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Cities located in the Arctic often have extreme geographic and environmental contexts and unique sociopolitical and economic trajectories that, when combined with amplified effects of climate change in the region, impact future sustainable development. Well-recognized and standardized sustainable development indicator (SDI) frameworks such as ISO 37120 or UN-Habitat City Prosperity Index are often used to compare data across cities globally using comprehensive sets of indicators. While such indexes help characterize progress toward development and guide short- and long-term decision-making, they often lack relevance to specific contexts or characterize future visions of urban growth. To evaluate the extent of these deficiencies and to provide a comparative analysis of approaches to sustainable urban growth in the Arctic, this paper analyzes city planning documents for five northern cities - Anchorage (USA), Utqiagvik (USA), Reyjavik (ISL), Iqaluit, (CAN), Whitehorse, (CAN) - for goals, targets, and indicators and compare these to thematic areas and indicators defined by ISO 37120:2018 Sustainable Cities and Communities. The results confirm that although international SDI frameworks may be useful for comparative analysis of cities across diverse regions, they exclude important local factors that influence goal-oriented urban sustainability planning strategies employed in the Arctic region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy sustainability indicators are essential for evaluating and measuring energy systems' environmental, social, and economic impact. These indicators can be used to assess the sustainability of different energy sources, such as renewable or fossil fuels, as well as the performance of energy systems in various regions or countries. The goal of this paper is to propose a new energy sustainability index based on fuzzy logic for the Amazon region. The fuzzy inference system enabled the operationalization of subjective sustainability concepts, resulting in a final index that can evaluate the performance of the states in the Legal Amazon and compare them to each other. The results indicated that Mato Grosso had the highest ranking, followed by Tocantins, Amapá, Roraima, Rondônia, Pará, Acre, Maranhão, and Amazonas in the last position. These findings demonstrate that the selected indicators and the final index are effective tools for evaluating the energy sustainability of the Amazon region and can aid public managers in making decisions and proposing sustainable regional development policies for the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the challenges that were encountered during the collection of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators for water (SDG 6), energy (SDG 7), and food (SDG 2) security in northern Canada. Our findings indicate only 49% of indicator data were publicly available, while 21% had to be calculated using alternative sources or methods, 18% had to be replaced with proxy indicators for which data were available, and 12% of indicators were deemed unavailable entirely. The most common types of data challenges were associated with completeness, timeliness, and granularity. Given the current challenges faced by residents of northern Canada, with their livelihoods closely intertwined with the accessibility and availability of water, energy and food (WEF) resources, a comprehensive plan for data collection, storage, and management of WEF-related SDGs is required to advance WEF security from an aspirational to a transformative policy agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the 1990s, many researchers and several organizations concerned with development- and environment-related issues have devised methods to evaluate sustainable development at national and international scales. To that effect, they have identified sustainable development indicators. To date, however, very little work has focused on industrial activities. This paper presents a semi-quantitative method allowing evaluation of the environmental aspect to sustainable development, with an application on the environmental performance of the effluent treatment procedure of a paper mill. Eight environmental indicators for sustainable development are considered for evaluation. These indicators are linked to the strategic requirements for sustainable development as stated in the Bruntdland Commission. They are also acknowledged by many authors and organizations. The environmental performance evaluation on the effluent treatment procedure of the paper mill under study shows that this activity meets a relative degree of sustainability. This evaluation allows the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the effluent treatment with respect to sustainable development.Key words: indicators, sustainable development, measure, environmental performance, biologic treatment, effluents, paper mills.[Journal translation]Depuis le début des années 1990, plusieurs chercheurs et différents organismes préoccupés par les questions de développement et d'environnement mettent au point des méthodes pour évaluer le développement durable à l'échelle nationale ou internationale. Pour ce faire, ils ont identifié des indicateurs de développement durable. Cependant, très peu de travaux se sont concentrés à date sur les activités industrielles. Cet article présente une méthode semi-quantitative permettant l'évaluation du volet environnemental du développement durable avec application à la performance environnementale de la filière de traitement des effluents d'une papetière. Huit indicateurs environnementaux de développement durable sont retenus pour les fins de l'évaluation. Ces indicateurs sont rattachés aux impératifs stratégiques de développement durable énoncés par la Commission Bruntdland. Ils sont aussi reconnus par plusieurs auteurs et organismes. L'évaluation de la performance environnementale de la filière de traitement des effluents de la papetière étudiée montre que cette activité rencontre un degré relatif de soutenabilité. L'évaluation permet d'identifier les forces et les lacunes que comporte la filière de traitement des effluents en regard du développement durable.Mots clés : indicateurs, développement durable, mesure, performance environnementale, traitement biologique, effluents, papetières. