
UAA/annual amount of work (ha/h)	SIARL Database, Questionnaire	S_6_a	Annual Work Unit (AWU)	0–8	S_6	Work	25
Number of new employments (in the last 5 years)	Questionnaire	S_6_b	New employments	0–∞
Number of farm products processing	Questionnaire	S_6_c	Farm products processing	0–∞
Number of workers who resided in the farm buildings	Questionnaire	S_7_a	Workers who resides in the farm buildings	0–2	S_7	Sustainability of the employment	15
Number of local workers/total number of employee (%)	Questionnaire	S_7_b	Local workers	0–1
Number of female workers/total number of workers (%)	Questionnaire	S_7_c	Female workers	0–4
Age of the entrepreneur	Questionnaire	S_7_d	Youth entrepreneurship	0–4
Youth workers/total number of workers (%)	Questionnaire	S_7_e	Youth employment	0–4
Training courses for workers formation	Questionnaire	S_8_a	Training courses	0–∞	S_8	Training	10
Presence of trainees from schools and universities	Questionnaire	S_8_b	Trainees	0–2
Training activities unfold in farm	Questionnaire	S_8_c	Training activities unfold in the farm	0–2
Employment of disadvantaged people among the workers	Questionnaire	S_8_d	Disadvantaged people hired	0–5
Number of animal species bred	SIARL Database	S_9_a	Animal species	0–∞	S_9	Livestock management	25
S_9_b1 Type of stable S_9_b2 Management by physiological phases S_9_b3 Systems of ventilation or heat reduction S_9_b4 Quality/quantity control of the feed S_9_b5 Attendance at birth S_9_b6 Systems of cleaning	Questionnaire	S_9_b	Cattle	0–20
S_9_c1 Type of flooring S_9_c2 Systems of ventilation or heat reduction S_9_c3 Handling systems of animals S_9_c4 Presence of materials of environmental enrichment	Questionnaire	S_9_c	Swine	0–20
S_9_d1 Type of stable S_9_d2 Systems of ventilation or heat reduction S_9_d3 Presence of openings and/or windows S_9_d4 Quality/quantity control of the feed	Questionnaire	S_9_d	Poultry	0–20
S_9_e1 Outdoor spaces and pasturage S_9_e2 Quality/quantity of the feed S_9_e3 Attendance at birth S_9_e4 Systems of cleaning	Questionnaire	S_9_e	Sheep and goats	0–20
Participation in associations	Questionnaire	S_10_a	Association	0–5	S_10	Associations and social implications	15
Position of responsibility in associations	Questionnaire	S_10_b	Responsibility in the associations	0–5
Participation in consortium	Questionnaire	S_10_c	Consortium	0–5
The entrepreneur resides in farm	Questionnaire	S_10_d	Residence of the entrepreneur in farm	0–2
Direct sales managed in cooperation with other farms and associations	Questionnaire	S_11_a	Direct sales managed in cooperation	0–2	S_11	Cooperation	10
Selling of other farm’s products in the direct sale	Questionnaire	S_11_b	Selling of other farm’s products	0–2
Agritourism managed in cooperation	Questionnaire	S_11_c	Agritourism managed in cooperation	0–2
Farm structures and/or machineries managed in cooperation	Questionnaire	S_11_d	Farm structures and machineries managed in cooperation	0–2
Workforce managed in cooperation	Questionnaire	S_11_e	Workers managed in cooperation	0–2
Separate waste management	Questionnaire	S_12_a	Waste management	0–4	S_12	Waste management	15
Use of recyclable materials for the farm activities	Questionnaire	S_12_b	Recyclable materials for the farm activities	0–4
Use of compost	Questionnaire	S_12_c	Use of compost	0–3
Mulching	Questionnaire	S_12_d	Mulching	0–4
Presence of public farm spaces	Questionnaire	S_13_a	Public farm spaces	0–5	S_13	Accessibility to the farm spaces	10
Presence of recreational farm spaces	Questionnaire	S_13_b	Recreational farm spaces	0–5	S_13	Accessibility to the farm spaces	10
Self produced feed/Feed requirement (%)	Questionnaire	S_14_a	Self-produced feed	0–5	S_14	Sustainable use of materials	15
Self-produced fertilizer/fertilizer requirement (% of nitrogen)	Questionnaire	S_14_b	Self-produced fertilizers	–1–5
Amount of livestock comeback	Questionnaire	S_14_c	Livestock comeback	0–4
Use of methods for the water saving	Questionnaire	S_14_d	Saving water	0–2
Self-produced seeds and plants	Questionnaire	S_14_e	Self-produced seeds and plants	0–2
Schooling level of the farm workers	Questionnaire	S_15_a	Schooling level of the farm workers	0–10	S_15	Education	10

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