Sustainability Indicators

Sustainability Indicators
Author: Tomás Hák
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 443
Release: 2012-09-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1597266280

While the concept of sustainability has been widely embraced, it has been only vaguely defined and is exceedingly difficult to measure. Sustainability indicators are critical to making the broad concept of sustainability operational by providing specific measures by which decision makers and the public can judge progress. Sustainability Indicators defines the present state of the art in indicator development. It presents a comprehensive assessment of the science behind various indicators, while placing special emphasis on their use as communications tools. The contributors draw on their experience as academics and practitioners to describe the conceptual challenges to measuring something as complex as sustainability at local, regional, national, and global scales. The book also reviews existing indicators to assess how they could be better employed, considering which indicators are overused and which have been underutilized. Sustainability Indicators will help planners and policy makers find indicators that are ready for application and relevant to their needs, and will help researchers identify the unresolved issues where progress is most urgently needed. All readers will find advice as to the most effective ways to use indicators to support decision making.

Sustainable Development Indicators

Sustainable Development Indicators
Author: Søren Nors Nielsen
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-01-09
Genre:
ISBN: 9781032474496

Analyzing the Danish island of Samsø, this book explains sustainability through a biogeophysical lens of how to best use Earth's limited resources to achieve true sustainability. The methods used derive from the thermodynamic functions of exergy. The exergy-based approach is an important tool for monitoring the indicators of sustainability.

In Search of Indicators of Sustainable Development

In Search of Indicators of Sustainable Development
Author: Onno J. Kuik
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9401132461

In 1989 the Dutch government published a National Environmental Policy Plan (Dutch abbreviation NMP). This NMP is based on the book Concern for Tomorrow. a national environmental survey by RIVM (the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection). A major conclusion of the RIVM study was that emissions of many pollutants had to be cut by 70 - 90 % in order to reach environmental quality goals. The government accepted the RIVM analysis and consequently ClUTent Dutch environmental policy aims at large reduction of pollutants. Another conclusion of the RIVM study was that such high reduction goals would not be easy to achieve by technological means alone, and that thus structural changes would be required. These changes could eventually lead to sustainable development, which now forms the major focus of Dutch government national environmental policy. This being so, the Dutch government requested that RIVM in subsequent issues of Concern for Tomorrow should investigate the options for sustainable development.

Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in North American Cities

Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in North American Cities
Author: David B. Abraham
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2021-03-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030591735

This volume presents North American best practices and perspectives on developing, managing and monitoring indicators to track development progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in local communities and cities. In 4 main sections, the book presents and frames the many ways in which community indicator programs are either integrating or retooling to integrate the SDGs into their existing frameworks, or how they are developing new programs to track and report progress on the SDGs. This is the first volume that focuses on SDG adoption within the context of North Americans cities and communities, and the unique issues and opportunities prevalent in these settings. The chapters are developed by experienced academics and practitioners of community planning and sustainable development, and will add broad perspective on public policy, organizational management, information management and data visualization. This volume presents a case-study approach to chapters, offering lessons that can be used by three main audiences: 1) teachers and researchers in areas of urban, regional, and environmental planning, urban development, and public policy; 2) professional planners, decision-makers, and urban managers; and 3) sustainability activists and interested groups.

Sustainability Indicators in Practice

Sustainability Indicators in Practice
Author: Agnieszka Latawiec
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2016-01-29
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 3110450674

A unique book which reflects the multifaceted nature of sustainability by bringing together authors from interdisciplinary backgrounds. The book highlights the opportunities and challenges associated with applying sustainability indicators in different socio-cultural and geographical settings. It presents a range of possible solutions to common challenges associated with the use of indicators in practice.

Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals 2018

Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals 2018
Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781464812507

The Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals 2018 is built around World Development Indicators--the World Bank's compilation of statistics from over 200 economies about global development and the quality of people's lives. For each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, selected indicators have been identified and visualized to anaylze trends and challenges, and to catalyze discussion on measurement issues. -- From back cover.