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, sustainable development represents a global challenge, especially in urban centers. In this sense, it is urgent that, in the public policies implemented by municipal governance, there are strategic actions related to the preservation of the environment (environmental dimension), the reduction of social inequalities (social dimension), the promotion of local economic growth (economic dimension), the conservation and dissemination of cultural traditions (cultural dimension), as well as the search for a balance between the built and natural environment (spatial dimension). Thus, it is urgent and necessary that the design plans of cities contemplate all dimensions of sustainability, thus enabling a concrete and effective sustainable urban development. Indeed, the objective of this study is to verify the relationship of public policies, developed in Fortaleza, with all the axes of urban sustainability, especially the one that contemplates the management of natural assets in the city. The methodological procedure is qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive. A bibliographic and documental survey was carried out (articles, scientific papers, and documents produced by the public power) through which the main sustainability public policies developed in Fortaleza were listed and presented. Then, the alignment of the objectives, goals, and actions described in these legal instruments was verified, as were the practices related to each of the dimensions of sustainability. It was observed that among the actions planned and implemented by the local government, all the dimensions of sustainability are contemplated, and a specific axis for governance is also present in these plans. It is important to emphasize that there are also specific plans or projects for the management of natural resources and maintenance of environmental quality, showing that in the urban space of Fortaleza there is a search for balance between the built and natural environments, focusing on the reduction of socio-environmental vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst the economic costs and benefits of mega-events to host cities and countries are well documented, the evaluation and nature of the social impacts of such events are less clear. Although these social impacts typically include education and skills, destination branding, social cohesion, environmental sustainability and sport development, there is currently a lack of consensus on their measurement and focus upon both benefits and costs. In an evolved mega-event landscape which must align with political, social and cultural priorities, sports governing bodies, industry partners, residents and governments are increasingly concerned with qualitative impacts. Accordingly, through a systematic review of the existing literature, this paper assesses the current state of knowledge of the social costs and benefits of mega-events, including how they are identified, defined and measured, highlighting a need for further research to fully understand the social impacts of mega-events. To our knowledge, this is the first review to examine mega-event social impact evaluation, and we therefore provide a useful evidence-based guide to mega-event stakeholders in determining cases for host bids, event planning and related legacy evaluation. Our review culminates in a research agenda, providing practical guidance for future mega-event assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The communication of corporate social responsibility (CSR) highlights the behavior of the business toward CSR and their framework of sustainable development (SD), thus helping policymakers understand the role businesses play with respect to the 2030 Agenda. Despite its importance, this is still a relatively underexamined and emerging topic. In our paper, we focus on what businesses communicate about CSR through social media and how this relates to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We identified the topics discussed on Twitter, their evolution over time, and the differences across sectors. We applied the structural topic model (STM) algorithm, which allowed us to estimate the model, including document-level metadata (time and sector). This model proved to be a powerful tool for topic detection and the estimation of the effects of time and sector on the discussion proportion of the topics. Indeed, we found that the topics were well identified overall, and the model allowed catching signals from the data. We derived CSR communication indexes directly from the topic model (TM) results and propose the use of dissimilarity and homogeneity indexes to describe the communication mix and highlight differences and identify clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at a diagnostic study on the prospects of sustainable rural development in the context of implementing the regional development strategy and sustainable rural development in the context of implementing the regional development strategy 2014-2020, by using a system of specific, quantifiable and representative indicators to allow, through econometric analyses, the evaluation of the results and the projection of the evolution of the sustainable development phenomenon. The approach of sustainable development and rural development in a strategic context had, mainly, a theoretical character, the analysis being oriented towards: the delimitation of the different conceptual aspects regarding: sustainable development strategies; addressing rural development through sustainable development; regulations on sustainable development at global, European and national level, etc. In this context, the paper aimed to identify how to approach sustainable development in regional development strategies with a case study, and socioeconomic assessment of the development of the Northeast Region, the development of strategies to promote sustainable agriculture at the producer level. and the individual peasant household to the level of agricultural societies. The information used in the analysis corresponds to the database of the European Commission's Farm Accounting Information Network (RICA) and the methodology includes the min-max approach and multivariate methods, in particular the analysis of the main component and the analysis of clusters. The analyses focus on highlighting the logic of strategic intervention by capturing priorities, strategic objectives, results and impact. The analysis allowed the identification of the interconnection of strategic objectives with the sustainable development objectives established at national level and the identification of result indicators related to the strategic objectives necessary to monitor the implementation of strategies, all against the different methodologies for achieving the two evaluated strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regime complexes have been discussed in international literature as an intervening variable which bring about policy coherence at national levels. There is a dearth of literature which examines aspects related to the link between global biodiversity regime, national policy coherence and sustainable development goals (SDGs) reporting. By taking the case study of India and using liberal institutional approaches and critical appraisal, this paper seeks to analyse the role of SDGs reporting for promoting coherence between the international biodiversity regime complex and country level planning. This paper will have implications for praxis on biodiversity and sustainable development policy as well as have implications for theory related to liberal institutional scholarship. This paper argues that while the normative scope of the global biodiversity regime has evolved to encompass principles such as scientific enquiry as well as sustainable development, national level reporting on biodiversity related SDGs have to still catch up to facilitate better policy coherence at all levels. Further the paper also calls for a greater science-policy interface to supplement SDG reporting framework towards better understanding of conservation and ecosystem services aspects of biodiversity in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers different perspectives of indicators produced