Sustainability indicators in the bicycle industry: Mapping evidence and exposing research gaps

The bicycle is globally recognised as a symbol of sustainable transport. However, a systematic evaluation of the sustainability indicators applied to the bicycle industry in the academic literature is lacking. This study addresses this gap through a scoping literature review supported by snowball sampling, mapping the landscape of sustainability indicators and policies relevant to the sector. The analysis of 55 academic papers identifies and categorises 85 distinct indicators, revealing a pronounced environmental bias: over 70% of the documented indicators address environmental aspects, such as carbon footprint and material efficiency, while social and economic dimensions remain significantly underdeveloped. This imbalance and fragmentation within the research corpus stand in sharp contrast to the comprehensive scope of policy frameworks such as the European Union Taxonomy and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The study concludes that this misalignment hinders the development of a holistic assessment framework and underscores the urgent need for a balanced, standardised set of indicators to advance credible sustainability evaluation in the bicycle industry. • Systematic review of 55 studies on bicycle industry sustainability indicators. • Identified 87 indicators with strong environmental but weak social focus. • Policy frameworks influence carbon metrics but lack social safeguards. • Environmental indicators align strongly with EU sustainability policies • Reveals gaps in social and economic sustainability metrics in bicycle manufacturing