Sustainability Development Metrics: Indices, Approaches and Frameworks

Sustainability development metrics are aggregate measures that extend the concept of value beyond gross Domestic product (GDP). Commonly referred to as sustainability development indicators (SDI), these are measures of sustainability go beyond the generic concept.

Sustainability indicators, indices and reporting systems are of growing importance in both the public and private sectors. SDIs are seen as useful in a wide range of settings, by a wide range of actors this includes international and intergovernmental bodies; national governments and government departments; economic sectors; administrators of geographic or ecological regions; communities; nongovernmental organizations; and the private sector.

Here are some of the most prominent indices:

Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP);

The Ecological footprint of Global Footprint Network

The Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)

Environmental Performance Index (EPI) reported under the World Economic Forum (WEF)

Genuine Progress Index (GPI) calculated at the national or sub-national level.

The Global Reporting Initiative Index

The Energy, Emergy and Sustainability Index (SI)

Environmental Sustainability Index

The Lempert-Nguyen indicator

Here is a listing of different approaches:

The Natural Step approach

The Ecological footprint approach

The Anthropological-cultural approach

The Circles of Sustainability approach

World Business Council for Sustainable Development approach

The Life-cycle assessment approach

Sustainable enterprise approach

Sustainable livelihoods approach

Development sustainability" approaches

Here are some other sustainability metric frameworks:

The International Institute for Sustainable Development sample policy framework

The Sustainability dashboard

UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) types of sustainability

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has identified considerations for technical cooperation that affect three types of sustainability:

Institutional sustainability.
Economic and financial sustainability.
Ecological sustainability.

Some ecologists have emphasized a fourth type of sustainability:

Energetic sustainability.

One ancillary measure that is gaining growing support is the green GDP that would factor the cost of pollution and natural capital depletion.

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New Sustainability Metrics from KoAnn Skrzyniarz

Businesses are extending their metrics beyond the measurement of profit to other forms of value of creation. The new sustainability imperatives demands that we include new metrics. In response to both consumers and supply chain pressures businesses are under pressure to provide metrics that measure their sustainability efforts. While these metrics measure more than just profit, they are closely tied to financial performance and creating a competitive advantage.

Here are five new metrics from KoAnn Skrzyniarz. She is the originator of sustainable brands and Sustainable Life Media. She is one of the world's leading innovators in sustainability metrics. She explores ways of measuring new forms of environmental and social value.

Sustainable Life Media measures what they call a “wellbeing economy” -- or "WeFirst" capitalism, an economy whose measures of success would support and encourage rather than impede business innovation that generates broader societal benefit and the creation of shared value.

Such value can be understood as poverty elimination, collaboration, and environmental restoration and maintenance. Their efforts are premised on the goal of finding ways to grow revenues from sustainable activities that decouple growth from impact and deliver shared benefit to society in all sorts of creative ways.

As explored in a Forbes article by Sarah McKinney, Skrzyniarz champions better collaboration, and standardization through the use of key metrics as a way to help companies on their sustainability journeys.

Here are five new metrics:

1. Life Cycle Assessment is a technique used to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product’s life from-cradle-to-grave (i.e., from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling).

2. ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment (i.e., cause adverse changes to air, water, or land), (b) comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements, and (c) continually improve in the above.

3. The Higg Index is an apparel and footwear industry self-assessment standard for assessing environmental and social sustainability throughout the supply chain. Launched in 2012, it was developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

4. B Corporation Certification is a private certification issued to for-profit companies by B Lab, a United States-based non-profit organization. To be granted and to preserve certification, companies must receive a minimum score on an online assessment for “social and environmental performance”, satisfy the requirement that the company integrate B Lab commitments to stakeholders into company governing documents, and pay an annual fee.

5. STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance, created by the organization AASHE.

Sustainability metrics are still young and we can expect a whole range of new measurements of value going forward. This will include measurements that gauge replenishing our natural resources, supporting the economic stability of local economies and encouraging the health and wellness of society.

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Event - New Metrics 14 Conference

The fourth annual New Metrics ’14 conference will take place September 24-26 in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2011 Sustainable Brands launched its first “New Metrics” conference, initially partnering with Wharton’s IGEL program to host the conference. This year they are collaborating with MIT’s Sloan School of Business to bring together an audience of 300 brand leaders to be in dialogue with 60+ thought leaders from well-respected brands, NGOs and think tanks who will speak about how they’re working to create a path toward smarter, more accurate and more inclusive business metrics.

As explained by KoAnn Skrzyniarz, "Profit, revenue and margin growth will tell you plenty about the success of your business, but in today’s economy, they won’t provide insight into how business is positioned to operate against the broader trends that are influencing longer-term survival. Updating business models and metrics that enable social, economic and environmental resiliency in the 21st century will ensure the ability to thrive for the long term."

For more information and to register click here.

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e-book - Metrics for Environmental Health and Sustainability

Effective operational metrics are an essential part of benchmarking and measuring progress. This e-book helps you to select the appropriate metrics across environment health and safety, sustainability, quality and more. Produced by LNS Research, in conjunction with MESA International, this e-book contains the detailed findings of the five-month, 2013-2014 Manufacturing Metrics that Matter research project.

This information-packed eBook answers many of the questions on business leaders’ minds today, including:

• Which metrics are being used to best understand operational improvements today? 
• How does technology support and impact metrics programs and performance? 
• Which metrics are being utilized as part of role-based dashboards? 
• What are the best practices I can learn from market leaders?