by official statistics agencies, with an emphasis on technical aspects. We discuss statistical methods, impact, scope and action operationalisation of official statistic indicators. The focus is on multivariate aspects in analysing and communicating such indicators. To illustrate the points made in the paper, we use examples from well-being indicators, from the UN sustainable development goals and a Eurobarometer example. The overall objective is to enhance the added value of official statistics indicators, as they are communicated, and thus strengthen evidence-based policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To coordinate the relationship between forest protection and utilization, give full play to the ecological, economic and social benefits of forests, and lay a solid foundation for sustainable economic and social development is a concrete action to implement Xi Jinping thought on ecological Civilization and implement the overall strategy of comprehensive, systematic and source governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes and grasses. Compared with the previous round of forest land protection and utilization planning (“original forest protection”), the new round of forest land protection and utilization planning (“ new forest protection”) is different in many aspects, such as the preparation background, positioning, indicators and requirements. It is very important to correctly understand the “new forest protection”, master the key points of the establishment of the “new forest protection” and learn from the experience and lessons of the “original forest protection”. Based on the last round of forest land protection and utilization planning in Heilongjiang Province, this paper discusses the positioning, technical basis, characteristics, and key links of preparation of the new round of forest land protection and utilization planning, expounds opinions and puts forward opinions, so as to lay a good foundation for the preparation of the new round of forest land protection and utilization planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • There is a need for a systematic approach for compact and green cities. • Concepts from smart growth and green infrastructure are found to be compatible. • We developed a hierarchical target system for smart-compact-green cities. • The targets cover smart environment, multifunctionality, government, governance. • The systemic framework can be used for spatial monitoring and planning analysis. Abstract In contrast to the ongoing worldwide uncontrolled expansion of urban development resulting in sprawled cities, compact cities have been argued by planners and researchers to be the more sustainable urban form. However, in compact cities, it has been shown that a low proportion of green spaces jeopardizes the sufficient supply of urban ecosystem services. This suggests that there remains a deficiency in clear visions for operationalizing compact and green cities. To remediate this, this paper introduces a systemic conceptual framework for compact and green cities by combining the concepts of smart growth and green infrastructure. The indicator-based, smart-compact-green city framework includes two aspects: 1) smart compact cities (considering the need to limit urban sprawl through smart growth) and 2) smart green cities (reflecting the preservation and (re-)development of urban green infrastructure). The paper suggests that there is the need to balance these two aspects to develop a systemic approach towards smart-compact-green cities. A hierarchical target system grounded on four characters for smart compact and smart green cities is developed. Smart-compact-green cities can be characterized through a 1) smart environment of compact and green cities, 2) smart multifunctionality of compact and green cities (economic, social, environmental), 3) smart government for compact and green cities and 4) smart governance for compact and green cities. The characters comprise twelve factors defined by 39 indicators for smart compact cities and 44 indicators for smart green cities, respectively. The systemic framework can support researchers and practitioners to develop visions of how existing or future cities can approach smart-compact-green cities in mainstreaming the ecology of and for cities by better understanding the complexity of urban systems and providing a basis for a systematic spatial monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable transport is one of core parts of sustainable development according to UN strategy. In the area of Western Balkan countries there are a number of specifics and similarities in that light. Relying mostly on road transport, fighting with limited capacities and facing serious challenges related to contemporary traffic means, professionals in this region need to try to contribute to the development of sustainable transport. As a part of wider research by using scientific approach, a number of indicators have been identified and structured in different levels. On a basic level five indicators have been identified: Economic, Social, Environmental, Good governance and planning and Cultural. On other hand, in the context of their capacity to contribute to sustainable transport, five transport means have been taken into consideration: Electric, Plug-in Hybrid, Alternative Fueled, Gasoline Fueled and Diesel Fueled vehicles. By using AHP method, a total of 73 experts from Western Balkan region have been asked to express their view on the capacity of different alternatives of vehicles to contribute to the sustainable transport. This paper shows the results of the research performed and offers a possibility to analyze a number of specific aspects in this area. The results are grouped by the country and profession of the interviewed professionals. The results could be used for policy making, or decision taking on different levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There is high consistency in the extent of land degradation. • There are consistent hydrothermal change characteristics in the land degradation hotspots area. Land degradation is a major impediment to achieving sustainable development. However, there is currently no harmonized global map of land degradation status and hotspots. This paper aims to obtain the status and hotspots map of global land degradation by multiple methods and indicators to give essential references for land degradation neutrality. The results show that there are significant differences in the distribution and degree of land degradation between the different methods and indicators. Validation through observation points reveals that most of the methods and indicators can reflect land degradation in arid and semi-arid areas, while there are suitable methods or indicators in tropical and high-latitude areas. The degree of degradation has a large difference after overlay analysis, which shows that there are shortcomings of different methods and indicators for monitoring the degree of land degradation. However, the overlay of land degradation extent displays a high consistency, reflecting the current state of global land degradation to a certain extent. These areas with high overlay value can be recognized as hotspots of land degradation. It is also found there are consistent water-energy change