LAUSR

Abstract Many organizations are exploring how to implement sustainability requirements in their operations. There is a high demand for more realistic theories, models, and frameworks for assessing the sustainability performance of organizations. One key aspect of sustainability performance assessment that is often overlooked is determining how to set priorities for action. There is a particular need to determine how to assign weights to the factors selected to measure sustainability performance. Existing weighting schemes generally do not recognize that organizational priorities change over time in ways that are difficult to predict in advance. To address that issue, the current paper proposes an original probabilistic weighting model for systematically allocating priorities (i.e., addressing significance) in sustainability measurement. The model provides a number of contributions to the literature, particularly its explicit emphasis on addressing uncertainty in priority setting. It also encourages a long-term focus in sustainability measurement. These contributions are important given the various fluctuations and dynamics involved in the multitude of sustainability factors over time. The implications of the model are discussed and relevant future research directions are also presented.