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Abstract: The paper focuses on the use and influence of indicators in European sustainable transport policy from a ‘knowledge utilization’ research point of view. The starting point is the contrast between the widely held idea that indicators are important tools for sustainable transport policy making, versus ‘knowledge utilization’ oriented research, which has often demonstrated that formal technical knowledge is used much less, or at least differently, than expected in policy and decision making. The paper looks at two cases of indicators applied for strategic policy making within the sustainable transport agenda. The first case concerns indicators tracking the fulfillment of national transport policy objectives in Sweden. The case explores the use and influence of an annual monitoring and evaluation report produced for this purpose, within a general ‘Management-by-Objectives’ regime. The second case deals with indicators applied for the Mid-Term Review of the European Commission's transport policy White Paper ‘Time to Decide’ (issued in 2001). The focus in this case is on a particular indicator based study conducted in 2005 by a group of consultants in close collaboration with European Commission staff. It is found that several indicators in both cases are actually used in policy processes, with evidence of use found in documents as well as interviews. However, ‘use’ does not automatically mean ‘influence’ on policies or processes in more than a superficial manner. Indicators seem to play a very limited direct instrumental role, while some signs of symbolic, conceptual and process roles are found. In the EU case we identify what is called a rationalization role of indicators, meaning that indicators inform and help to rationalize a change in the position towards key objectives. Several factors that characterize the indicators, the users, and policy context are found to contribute to understand the type of use and influence observed in both cases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recognising the well-known limitations of economic growth as a litmus test of progress and the call by Target 19 of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 to "develop measurements on progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product", this paper advances understanding of the linkages between alternative measures of economic well-being, the well-being economy and the SDGs. A conceptual model is presented, linking four capital assets to well-being goals and domains, which are connected to related SDGs. An assessment is conducted on the extent to which Gross Domestic Product and five alternative indicators of economic well-being (Environmentally Adjusted Net Domestic Product, Measure of Economic Welfare, Genuine Savings, Genuine Progress Indicator and Inclusive Wealth Index) align with (a) the dimensions of economic well-being, and (b) various environmental, economic, social and institutional targets set by the SDGs. The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) is found to be the most comprehensive in coverage, accounting for market-based welfare, services from essential capital, and various environmental and social costs, and linking directly to targets in fourteen of the seventeen SDGs. The paper discusses how greater use of alternative measures of economic well-being by policymakers can encourage transitions to economies which prioritise well-being and desirability objectives. • Conceptual model of wellbeing economy presented – capital asset classes, domains and goals. • Alternative measures of economic wellbeing have far greater linkages to SDGs than GDP. • Genuine Progress Indicator most closely aligned with SDG targets. • Alternative measures of economic wellbeing can promote policy initiatives with SDG benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article devoted to analysis of sustainable development indicators (SDI) evolution and peculiarities of designing the set of SDI for Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and other countries. The paper provides an overview of evolution and application experience of sustainability measuring practice. Researchers analyze the directions of measurement approach progress. Modern trends of indicators' using are explored. Ways of overcoming the lack of harmonization in variety of conceptual and organizational frameworks which are used by different countries are viewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ultimate Pit Limit (UPL) design is an important step in open pit mining. The objective function for UPL determination is usually maximization of profit (economic aspect) that satisfies the mine owners and shareholders. However, from the viewpoint of Sustainable Development (SD), there are three aspects for mining activities including: environmental, social and economic. All aspects of SD must be properly considered during the UPL design. In addition to the mine owner, mining has other stakeholders that the mine designer must consider their interests and concerns. Integration of SD aspects in UPL design is a challenge and there is not any comprehensive method in this regard. This paper describes an attempt to address this challenge by developing a methodology using mathematical optimization and SD indicators. According to this model, it is possible to integrate the SD principles in UPL design. In that regard, the UPL problem is converted into a Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) problem. Then the best solution is found by the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. The proposed model is applied in a copper mine as a case study. The research findings show that the UPL selection based on SD concepts may lead to a larger pit than traditional method (profit optimization). It also contains greater ore and lower profit than the traditional UPL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the targets of the Romanian state according to Europe's 200 Strategy. Being a new Member State, Romania's targets for 2020 are lower than those of the older members. Even like this, using Eurostat indicators and the Report of World Economic Forum, my purpose is to present a comprehensive view of these differences in target levels and to explain why Romania can't catch up with its older counter parts until 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of sustainable tourism indicators (STI) raises several issues, mainly because of the multiple interpretations of the concept of sustainable development, and by extension of the concept of sustainable tourism. It also brings to light incompatibilities between the needs and objectives of academics and policy-makers in developing a set of STI. The STI are then either scientifically relevant but too complex to be operational, or else they result from a political consensus, which could lead to conflicts of interest, such as in the destination branding strategy. In this paper, we argue that the trade-off between academic and policy-maker approaches to indicator development can be achieved through the development of core STI, based on the application of two sets of selection criteria to 507 expert-recognized indicators. The first set of criteria allows us to select 20 core STI, while the second set of criteria aims to match the selected indicators with a destination's policy framework in order to guarantee their usability. We illustrate the selection procedure using the Gaspésie region in Québec as a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the potential pitfalls of macro-economic policies focused on stimulating economic growth and the problems involved in using GDP as a measure of well-being or economic welfare have long been recognized by economists and researchers from other social sciences. Therefore, it is no surprise that alternative measures for policy-making have been developed and promoted since the early 1970s. Over the past 5 years, the