# GENERAL INFORMATION 

1. Title of Dataset: Exploration of sustainability assessment methods of livestock farming systems
2. Description of Dataset: Survey data which aims to collect information about sustainability assessment tools currently in use. This includes the dimensions, themes species, and production systems considered by each tool, as well as indicator interpretation, aggregation, and compensation strategies.

3. Teagasc Department: Pig and poultry development department
4. Teagasc Programme:

5. Keywords: Sustainability; Animal welfare; Livestock systems; Multi-criteria assessment
6. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare (EUPAHW)
7. Does this data contain personal data (y/n): n

## Data Creator Information 
8. Data creator name (main researcher involved in generating/gathering the data): Francesca Johansen
9. Data creator email: Francesca.johansen@teagasc.ie

## Principal Investigator (PI)/Supervisor Information 
10. Name: Keelin O'Driscoll
11. ORCID: 0000-0003-0944-3732
12. Email: keelin.odriscoll@teagasc.ie


# RELATED PUBLICATIONS 
13. Links/names of publications that use the data: In preparation
14. Links/names of other data that are related to the data: N/A
15. Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data: N/A


# DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION 
*repeat this section for each dataset as appropriate*
Survey data part 1

16. Number of variables: 28
17. Number of cases/rows: 20
18. Variable List:

1;Assessment tool name;name of the assessment tool;a sustainability assessment tool; 0
2;Country of origin;country the assessment tool was created in;name of a country; 0
3;Creation year;year the assessment tool was created in; calendar year; 1
4;Tool version;version of the tool currently in use;version number; 1
5;Current version year;year in which the most current version of the tool was created;calendar year; 0
6;Purpose of tool;Categories reflecting what the tool was designed to do, multiple categories are permitted;Categories for tool purpose,Research, Certification (e.g. for a quality assurance scheme), Diagnostic and advice to farmers (including autodiagnostic), Risk assessment, Benchmarking ; 0
7;Environmental focus of tool;degree to which the tool focuses on the environmental dimension;category of focus, Not considered, Lesser Focus, Equal focus with other dimensions, Main focus; 1
8;Economic focus of tool;degree to which the tool focuses on the environmental dimension;category of focus, Not considered, Lesser Focus, Equal focus with other dimensions, Main focus; 1
9;Social focus of tool;degree to which the tool focuses on the environmental dimension;category of focus, Not considered, Lesser Focus, Equal focus with other dimensions, Main focus; 1
10;Animal welfare focus of tool;degree to which the tool focuses on the environmental dimension;category of focus, Not considered, Lesser Focus, Equal focus with other dimensions, Main focus; 1
11;Availability of tool;Is the tool available for general or public use;Free-text question; 3
12;Tool production systems; Production systems the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production system, Conventional, Free range, Organic; 0
13;Dairy cow production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider dairy cows; 0
14;Beef cattle production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider beef cattle; 0
15;Sheep production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider sheep; 0
16;Goats production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider goats; 0
17;Veal calves production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider veal calves; 0
18;Pigs production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider pigs; 0
19;Broiler chickens production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider broiler chickens; 0
20;Laying hens production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider laying hens; 0
21;Turkeys production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider turkeys; 0
22;Ducks production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider ducks; 0
23;Geese production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider geese; 0
24;Rabbits production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider rabbits; 0
25;Fish production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider fish; 0
26;Crusteceans production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider crusteceans; 0
27;Insects production stages;Production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider insects; 0
28;Other species;Additional comments on species;free-text question where respondents could submit species not previously mentioned, Blank = does not consider any other species; 0


19. Missing data codes: N/A
20. Specialised formats or other abbreviations used: FBO = Food business organisation


# METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION
21. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: An online questionnaire was disseminated within the EUPAHW consortium, and 55 sustainability assessment designers were contacted directly using publicly available emails and contact links.

22. Include links or references to publications or other documentation containing experimental design or protocols used in data collection: N/A

23. describe how the submitted data were generated from the raw or collected data* All personal data were removed from the dataset

24. Include full name and version of software, and any necessary packages or libraries needed to run scripts* N/A
 
25. Environmental/experimental conditions if appropriate: N/A
 
26. People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission: EUPAHW Consortium, Keelin O'Driscoll, Laura Boyle, Sabine Dippel, Emma Hvidtfeldt Jensen, Lene Juul Pedersen, Bertrand Méda, Raphaelle Botreau.

