Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are crucial for a sustainable development of the food sector. Common tools to manage and improve business sustainability are not applied widely amongst food manufacturing SMEs yet. Therefore, this paper derives important aspects to consider for an SME-suitable tool, based on an extract from a Delphi study. By conducting qualitative analysis of expert opinions, light is shed on needed initial requirements of a sustainability management tool for SMEs to use it. Furthermore, important conditions to create credibility are elaborated on, which can increase the application value of a sustainability management tool for SMEs. The different aspects hint at a sustainability management tool integrating not only sustainability assessment but also reporting and certification. With regard to content, the present paper recommends application of sustainability management tools for food manufacturing SMEs that take a holistic view on sustainability, including not solely the environmental but also social, economic and governance dimensions. The aspects explored through the present research lay a foundation for the development of a sustainability management tool for food manufacturing SMEs and can assist practitioners and researchers.

中文翻译：

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面向食品制造中小型企业的可持续发展管理工具——来自德尔福研究的见解

中小企业 (SME) 对于食品行业的可持续发展至关重要。管理和提高业务可持续性的通用工具尚未在食品制造中小企业中广泛应用。因此，本文基于 Delphi 研究的摘录，得出了适合 SME 的工具需要考虑的重要方面。通过对专家意见进行定性分析，阐明了中小企业使用可持续发展管理工具所需的初始要求。此外，阐述了建立信誉的重要条件，这可以增加中小企业可持续发展管理工具的应用价值。不同方面暗示了一种可持续性管理工具，不仅集成了可持续性评估，还集成了报告和认证。关于内容，本文件建议为食品制造中小型企业应用可持续发展管理工具，从整体角度看待可持续发展，不仅包括环境方面，还包括社会、经济和治理方面。通过本研究探索的方面为食品制造中小企业的可持续发展管理工具的开发奠定了基础，并可以帮助从业者和研究人员。