characteristics in the hotspot area, such as increased land surface temperature and air temperature and decreased soil moisture and precipitation. These results conclude that studies on the degree of land degradation need to be considered in an integrated manner about the regional background. The combination of multiple methods and indicators is recommended for land degradation extent studies in large areas. Comparison of different methods and indicators is important guidance for global land degradation research. Accelerating ecological monitoring and restoration of land degradation hotspots is the first step towards land degradation neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green infrastructures are now considered key elements in improving residents' quality of life and creating an appropriate framework for the development of sustainable cities. One of the most efficient method to evaluate the state and performance of urban green infrastructure is using different types of indicators. The indicators for evaluating the benefits, ecosystem services and the role of green infrastructures for the process of sustainable development represent important tools for decision and policy makers. Indicators provide information that can be easily interpreted by decision and policy makers and they facilitate the process of planning, monitoring and evaluation of green infrastructure in urban areas. The focus of our study is to establish which indicators are used for underlining the structural and functional diversity of urban green infrastructures. This paper aims to highlight the indicators and indices being used in Romanian urban areas for measuring their sustainability that include green infrastructures, in the wider understanding of the concept. Throughout the paper, different examples of indicators and indices are provided, emphasizing that by using the proper set of indicators and indices, city authorities can tag a sustainable development label for certain areas. However, an unbiased assessment using some sets of indicators and indices are not always providing unbiased or realistic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, transportation authorities are keen to implement sustainable development measures and to move toward a more sustainable mobility for people and goods. However, this implementation entails a rise in the need for a sustainable development assessment framework for mobility, in order to compare different projects or to monitor a given area. This paper addresses the issue of conceptualization and standardization of the evaluation of sustainable development in transportation, by proposing a framework, which seeks to meet the various needs of transportation planners. This framework aims to provide an exhaustive view of the sustainability features (through its three main dimensions), as well as to clarify the concept of sustainability in transportation by embedding links between actions and impacts. This paper presents the basis of the framework developed as an interactive tool: (1) a representation named 'Octopus' categorizing the impact of mobility on the three dimensions of sustainable development and (2) a circular representation, named 'Causal circle', which integrates causal links between actions and impacts on these same dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability concerns have increasingly gained importance among organizations and their stakeholders around the world. In this context, eco-efficiency has become a consistent tool towards the transition to sustainable development and the efforts of eco-efficiency indicators have been used for comparative studies and decision-making tasks, providing better financial, environmental, and social performance. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review on the theme of sustainable development from the perspective of eco-efficiency, with the adaptation of the Knowledge Development Process intervention instrument - constructivist (ProKnow-C). The paper identifies and structures the state-of-the-art between Eco-Efficiency and Sustainable Development with a view to: (i) selecting a Bibliographic Portfolio (BP) that is aligned with the perception of the researchers on the theme; (ii) performing a bibliometric analysis of the selected BP; (iii) performing a thematic synthesis; (iv) finding the integration of eco-efficiency and sustainable development with other approaches; (v) proposing an innovative framework to achieve sustainable development through eco-efficiency indicators; and (vi) finding paths for further research. This research makes multiple new contributions, providing both academics and practitioners a better panorama to achieve sustainable development through eco-efficiency by expanding the literature review, highlighting the synergies and barriers between eco-efficiency and sustainable development and by comparing and analysing them, showing its relevant features. In addition, we synthesized the contributions of the BP according to the BASF indicators, sustainable dimensions and four measurement levels: industry, organization, project and process to better describe the current academic scenario on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthy built environments place people and communities at the heart of urban planning, encouraging decision-making based on human health, well-being and environmental sustainability. This paper describes the development of a set of indicators to assist in this endeavour—by translating and linking the research evidence base with policy-makers and other practitioners. The paper describes how the indicators were chosen, contextualized and subsequently structured to maximize useability for urban planners and health professionals working together to improve community health and neighbourhood sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) targets have been included as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and indictors are important to monitor progress towards these targets. SRH indicators are recommended for setting norms and measuring progress globally. However, given the diverse political, socioeconomic and cultural contexts in different countries, and lack of global agreement on broad indicators, it is important to select appropriate indicators for specific countries. Based on internationally recommended indicators and data availability in China, this paper selected four indictors to reflect SRH in China and interpreted these indictors by analyzing the underlying factors. Methods: We employed secondary data analysis and key informant interviews. Secondary data were obtained from the China Health Statistical Yearbook (2005–2017), China Statistical Yearbook (2005–2017), and the sub-national estimates of the Global Burden Diseases Study 2016. We interviewed 36 key informants at national and sub-national levels. Results: The four selected SRH indicators are contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR), adolescent birth rate, abortion rate, and availability of school sex education. CPR of married women has remained above 75% over the last three decades, indicating a high level of access to family planning (FP) services; however, unmarried but sexually active women have significant unmet needs for FP services. Although adolescent birth rates in China