27. Date of data collection: 06.01.2025 - 28.07.2025
28. Geographic location of data collection: Fermoy, Ireland

# DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION 
*repeat this section for each dataset as appropriate*
Survey data part 2

16. Number of variables: 60
17. Number of cases/rows: 14
18. Variable List: 

1;Confirm assessment tool name;name of the assessment tool;a sustainability assessment tool; 0
2;Responsible for tool/tool owner;group or oganisation responsible for the tool; categories of group or organisation, Scientists / Research organisation, Government agency, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO; e.g. animal protection, environment protection, consumers association...), Livestock industry (e.g. farmers, slaughterhouse owners..); 0
3;Conceived of tool;group or organisation who originally conceived the idea for the tool; categories of group or organisation, multiple categories are permitted, Scientists, Government representatives, Livestock industry representatives (e.g. farmers, slaughterhouse owners); 2
4;Consulted durig design;group or organisation consulted during tool design; categories of group or organisation, multiple categories are permitted, Scientists, FBO representatives, Consultants, Livestock industry representatives (e.g. farmers, slaughterhouse owners etc.), Government representatives; 0
5;Performs assessment;people the assessment tool is designed to be carried out by;category of people the assessment tool is designed to be carried out by, multiple selections possible, Consultants (e.g. farm advisors etc.), Employees of certification bodies, Veterinarians, Business owners in the livestock industry (e.g. farm owners, slaughterhouse owners etc.), Scientists; 2
6;Tool beneficianries;Categories reflecting which groups benefit from the tool results; Categories for groups, multiple categories are permitted, Scientists, FBOs, Livestock industry owners (e.g. slaughterhouse owners, haulier companies), General public / consumers, Farmers, Government; 0
7;Tool production systems; Production systems the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production system, Conventional, Free range, Organic; 1
8;Dairy cow life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Pre-weaning/ juveniles, Gestating females, Lactating females, Breeding males, Post-weaning/ fattening animals, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider dairy cows; 0
9;Beef cattle life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Pre-weaning/ juveniles, Gestating females, Lactating females, Breeding males, Post-weaning/ fattening animals, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider beef cattle; 0
10;Sheep  life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Pre-weaning/ juveniles, Gestating females, Lactating females, Breeding males, Post-weaning/ fattening animals, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider sheep; 0
11;Goats life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Pre-weaning/ juveniles, Gestating females, Lactating females, Breeding males, Post-weaning/ fattening animals, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider goats; 0
12;Veal calves life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Pre-weaning/ juveniles, Gestating females, Lactating females, Breeding males, Post-weaning/ fattening animals, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider veal calves; 0
13;Pigs  life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Pre-weaning/ juveniles, Gestating females, Lactating females, Breeding males, Post-weaning/ fattening animals, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider pigs; 0
14;Broiler chickens life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Chicks, Breeding females, Breeding males, Growing birds, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider broiler chickens; 0
15;Laying hens life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Chicks, Breeding females, Breeding males, Growing birds, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider laying hens; 0
16;Turkeys life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Chicks, Breeding females, Breeding males, Growing birds, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider turkeys; 0
17;Ducks life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Chicks, Breeding females, Breeding males, Growing birds, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider ducks; 0
18;Geeselife and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Chicks, Breeding females, Breeding males, Growing birds, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider geese; 0
19;Rabbits life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Pre-weaning/ juveniles, Gestating females, Lactating females, Breeding males, Post-weaning/ fattening animals, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider rabbits; 0
20;Trout life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Juveniles, Breeding females, Breeding males, Fish for meat consumption, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider trout; 0
21;Salmon life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Juveniles, Breeding females, Breeding males, Fish for meat consumption, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider salmon; 0
22;Carp life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Juveniles, Breeding females, Breeding males, Fish for meat consumption, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider carp; 0
23;Seabream life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Juveniles, Breeding females, Breeding males, Fish for meat consumption, On farm, During transport, At slaughter, Blank = does not consider seabream; 0
24;Crusteceans  life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Blank = does not consider crustaceans; 0
25;Other aquatic invertebrates life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Blank = does not consider other aquatic invertebrates; 0
26;Honeybees life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Blank = does not consider honeybees; 0
27;Mealworms life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Blank = does not consider mealworms; 0
28;Crickets life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Blank = does not consider crickets; 0
29;Black soldier fly life and production stages;Life and production stages the tool can be applied to, multiple categories are permitted;category of production stage, Blank = does not consider black soldier fly; 0
30;Other species;Additional comments on species;free-text question where respondents could submit species not previously mentioned, Blank = does not consider any other species; 0
31;Length of assessment;Time taken to carry out assessment in hours;free-text question where respondents could submit assessment duration in hours; 0
32;Tool cost and paying group;Who pays for the tool and how much does it cost;free-text question where respondents could report the cost of carrying out the assessment and who covers that cost; 3
33;Data types;Categories of data collected by the tool;categories of data types, multiple categories are permitted, Farm / business records (e.g. feed costs, veterinary bills), Technical records (e.g. animal performance data), Interview with farm / business owner, Data from external databases (e.g. LCA of feed, data from national statistics etc.), Resource based measurements (e.g. recording of facility type, air quality, space per animal etc.), Output based measurements (e.g. for biodiversity evaluation, the diversity and abundance of species of interest); 0
34;Animal measures;If measures are taken on animals, what category are they;category of measure type, Non-invasive measurements, Invasive measurements; 4
35;Assessor training;Is training provided to assessors, and if so, what is the level of training;free-text question where respondents could report how assessors are trained; 2
36;Assessment intervals;Length of time between consecutive assessments;free-text question where respondents could report how often assessments were applied; 2
