The Brumadinho tailings dam collapse in 2019 killed hundreds and caused extensive damage to the surrounding area, including long-lasting environmental damage. Yet, this catastrophic event also triggered numerous proposals and activities to increase transparency related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and sustainability in a broader context. Recently, several studies have proposed indicator-based approaches, but they generally lack a coherent aggregation and analysis of trade-offs and synergies between different sustainability criteria. Against this background, the current study seeks to create a global sustainability comparison of tailings dams at a country level, by combining harmonized data from multiple input sources through an iterative, multi-stage process. First, a comprehensive set of criteria and indicators is established that includes, among others, the impact on the environment, accident risks, and socio-political and governance aspects. Second, a dedicated Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework based on an outranking sorting approach (i.e., ELECTRE-TRI) is developed. Third, the evaluation system is applied to 43 countries that experienced at least one tailings dam failure since 1970, providing fact-based and transparent decision support to stakeholders and policy makers.