remain low, the abortion rate, abortion numbers, and the ratio of abortions to births increased from 2014 to 2016 while FP policy was relaxed. This suggests that abortion among unmarried women is a significant contributor to overall figures. Qualitative analysis of the availability of school sex education, reveals an absence of policy due to conservative attitudes of key stakeholders. Conclusion: Since SRH challenges vary significantly between contexts, indicators for measuring progress towards SRH targets should be selected based on country context. The CPR and abortion rate are currently available and important indicators to monitor the most basic part of SRH in China, but require modification to ensure they reflect universal access to quality reproductive healthcare by all reproductive age women, regardless of their marriage status. Policy and indicators on sex education need to be carefully developed to fit the context in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring the achievement of a sustainable development requires the integration of various data sets and disciplines describing bio-physical and socio-economic conditions. These data allow characterizing any location on Earth, assessing the status of the environment at various scales (e.g. national, regional, global), understanding interactions between different systems (e.g. atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere), and modeling future changes. The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) was established in 2005 in response to the need for coordinated, comprehensive, and sustained observations related to the state of the Earth. GEO's global engagement priorities include supporting the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. A proposition is made for generalizing and integrating the concept of EVs across the Societal Benefit Areas of GEO and across the border between Socio-Economic and Earth systems EVs. The contributions of the European Union projects ConnectinGEO and GEOEssential in the evaluation of existing EV classes are introduced. Finally, the main aim of the 10 papers of the special issue is shortly presented and mapped according to the proposed typology of SBA-related EV classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a methodology for the analysis of the sustainability of thermoelectric plants with a highlight on the isolated system in the Amazon, in the state of Rondônia, Brasil. The document describes the indicators for the constructions of a general indicator of sustainability that allows the classification of micro-networks with thermoelectrics according to their environmental, social and, economic contributions. In this study we use official data and polls made to the electric distribution companies. The model proposed in this paper contributes to the definition of policies for the control of greenhouse gases, mitigation of risks, new technologies development and, the distribution of public resources for alternative energy sources research. This research project was developed by the Research Group on Renewable and Sustainable Energy of the Universidade Federal de Rondônia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the United Nations approved the eight Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and, 15 years later, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the highest political institutions in the world have not stopped worrying about achieving the sustainability of the planet. Also in 2015, the European Commission prepared the European Union Action Plan for the Circular Economy, seeking a transition towards a less linear economy, in which products, materials, and resources are kept in the system for as long as possible and in which the generation of waste is minimized. Since then, the European Union has continued issuing reports and communications to accelerate this process in search of a circular economy, making continuous references to the fact that, through circular economy initiatives, the SDGs would be fulfilled. In this context, the objectives of this paper are 1) to determine, through exploratory factor analysis and correlation analysis, whether there is a statistically significant relationship between circular economy initiatives undertaken in the EU and compliance with the SDGs; 2) to check, through a cluster analysis, if there are homogeneous groups of countries worldwide in terms of compliance with the SDGs; and 3) using this same technique, to check whether the countries that make up the EU achieve similar results in terms of compliance with the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indicators have emerged as a powerful communication tool for complex phenomena in the shift towards quantitative measurement. Indigenous peoples have not been immune to the representation and monitoring of their lives using indicators. Across many of these standard metrics, they consistently underperform. As a result, resources globally and nationally are often targeted at improving these metrics of indigenous populations. Indigenous peoples have not been silent on this matter. In challenging these universal frameworks, they mobilised a self-determination movement which is centred on their worldviews and priorities. The endorsement and ratification of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) have further created a space and impetus to ask how the UNDRIP can be implemented to support indigenous groups around the world to drive their own development agenda. Using a framework informed by UNDRIP and Indigenous knowledge this paper has two aims: 1) to explore if and how the SDGs have reframed policy relating to Indigenous peoples in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and 2) to explore how indigenous communities are developing their own indicators to inform their development needs and in the process mitigate the negative governance effects of national goal and target setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa and around the world, the development of sustainable tourism indicators has been advocated by many authors and has resulted in a number of indicators. Indicators are distinguished by factors such as social, environmental as well as economic. South Africa has contributed to the concept of sustainability through its 1996 Tourism White Paper and has participate in major sustainable events involving many great role-players in the field of sustainability. This study aims to determine the main indicators for the development of sustainable adventure tourism and whether respondents are willing to utilize these indicators, as well as to examine whether respondents have used these indicators before. Research was conducted at Waterval Boven, Mpumalanga, South Africa involving a total of 568 respondents. Descriptive statistics and factor analyses (Empirical Kaiser Criterion) were applied to determine which of the factors are valued by participants. In general, the respondents perceived the indicators positively. The study contributes towards the development of sustainable adventure tourism destinations through the utilization of indicators that can make a significant contribution towards poverty alleviation by maximizing social and economic benefits for local communities, enhancing cultural heritage and reducing any negative impacts