37;Studied object;What is the studied object;categories of studied objects, Animals at a specific stage of production within a farm (e.g. grower pigs only, but not piglets, sows etc.), Within a species, animals at all life stages within a farm (e.g. in a pig farm, all animal including sows, males for breeding, pre-weaned piglets, fattening pigs etc.), At farm level (e.g. if there are cows, pigs and tillage are on a farm, production stages for both species and the crop sector are assessed), Entire supply chain (e.g. from farm to fork); 0
38;Effect perimeters;What is the perimeter of the effects assessed? The perimeter of the effects can be larger than the studied object (e.g. for pig production, even if we look only at practices on farm, we can also look at their effects at the slaughterhouse, such as carcass yield or global effects such as climate change);categories of studied objects, Only livestock production within a farm, Complete farm (i.e. crops + livestock), Society/Global effects (e.g. global effects such as Climate Change); 3
39;Assessment duration;Duration of data collection for each assessment;categories of data collection duration, multiple catories could be selected, Assessment on the day of inspection (i.e. at a single time point), Assessment over several months or years (i.e. requiring data from a longer time period such a full lactation for dairy cows); 1
40;Sustainability dimensions;Sustainability dimensions included in the assessment;List of dimensions included in the assessment, multiple dimensions could be selected, Environment, Economics, Society (whether internal to the farm (e.g. farmer, employees) or external (e.g. citizens, consumers)), Animal welfare; 0
41;Environmental themes;Themes incldued in the environmental dimension of the tool;List of themes included in the environmental dimension, multiple themes could be selected, Global warming potential, Eutrophication potential, Acidification potential, Toxicity potential, Resource use, Ozone depletion, Blank = does not include the environmental dimension; 4
42;Other environmental themes;Additional comments on environmental themes;free-text question where respondents could submit environmental themes not previously mentioned, Blank = does not consider any other themes; 0
43;Economic themes;Themes incldued in the economic dimension of the tool;List of themes included in the economic dimension, multiple themes could be selected, Profitability (short term), Long term viability / resilience / vulnerability (e.g. to climatic change, purchases and sales prices…) / dependency (to banks, supply chain..), Transmissibility, Participation in local economy (e.g. job creation…), Blank = does not consider the economic dimension; 4
44;Other economic themes;Additional comments on economic themes;free-text question where respondents could submit economic themes not previously mentioned, Blank = does not consider any other themes; 0
45;Social themes;Themes incldued in the social dimension of the tool;List of themes included in the social dimension, multiple themes could be selected, Decent livelihood / Farmer quality of life, Fair trading practices / Equity, Labour rights and gender equity; Human safety and health, Product quality and contribution to food security, Cultural diversity and services, Blank = does not consider the social dimension; 0
46;Other social themes;Additional comments on social themes;free-text question where respondents could submit social themes not previously mentioned, Blank = does not consider any other themes; 0
47;Animal welfare themes;Themes incldued in the animal welfare dimension of the tool;List of themes included in the animal welfare dimension, multiple themes could be selected, Nutrition, Environment (Physical (e.g. flooring) and/or non-physical (e.g. air quality) environment), Health, Behaviour, Mental state, Blank = does not consider the animal welfare dimension; 0
48;Other animal welfare themes;Additional comments on animal welfare themes;free-text question where respondents could submit animal welfare themes not previously mentioned, Blank = does not consider any other themes; 0
49;Levels of assessment;Does the tool allow assessment at multiple levels (e.g. Gold, Silver Bronze etc.);free-text question where respondents could describe if and how the tool allows assessmwnt at multiple levels; 4
50;Aggregation strategy;Categories of aggregation strategy for the results for the assessment;categories of aggregation, Partial aggregation: Indicators are aggregated into several dimensions, but no final aggregation, Full aggregation: Indicators are aggregated into several dimensions that are themselves aggregated into an overall evaluation of sustainability, No aggregation: Indicators are collected, but not interpreted in terms of sustainability; 0
51;Other aggregation strategies;Additional comments on aggregation;free-text question where respondents could submit further details about the tool's aggregation strategy,  Blanks=no further comments; 0
52;Final assessment output;Categories of assessment output for the results for the assessment;categories of outputs, multiple could be selected, Descriptive summaries (no full aggregation, generally dashboard with all indicators with or without interpretation keys, e.g. colour code, organized by criteria and sub-criteria), Quantitative score (e.g. 85/100), that supports the possibility of making a choice, sorting, or a ranking, Sorted outcome (assign to predefined categories, generally ordered, e.g. bad / medium / good), Ranking of farms (from worst to best); 1
53;Other assessment output ;Additional comments on assessment output;free-text question where respondents could submit further details about the tool's output,  Blanks=no further comments; 0
54;Indicator interpretation;Categories of indicator interpretation method for the results for the assessment;categories of indicator interpretation, multiple could be selected, Based upon a pre-existing data distribution (e.g. within the top 25% of existing data), Not relevant because there is no interpretation of indicators, Based upon expert opinion (e.g. acceptability threshold), Based on the rankings of the farms/systems (from worst to best); 0
55;Other indicator interpretation;Additional comments on indicator interpretation;free-text question where respondents could submit further details about the tool's indicator interpretation strategy strategy. Blanks=no further comments; 0
56;Aggregation methods;Categories of aggregation methods for the results for the assessment;categories of aggregation, multiple options could be selected, Quantitative aggregation (e.g. scores aggregated by an arithmetic mean), Qualitative aggregation (indicators assigned to categories and then lexical rules 'if A is bad and B is good, then criterion is bad', e.g. methods using DEXi), Mixed methods, Not relevant because no aggregation performed; 0
57;Other aggregation methods;Additional comments on aggregation;free-text question where respondents could submit further details about the tool's aggregation methods,  Blanks=no further comments; 0
58;Weights;Are weightings applied to any indicator / criterion / dimension? (i.e. more importance placed on some metrics than others); categories of Yes, No, Not sure; 0
59;Compensation;Is there any management of compensation across indicators / criteria / dimenions? Compensation implies the existence of trade-offs, elements to be aggregated, meaning the extent to which poor performance in one indicator / criterion / dimension can be offset by strong performance in another; categories of Yes, No, Not sure; 0
60;Compensation methods;Categories of compensation methods for the results for the assessment;categories of compensation, multiple options could be selected, Intermediate logic (compensations are allowed, a bad score on one criterion + a good score on another result in a medium score, e.g. applying the weighted average), Conjunctive logic (to be bad on one criterion is sufficient to consider the farm is bad, e.g. applying the minimum); 9

