The doctoral dissertation focuses on the development of a robust methodology for the comprehensive sustainability assessment of the agri-food chain based on the DEX method. The methodology enables the integration of environmental, economic and social dimensions and their intersections defined as bearable, viable and equitable. The main objective is to overcome the limitations of existing approaches, which are often unable to capture the complex interactions between the pillars of sustainability and the dynamics of agri-food systems. The methodology developed involves a multi-step process that includes the selection and calibration of sustainability indicators, their structuring into hierarchical multi-criteria models using the DEX method and the DEXi tool, the aggregation of the individual models into an overall model for the agri-food chain, and a sensitivity analysis to identify the key levers for managing sustainability in the local agri-food chain. The methodology was validated using a case study of the local agri-food chain in the Prekmurje region. The results show that the methodology enables a multi-level sustainability assessment – at the level of individual chain nodes, sustainability pillars and the chain as a whole. The "What-if" analysis examined the impacts of external factors such as energy price fluctuations, climate change (e.g., heatwaves), and income variations, revealing key levers for sustainable management. The study also identified broader strategies for enhancing sustainability, including resource consumption reduction, process optimization, and improvement of working conditions. With further development, the developed methodology could become transferable to other sectors, such as forestry, the textile industry and energy, and adaptable to diverse socio-economic and environmental characteristics of its application context, as well as to more complex supply chain structures.
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