on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a possible approach for creating business decisions based on multi-criteria analysis. Seven options for a possible revitalization of the thermal power plant “Kolubara”-A Unit No. 2 with energy indicators of sustainable development (EISD) are presented in this paper. The chosen EISD numerically express the essential features of the analyzed options, while the sustainability criteria indicate the option quality within the limits of these indicators. In this paper, the criteria for assessing the sustainability options are defined based on several aspects: economic, social, environmental and technological. In the process of assessing the sustainability of the considered options the Analysis and Synthesis of Parameters under Information Deficiency (ASPID) method was used. In this paper, the EISD show that production and energy consumption are closely linked to economic, environmental and other indicators, such as economic and technological development of local communities with employment being one of the most important social parameter. Multi-criteria analysis for the case study of the TPP “Kolubara”-A clearly indicated recommendations to decision makers on the choice of the best available options in dependence on the energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2018 European bioeconomy strategy sets a new vision for Europe's sustainable development: a transition to regenerative resource usage that embraces circular principles. Similarly, various member states have developed national bioeconomy strategies. To be effective, such strategies require methodologically sound monitoring tools that support the alignment of national and urban policies. Indeed, cities are central to the bioeconomy, mobilizing ever increasing amounts of biogenic materials. To better understand the suitability of national bioeconomy strategies for guiding urban circular bioeconomy transitions, this paper examines the composition, features, and topical coverage of national bioeconomy indicator sets with a threefold analysis: (1) assessment of the integration of circularity principles in the sets and their alignment with existing policy frameworks; (2) appraisal of quality and the fulfillment of the sets' functional purposes; (3) evaluation of the breadth and depth of tackled issues. Of the 27 EU member states, only nine have a dedicated bioeconomy strategy, of which four propose an indicator set. While there is a general lack of sophisticated monitoring, the tools proposed after the publication of the 2018 bioeconomy strategy (Germany and Italy) follow indicator development standards rigorously. They include circularity in their notion of bioeconomy and combine indicators for a comprehensive, substantial, informative and politically relevant analysis. These characteristics strongly improve the potential for alignment and coherence with urban-level bioeconomy monitoring efforts. Although national measuring tools are not intended to cover all urban needs, the findings of this paper give insight into their remaining gaps and highlight improvement pathways for an efficient EU-wide circular bioeconomy transition. [Display omitted] • Most EU national bioeconomy strategies lack sophisticated indicator sets. • National bioeconomy strategies should favor alignment with other policy levels. • Thoroughly developed indicator sets allow targeted answers to environmental change. • Recent strategies follow indicator development standards more rigorously. • Recent indicator sets enable monitoring of urban circular bioeconomy transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frugal innovation can help to foster sustainability and address global challenges, like building economic growth, addressing various social needs, and protecting the environment. However, if one wants to measure the sustainability impacts of frugal innovation or enable companies to make empirically informed decisions between frugal and alternative innovation, the question of how to assess these empirical impacts arises. The main objectives of this paper are the identification of approaches and indicators for assessing the sustainability impacts of frugal innovation and the analysis of empirical findings relating to prior assessments. To this end, a systematic literature review was conducted, which identified 15 texts, and a qualitative content analysis was employed to evaluate their contents. From these analyses two main approaches for assessment emerged. First, the assessment based on the triple bottom line or the dimensions of sustainability (ecological, social, and economic). Second, assessment against the Sustainability Development Goals. In the identified texts, the sustainability dimensions are preferred over the Sustainable Development Goals for assessing the sustainability impacts of frugal innovation. From the 15 identified texts, 13 use qualitative indicators and two quantitative (conceptual) indicators. To answer the research question of the paper, a set of 47 qualitative indicators relating to integrated dimensions of sustainability for the assessment of the sustainability impacts of frugal innovation is proposed. In addition, this paper presents new insights relating to the empirical evidence of sustainability impacts of frugal innovation. Approximately 60% of 334 empirical findings from 70 different cases related to the Sustainable Development Goals contribute to the five (socially and economically focused) SDGs 8, 3, 10, 12, and 9. After a transformation to the Triple Bottom Line, these findings contribute predominantly to the economic and social dimensions (in each case 45%), and only slightly to the ecological dimension (the remaining 10%). In turn, 164 empirical results from 77 different cases related to the Triple Bottom Line show an almost similar contribution to all three sustainability dimensions with a small lead of the economic dimension. Nonetheless, in the opinion of the author, these findings confirm other studies, that from an empirical perspective, frugal innovation can be described as inherently socially and economically sustainable and ecological sustainability is mostly not the primary focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Iran is among the top ten CO 2 emitters in the world. • Achieving sustainable development undermined by heavy reliance on fossil fuels. • Environmental indicators are not consistent with the society and the economy. • However, improving the social indices strengthens the environmental indicators. • Altering the environmental subsystem resulted in convergence of sustainable system. Abstract Iran is among the top ten CO 2 emitters in the world and has pledged to reduce such emissions by up to 12 percent by 2030 through various policies and strategies. However, achieving this is somewhat undermined by the country's heavy reliance on fossil fuels which contributes to environmental pollution and depletion of natural resources. It is therefore important to have an understanding of the economic, social, and environmental subsystems and their interactions in order to formulate a suitable development path or model. Due to the lack of comprehensive studies on the current situation and the dynamics among these variables, this paper provides a multi-stage analysis of the issues based