There is growing recognition of the need for integrated sustainability assessment tools that go beyond traditional environmental metrics to capture the complexity of livestock systems. The literature highlights the diversity of sustainability indicators proposed for dairy farms across the European Union and emphasises the importance of including animal welfare alongside agroecological, social, and environmental dimensions in order to support decision-making and policy development. Therefore, the objective was to develop a Multifunctionality sustainability Index (MInd) which aggregates multiple indicators to support the evaluation of mountain dairy farms’ sustainability within a One Welfare approach. The study involved 20 mountain dairy farms and integrated 20 indicators encompassing animal welfare (W), agroecological (AE) and socio-territorial (ST) dimensions (based on IDEA4 farm sustainability indicators), as well as environmental impacts (I; based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Data were collected through legal documents, the Italian Breeders Association, visual inspection and a questionnaire to farmers regarding all aspects of farm management. The MInd was built and then applied to farms. When several indicators exhibited high correlations (>0.8), an intermediate principal component analysis was conducted to select a single representative indicator. The MInd consisted of 9 key indicators in the final model, calculated as follow: MInd = + 0.011 * behaviour (W) + 0.385 * functional diversity (AE) + 0.227 * closed-loop material and energy flows in pursuit of autonomy (AE) + 0.390 * frugality in the use of resources (AE) + 0.340 * reduction of the impact on human health and ecosystems (AE) + 0.314* food production(ST) + 0.282 * local development and circular economy (ST) + 0.431 * employment and quality of work (ST) – 0.410 * ecotoxicity (I). MInd is mainly driven by employment and quality of work (0.431) and by ecotoxicity that showed a negative loading (−0.410), meaning that higher environmental impact reduces the index value. MInd successfully integrates all the initially intended dimensions and allows for differential weighting of each indicator, reflecting their relative contribution to overall sustainability. MInd offers a practical approach to monitor progress, identify strengths and weaknesses, and guide policies aimed at fostering sustainable and resilient dairy systems in mountain areas.
Aggregation of indicators for the multifunctionality of mountain dairy cattle farms: a OneWelfare approach
M. Berton;E. Sturaro;
2026
Abstract
There is growing recognition of the need for integrated sustainability assessment tools that go beyond traditional environmental metrics to capture the complexity of livestock systems. The literature highlights the diversity of sustainability indicators proposed for dairy farms across the European Union and emphasises the importance of including animal welfare alongside agroecological, social, and environmental dimensions in order to support decision-making and policy development. Therefore, the objective was to develop a Multifunctionality sustainability Index (MInd) which aggregates multiple indicators to support the evaluation of mountain dairy farms’ sustainability within a One Welfare approach. The study involved 20 mountain dairy farms and integrated 20 indicators encompassing animal welfare (W), agroecological (AE) and socio-territorial (ST) dimensions (based on IDEA4 farm sustainability indicators), as well as environmental impacts (I; based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Data were collected through legal documents, the Italian Breeders Association, visual inspection and a questionnaire to farmers regarding all aspects of farm management. The MInd was built and then applied to farms. When several indicators exhibited high correlations (>0.8), an intermediate principal component analysis was conducted to select a single representative indicator. The MInd consisted of 9 key indicators in the final model, calculated as follow: MInd = + 0.011 * behaviour (W) + 0.385 * functional diversity (AE) + 0.227 * closed-loop material and energy flows in pursuit of autonomy (AE) + 0.390 * frugality in the use of resources (AE) + 0.340 * reduction of the impact on human health and ecosystems (AE) + 0.314* food production(ST) + 0.282 * local development and circular economy (ST) + 0.431 * employment and quality of work (ST) – 0.410 * ecotoxicity (I). MInd is mainly driven by employment and quality of work (0.431) and by ecotoxicity that showed a negative loading (−0.410), meaning that higher environmental impact reduces the index value. MInd successfully integrates all the initially intended dimensions and allows for differential weighting of each indicator, reflecting their relative contribution to overall sustainability. MInd offers a practical approach to monitor progress, identify strengths and weaknesses, and guide policies aimed at fostering sustainable and resilient dairy systems in mountain areas.
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