This paper builds on the concept of sustainable value chains (Fearne, 2009), from which a framework for sustainable value chain analysis (SVCA) emerges to encompass environmental and social impacts within a collaborative model of value chain management. It explores the dimensions on which SVCA should focus and illustrates how and why taking broader perspectives ensures a chain's internal economic sustainability is compatible with its external socio‐environmental consequences. The paper concludes with research implications for designing tools to support strategic frameworks for achieving sustainable competitive advantage.