on data from 1992 to 2015 to construct the principal component analysis (PCA) combined index for each subsystem. Then, the interactions among the subsystems are investigated over the short- and long-terms using the vector autoregressive (VAR) model. The results of the PCA show that Iran lacks a balanced sustainable development approach as improvements in environmental indicators do not match those of the society and the economy indices. Further, the associated time path for the economic and societal indices depicts an increasing trend over time, especially in the economy index and that, since 2010, this subsystem has overtaken the societal index. Estimations of the VAR model, impulse response functions, and variance decomposition analysis show that the country's economic development has seriously undermined the environment even as improving the social indices has strengthened the environmental indicators. The interactions among subsystems show that economic development of the country took little consideration of environmental issues. This is the main reason for the backwardness of the environmental indices and its divergence from economic and societal indices. It is clear that assuming equal rates of growth for all subsystems have not produced a balanced development path. For Iran to achieve her sustainable development goals there should be increased focus on the environmental subsystem with the overall system converging symmetrically when the high growth rate assumption (double) is applied for this index compared with the societal and economical indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a list of specific indicators that will allow the managers of dehesa farms to assess their sustainability in an easy and reliable way. To this end a Delphi analysis has been carried out with a group of experts in agroforestry systems and sustainability. A total of 30 experts from public institutions, farming, research bodies, environmental and rural development associations, agricultural organizations and companies took part in the study which intended to design a set of sustainability indicators adapted to dehesa agroforestry systems. The experts scored 83 original indicators related to the basic pillars of sustainability (environmental, social and economic) through a two-round procedure. Finally, 24 indicators were selected based on their importance and the consensus achieved. From an environmental point of view, and in line with its significance for dehesa ecosystems, it has been observed that “Stocking rate” is the indicator with greater relevance. Within the economic pillar, “Farm profitability” is the most important indicator, while regarding the technical indicators “Percentage of animal diet based on grazing” is the one that got the highest score. Finally, the “Degree of job satisfaction” and the “Generational renewal” were the most relevant labor indicators. It is considered that the Delphi approach used in this research settles some of the flaws of other sustainability models, such as the adaptation to the system to be studied and the involvement of stakeholders in the design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research presented in this paper has two main objectives. First, it aims to generate an assessment tool for ranking and selecting the most sustainable domestic water-heating system (WHS) (with the lowest economic, environmental and social impact) that could be applied in any location and with any demand. Second, it aims to ascertain which WHS is the most sustainable in places with a climate and solar radiation like that of Barcelona, Spain, where a minimum solar contribution to domestic water heating is compulsory for new buildings and significant renovations. Multi-criteria decision analysis was employed to create the optimised flexible assessment tool. The Delphi method was followed to perform the surveys, and to provide the objectivity required in the identification of impacts, the definition of indicators and the assignment of weights. The most relevant criteria were determined: annual cost, material consumption, energy consumption, GHG emissions, space requirement, visual impact and occupational risks. The resulting tool was tested by analysing twelve domestic WHS, including two conventional systems, and ten combinations of five solar thermal technologies with two conventional systems as backup for a changing room in a sport centre located in Barcelona. The two conventional WHS studied were a natural gas-fired condensing boiler and an electric water heater. The five solar thermal technologies were: a flat plate with a harp design, a flat plate with a serpentine design, a heat-pipe evacuated tube, a direct-flow evacuated tube, and a direct-flow evacuated tube with CPC. The dynamic thermal simulation programme T*SOL was used to dimension the solar thermal systems. Two sensitivity analyses were carried out: one on weights and one on references. The tool proved very useful in the assessment of these systems, and could also help in decision-making processes to select the most sustainable WHS for other locations and domestic hot water demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: As one of the most important overhead capital of urban economics and social development, the sustainable development of urban infrastructure is becoming a key issue of prosperous society growing. The purpose of this paper is to establish a basic model to analysis certain infrastructure project's sustainable construction and operation. Design/methodology/approach: System dynamics is an effective stimulation method and tool to deal with such complex, dynamics, nonlinear systems, which could be used in analyzing and evaluating all aspects of infrastructure sustainability internally and externally. In this paper, the system is divided into four subsystems and 12 main impact indicators. Through setting the boundary and other basic hypothesis, this paper designs the basic causal loop diagrams and stock & flow diagrams to describe the relationship between variables and establish a quantifiable structure for the system. Findings: Adopting a sewerage treatment in China as a case to test our model, we could conclude that the model of internal sustainable subsystem is reasonable. However, this model is a basic model, and it need to be specific designed for the certain project due to the diversity of infrastructure types and the unique conditions of each projects. Originality/value: System Dynamics (SD) is widely used in the study of sustainable development and has plentiful research achievements from macro perspective but few studies in the microcosmic project systems. This paper focuses on the unique characteristics of urban infrastructure in China and selects infrastructure project which is based on micro-system discussion. The model we designed has certain practical significance in policy setting, operation monitoring and adjustment of the urban projects with high rationality and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: As one of the most important overhead capital of urban economics and social development, the sustainable development of urban infrastructure is becoming a key issue of prosperous society growing. The purpose of this paper is to establish a basic model to analysis certain infrastructure project's