Sustainability Indicators

Sustainability Indicators
Author: Simon Bell
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2012-05-04
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 113655601X

Praise for the first edition: 'This book should be of interest to anyone interested in sustainable development, and especially sustainability indicators. Bell and Morse easily succeed in exposing the fundamental paradoxes of these concepts and, more importantly, they offer us a way forward. Readers ... will find their practical recommendations for those attempting to do sustainability analysis in the field most welcome, which is also the book's greatest strength.' Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability 'This book makes a valuable contribution to the theory and practice of using indicators for sustainability. It introduces systems ideas and a range of tools and techniques that have the potential to broaden and deepen our understanding of a whole range of complex situations. Well worth a closer look.' Christine Blackmore, Open University 'This is a book that explores new ways of thinking about how to measure sustainability... It offers stimulating food for thought for environmental educators and researchers.' Environmental Education Research 'This book tells me, as an SI 'practitioner', where I have been and why, and more importantly how I should be thinking in order to effectively present to and empower the local community in the years ahead.' David Ellis, Principal Pollution Monitoring Officer, Norwich City Council 'A practical guide to the development of sustainability indicators which offers a systemic and participative way to use them at local scale. Our preliminary results are highly positive and the approach is applicable in many contexts.' Elisabeth Coudert, Programme Officer Prospective and Regional Development, Blue Plan The groundbreaking first edition of Sustainability Indicators reviewed the development and value of sustainability indicators and discussed the advantage of taking a holistic and qualitative approach rather than focusing on strictly quantitative measures. In the new edition the authors bring the literature up to date and show that the basic requirement for a systemic approach is now well grounded in the evidence. They examine the origins and development of Systemic Sustainability Analysis (SSA) as a theoretical approach to sustainability which has been developed in practice in a number of countries on an array of projects since the first edition. They look at how SSA has evolved into the practical approaches of Systemic Prospective Sustainability Analysis (SPSA) and IMAGINE, and, in particular, how a wide range of participatory methodologies have been adopted over the years. They also provide an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of projects that undertake work in the general field of sustainable development.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2017

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2017
Author: United Nations Publications
Publisher:
Total Pages: 60
Release: 2018-01-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9789211013689

The aim of this report is to present an overview of the 17 Goals using data currently available to highlight the most significant gaps and challenges.

Indicators of Sustainable Development for Tourism Destinations

Indicators of Sustainable Development for Tourism Destinations
Author: World Tourism Organization
Publisher: Organisation mondiale du tourisme
Total Pages: 526
Release: 2004
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Describes over 40 major sustainability issues, ranging from the management of natural resources (waste, water, energy, etc.), to development control, satisfaction of tourists and host communities, preservation of cultural heritage, seasonality, economic leakages, or climate change. For each issue, indicators and measurement techniques are suggested with practical information sources and examples. Contains a procedure to develop destination-specific indicators, their use in tourism policy and planning processes, as well as applications in different destination types (e.g. coastal, urban, ecotourism, small communities). Numerous examples and 25 case studies provide a range of experiences at the company, destination, national and regional levels from all continents.

Public Health Linkages with Sustainability

Public Health Linkages with Sustainability
Author: Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2013-08-02
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309287871

In 1992 world leaders met at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to reaffirm the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment that was established on June 16, 1972 in Stockholm. The meeting resulted in the adoption of Agenda 21 by the member states which is a framework for the transition to a more sustainable world. In 2012 the members gathered to assess and reaffirm the importance of progress towards the efforts of Agenda 21. In response to this the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine held a workshop to inform the policies that are discussed at the 2012 Earth Summit. The workshop, held in Woods Hole, Massachusetts on July 25-26, 2011, focused on the issue of sustainability and health as well as the linkages that are currently present between the two. The workshop included presentations and discussions which are summarized in Public Health Linkages with Sustainability: Workshop Summary. The report presents how different areas of public health, such as food and water resources, link to sustainability and opportunities or venues that can be examined.