19. Missing data codes: N/A
20. Specialised formats or other abbreviations used: FBO = Food business organisation


# METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION
21. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: Online questionnaire respondents were contacted and asked to participate in online interviews, which took place over Microsoft Teams

22. Include links or references to publications or other documentation containing experimental design or protocols used in data collection: N/A

23. describe how the submitted data were generated from the raw or collected data* All personal data were removed from the dataset

24. Include full name and version of software, and any necessary packages or libraries needed to run scripts* N/A
 
25. Environmental/experimental conditions if appropriate: N/A
 
26. People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission: EUPAHW Consortium, Keelin O'Driscoll, Laura Boyle, Sabine Dippel, Emma Hvidtfeldt Jensen, Lene Juul Pedersen, Bertrand Méda, Raphaelle Botreau.

27. Date of data collection: approximate range 01.2025 - 07.2025

28. Geographic location of data collection: Fermoy, Ireland


# SHARING INFORMATION
*Only applicable to data which will be made sharable*

29. Confirm you want to make this data openly available on the Teagasc Open Data Portal? y
 
30. Does this dataset includes data obtained from third-party sources? n
*Third party definition: Any individual, organisation, or body external to Teagasc that is not directly responsible for the creation of the dataset and over which Teagasc does not hold primary ownership or control of the data*

31. Are there industry partners or third parties with rights or interests in the data? n

32.Recommended citation for this dataset: Johansen, F., O'Driscoll, K., Boyle, L., Dippel, S., Jensen, E. H., Pedersen, L. J., Méda, B., Botreau, R. (2026). Data from the study Evaluation of European sustainability assessment methodologies within a four-dimension framework including animal welfare: A descriptive study. [dataset]. Teagasc Open Data Platform. doi: 10.82253/6tq2-hv35 

Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: 
The data is licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons 4.0 licence CC-BY-NC-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). 

# DISCLAIMER 
Teagasc makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for purpose of the information contained in this
dataset and accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from its use or reuse.

# COPYRIGHT
© 2026 Teagasc (Agriculture and Food Development Authority of Ireland)





