Purpose – Sustainable production (SP) is a very broad area and the awareness and communication of the concept differ between varying levels in a company. The supposition is that the awareness and improvement of sustainability on shop floor level would improve, if a suitable set of indicators for measuring sustainability was available. The purpose of this paper is therefore to identify a list of performance indicators relevant for a production manager.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a two-step analysis, where the first step is a literature review with the purpose of compiling a gross list of sustainability indicators relevant on shop floor level. In the second phase, the relevance of this list for production managers in Swedish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is tested in a questionnaire survey.

Findings – The conclusion from the survey is that 27 out of 52 proposed indicators were relevant with statistical significance and that another 20 indicators were supported by at least 50 percent of the respondents. The respondents found the economic indicators to be most relevant for their purpose. However, the economic field seems to need more indicators in order to be more useful for daily operation.

Practical implications – This set of indicators may be beneficial for companies seeking relevant indicators to drive sustainability improvements.

Originality/value – This paper takes a new perspective on SP, as it focusses on shop floor production, which is possible to influence for a production manager.