To download the e-book click here.

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Event - The Future of Capitalism: New Metrics, New Models, New Outcomes

This TSSS Event will take place on Tuesday, March 4th and a follow up webinar will be aired on Thursday, March 20th. The event will be hosted by Mark Anielski, a leading expert on the emerging metric of well-being (the new bottom line). The followup webinar will dive deeper into the issues. The Future of Capitalism: New Metrics, New Models, New Outcomes by Mark Anielski will ask the question, "Are you ready to compete in an economic system that rewards shared values, well being and inclusive prosperity?"

For more information click here.

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Event - The Future of Capitalism: New Metrics, New Models, New Outcomes

The Future of Capitalism will take place on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm, at Loyalty One, 438 University Ave., 12th Floor, Toronto, Canada. This event is subtitled, "New Metrics, New Models, New Outcomes." It will address strategies for the new economy and competing in an economic system that rewards shared values, well being and inclusive prosperity. Attendees at this event will hear from Mark Anielski, one of the world's leading experts on the emerging metric of well-being...the new bottom line.

Anielski is the author of "The Economics of Happiness:Building Genuine Wealth" and advisor to the Prime Minister of Bhutan, will share with us how progressive companies are getting ahead of the curve and optimizing their most important assets - trust and relational capital.

Two important questions

1.Has Capitalism lost its way?
2. Can it survive or will it be replaced?

What will be covered

What's wrong with Capitalism? Does it have a future?
What we can learn from Bhutan - the happiest country in the world
Why was the topic of Inclusive Prosperity so prominent at Davos
How companies like PUMA and Unilever are positioning themselves for the future by expanding their metrics to include well-being
How progressive companies are optimizing their most important assets: trust and relational capital

Agenda

4:30 – 5:00 pm: Registration, snacks and networking
5:00 – 5:10 pm: Introductions and special announcements
5:10 – 5:40 pm: Presentation by Mark Anielski, author of “The Economics of Happiness”
5:40 – 6:00 pm: Small group discussion/brainstorming
6:00: – 6:40 pm: Groups report back to main audience and general Q and A
6:40 – 7:30 pm: Networking and snacks

Space is limited and registration closes February 27.

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World Population Day and Curbing Co2 Emissions on a Per Capita Basis

Thursday, July 11th, is World Population Day. The issue of population growth is highly contentious as many want to point their fingers at the developing world where we are seeing the largest population increases. This is particularly true of Africa. However, rather than look solely at population increases we need to consider the significantly lower national per capita Co2 emissions profiles of developing nations as compared to developed countries.

Growing population is undeniably a serious environmental issue. The earth has a finite carrying capacity which we are already exceeding. The more people there are on this earth the greater the demands we make on the planet's limited resources.

There are currently 7 billion people on the planet and this is expected to grow to 9 billion people by 2050. The growing population will put even more strain on our finite resources. More people means more demand for water, food, and energy as well as associated increases in waste and emissions.

Even if we use conservative per capita Co2 emissions estimates of 3 tonnes per person per year, we see that 2 billion more people will generate at least 6 billion tonnes of additional annual Co2 emissions.

Much of the increase in emissions can be offset through the expanded use of renewables. Renewable energy generates a tiny fraction of the emissions associated with burning fossil fuels for energy. 

When we look at per capita emissions it is important to acknowledge the massive gulf that separates the developed and developing world. For example, China, is the world leader in total emissions (6018m metric tonnes of Co2) since it overtook the US (5903m metric tonnes of Co2) in 2007. But as assessed on a per capita basis the US generates more than four times China's Co2 emissions on an annual per capita basis (the average American is responsible for 19.8 tonnes per person, while the average Chinese citizen generates 4.6 tonnes).

The discrepancy between developed and developing countries is far worse in other places. The annual per capita Co2 emissions are 16.5 times higher in the US than in India which generates 1.2 tonnes per capita. Even though India's per capita emissions are on the rise, by 2040 the country is expected to have a Co2 emissions profile below 3 tonnes per person.

As the leading continent for population growth Africa is often unfairly singled out. To illustrate this point, the annual US per capita Co2 emission are 66 times higher than in the African country of Kenya which generates 0.3 tonnes per capita.

We are seeing very promising signs of sustainable development in Africa. The tremendous growth of renewable energy in Africa will enable the continent to keep its per capita emissions relatively low. For example, a report from the African Development Bank (AfDB) said that wind power is expected to increase by a factor of 10 over the next few years.

The prodigious growth of renewable energy in Africa and other developing nations is promising. It is clear that we will not be able to reduce global emissions if the developing world follows the same fossil fuel driven path that the developed world has taken.

Renewable energy can enable developing nations to leap frog past fossil fuels that same way they have established wireless communications without going through a stage of hard wired phones and the same way they are adopting electric vehicles without the heavy reliance on fossil fuel powered cars.

While we expect to see a reduction in annual per capita Co2 emissions in the developing world, they are still expected to be significantly higher than in developing nations. It should be obvious that if we are to curb global emission the developed world must significantly reduce their per capita emissions beyond current forecasts. Further, the developed world must assist the developing world with technology transfer and financial support to help them avoid our environmentally ruinous developmental path.

World population is a serious problem, but as we continue to seek an elusive deal on global emissions reductions, we must factor per capita emissions.

For more information on per capita Co2 emissions click here.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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