development of these measures has gained momentum both politically and academically. However, most research efforts concentrate on the development and promotion of individual indicators, while paying less attention to the wide range of indicators already available and to theoretical insights. As a result, few classification schemes of alternative measures exist today to help policy-makers in selecting a proper set of indicators. This paper first looks into the different classification schemes available in the literature and outlines the weaknesses in each of these. Afterwards, an alternative classification scheme is introduced that draws on the notions of well-being, economic welfare and sustainability. A further sub-categorization is built on the different approaches that are used to quantitatively capture the notions. By focusing on the underlying concepts that the different measures aim to quantify, the alternative classification scheme overcomes the drawbacks of the existing schemes. Finally, 23 alternative measures for policy-making are reviewed and organized into the newly developed classification scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Revisiting the way society defines and measures progress has been identified as one of the key levers in tackling the root causes of unsustainable development. The recent economic and food crises exposed a critical weakness in the ability of currently mainstream indicators of progress to provide early warning and take adequate preventive action. Since the early 1990s a growing number of organizations have been involved in the development of indicator systems around the key socio-economic and environmental concerns of sustainable development within their own context. In order to provide guidance and promote best practice, in 1997 a global group of leading measurement and assessment experts developed the Bellagio Principles. The Bellagio Principles have become a widely quoted reference point for measuring sustainable development, but new developments in policy, science, civil society and technology have made their update necessary. The Bellagio Sustainability Assessment and Measurement Principles (BellagioSTAMP) have been developed through a similar expert group process, using the original Principles as a starting point. Intended to be used as a complete set, the new BellagioSTAMP includes eight principles: (1) Guiding vision; (2) Essential considerations; (3) Adequate scope; (4) Framework and indicators; (5) Transparency; (6) Effective communications; (7) Broad participation; and (8) Continuity and capacity. The paper provides the rationale for the revision of the principles, their detailed description and guidance for their application. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Taking inspiration from the forthcoming Rio+20 Conference in Brazil, this paper reflects upon the roles of power and knowledge in developing indicators for sustainable local development. Are indicators, the evidence they privilege, and the policies that follow from them consistent with the stated goals of sustainable development? Are they merely bureaucratic tick-boxes that enable the measurement of “progress”? Or, similarly, do they represent “knowledge modernization” whereby sustainable development can be measured objectively, like GDP? We will examine three points relating to these questions: (1) the increasing standardisation and mobility of sustainable development indicators; (2) the increasing prominence and types of “evidence” that inform sustainable development policy, and (3) the role of experts in determining the parameters of sustainable development. We argue that the development and use of indicators have become a technocratic practice that serves as a buffer between the “political” and the “rational” and thus de-politicises and restricts local sustainable development agendas, despite the inherently political nature of environmental problems and values. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The establishment of an information system is meaningful to develop a dynamic assessment of environmental quality and degradation. In this paper an original, empirical framework called Factor Weighting Model (FWM) is proposed to integrate different indicators into a composite index. The FWM is able to work with variables depicting different themes (e.g. climate, soil, landscape, demography, economy) collected at various geographical and temporal scales. Three case studies carried out at different spatial scales were considered as examples of FWM application to a composite index of Land Degradation. It consists of several variables collected from various data sources and available at different temporal and spatial scales, which are aggregated into some thematic indicators. The FWM approach was applied separately for each case study to the single variables transformed into sensitivity indicators through standard procedures. A multiway factor analysis (MDA) was carried out to explore over time the relationships among indicators. The importance of the environmental indicators was estimated by attributing a percent weight to each of them according to MDA outputs. Climate and soil dimensions account for the highest weights in all the cases considered. These findings are in accordance with the results obtained in previous studies. The implications of FWM in the assessment of environmental quality are finally discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper builds up from a review of some expected, but other quite surprising results regarding country estimates for the year 2000 of genuine saving, a sustainability indicator developed by a World Bank research team. We examine this indicator, founded on neoclassical welfare theory, and discuss one of its major problems. Theoretical developments from ecological economics are then considered, together with insights from Georgescu-Roegen's approach to the production process, in search for an alternative approach. A model with potentially fruitful contributions in this direction is reviewed; it points the course efforts could take enable sustainability evaluations based on a more realistic set of interrelated monetary and biophysical indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the synthesis of a research project which aims the diagnostic analysis of sustainable development in Teleorman county. The work methods used in this study consist of: analysis of resources, definition of rural territory, the global analysis of the indicators and SWOT analysis. Also, based on the documentation, it was intended: to analyse the existing county development and planning, to highlight the main issues and priorities, to suggest territorial development ideas on the short and medium term of the main objectives, to correlate the suitable territorial landscaping projects with the county development and sectorial policies. Following the global analysis of the key socio - economic indicators in Teleorman county, compared to the Southern - Muntenia part of the county that it belongs to, it is found that they are below the regional average. Given the geographic positioning of Teleorman county near the capital and especially its location next to the Danube River and the powerful enterprises in the area, there are chances for Teleorman county to get out of Romania's poorest counties list by investing both in the development of these old dating enterprises and also in Teleorman's major asset, the agrotourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the targets of the Romanian state according to Europe's 200 Strategy. Being a new Member State, Romania's targets for 2020 are lower than those of the older members. Even like this, using Eurostat indicators and the Report of World Economic Forum, my purpose is to present a comprehensive view of these differences in target levels and to explain why Romania can't catch up with its older counter parts until 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]