Selection and identification of the indicators for quickly measuring sustainability in micro and small furniture industries

• Present a set of twelve environmental indicators, seven social and seven economic.
• These indicators have qualities to make the industries more sustainable.
• The set of indicators entails a holistic view and quick measurement of sustainability.

The continued existence of life on the planet depends on the quality of the environment, which is responsible for providing humanity’s basic resources. The concept of sustainability was thought up in order to create conditions for protecting the environment. It is founded on three main aspects, namely, social, economic, and environmental. Thus, the aim of this study is to identify and select a set of indicators in order to measure the industrial sustainability of the micro and small-sized furniture industry in particular. This study follows the qualitative/quantitative exploratory method, so the text mining technique was used in the literature review, and the Delphi method was used in the application of the survey, and in its analysis, the level of consensus and weighted average. The results present a set of twelve environmental indicators, seven social and seven economic, with a cut-off criterion for the environmental and social indicators in level of consensus ≥≥ 0.7 and weighted average ≥≥ 4.5, and for the economic indicators in LC ≥≥ 0.5 and WA ≥≥ 4.2. The selected indicators are in line with the desired qualities and necessary characteristics to make these industries more sustainable. It is concluded that the proposed set of indicators entails a holistic view which covers the triple bottom line, selected based on the criterion for quick measurement of sustainability and its specific application in micro and small furniture industries.