sustainable construction and operation. Design/methodology/approach: System dynamics is an effective stimulation method and tool to deal with such complex, dynamics, nonlinear systems, which could be used in analyzing and evaluating all aspects of infrastructure sustainability internally and externally. In this paper, the system is divided into four subsystems and 12 main impact indicators. Through setting the boundary and other basic hypothesis, this paper designs the basic causal loop diagrams and stock & flow diagrams to describe the relationship between variables and establish a quantifiable structure for the system. Findings: Adopting a sewerage treatment in China as a case to test our model, we could conclude that the model of internal sustainable subsystem is reasonable. However, this model is a basic model, and it need to be specific designed for the certain project due to the diversity of infrastructure types and the unique conditions of each projects. Originality/value: System Dynamics (SD) is widely used in the study of sustainable development and has plentiful research achievements from macro perspective but few studies in the microcosmic project systems. This paper focuses on the unique characteristics of urban infrastructure in China and selects infrastructure project which is based on micro-system discussion. The model we designed has certain practical significance in policy setting, operation monitoring and adjustment of the urban projects with high rationality and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The semiconductor industry plays an ever-increasing role in society, providing microelectronic components called chips that are used in a wide variety of electronic applications. The rapid increase of the production of chips is responsible for considerable effects on the environment during the different phases of their life cycle. In spite of increasing pressure from stakeholders to control these effects, no international standard or agreement has yet been established. In this context, the paper proposes a set of environmental indicators that take into account the most serious damages induced by these products. To establish an exhaustive list of indicators, the specificities of the semiconductor branch are first analysed in literature, identifying pressures on the sector coming from the downstream chain – chip buyers and users – and finally by analysing data from industrial case studies. In order to highlight the most significant direct and indirect impacts, each aspect of the chips' life cycle phases is studied independently. The indicators reflect the particularities of the industry and point out the major impact categories. They can be therefore be used for standardized environmental analysis of microelectronic products. The paper retains seven environmental indicators: resource depletion, eutrophication, water stress, toxicity, summer smog and local electrical consumption. The final set of indicators will help draw the environmental profile of the microelectronic chips over the full life cycle of the products. It is a step towards necessary standardization in the microelectronic industry. The indicators are consistent with current state of the art and can evolve as progress is made on the definition and calculation of new indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our approach, Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM for short) has been developed to get out of the traditional monistic methodology. In this paper we propose a general energy accounting scheme and its indicators based on MuSIASEM framework characterizing the performance of the energy and mining sector. This represents an elaboration of the supply side of energy accounting within our scheme, a subject that has not been fully investigated so far. Section 2 briefly illustrates the fundamental limitations of purely thermodynamic approach to energy accounting. Section 3 presents a general energy accounting scheme and its derived set of indicators. This section first presents the basic assumptions and the energy transformation process using the flow–fund representation originally developed by Georgescu-Roegen. Section 4 concludes the paper providing ten mottoes about energy accounting that are justified by the experience made with the MuSIASEM scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts towards Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+) have grown in importance in developing countries following negotiations within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This has favoured investments in processes to prepare countries for REDD+ at the national level (a process referred to as REDD+ Readiness). Yet, little attention has been given to how Readiness can be assessed and potentially improved. This article presents a framework for Readiness assessment and compares progress in REDD+ Readiness across four countries, namely Cameroon, Indonesia, Peru, and Vietnam. The Readiness assessment framework comprises six functions, namely planning and coordination; policy, laws, and institutions; measurement, reporting, verification (MRV), and audits; benefit sharing; financing; and demonstrations and pilots. We found the framework credible and consistent in measuring progress and eliciting insight into Readiness processes at the country level. Country performance for various functions was mixed. Progress was evident on planning and coordination, and demonstration and pilots. However, MRV and audits; financing; benefit sharing; and policies, laws and institutions face major challenges. The results suggest that the way national forest governance has been shaped by historical circumstances (showing path dependency) is a critical factor for progress in Readiness processes. There is need for a rethink of the current REDD+ Readiness infrastructure given the serious gaps observed in addressing drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, linking REDD+ to broader national strategies and systematic capacity building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sustainable municipal solid waste management (MSWM) system is recognized by Agenda 21 as an opportunity for cities for creating decent jobs, raising incentives for responsible consumption, and protecting the natural environment. However, according to our experience for many stakeholders and decision-makers in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, the principles for sustainability defined by the Bruntland Commission are far too abstract. They are not readily applicable to establish a sustainable MSWM system. Even though Brazilian cities are strongly being influenced by concepts developed in high-income countries to search for strategic policies and long-term action plans for MSWM, many decisions-makers have not paid much attention to an overall sustainability approach so far. Against this backdrop, the present paper introduces the municipal solid waste diagram (MSWD) as a comprehensive framework for assessing the current state of a MSWM system against a future sustainable one. The normative foundation of MSWD is the Integrative Concept of Sustainability (ICoS), which contrasts the conventional approach of sustainability which typically characterizes a sustainable future along the three dimensions of economy, environment and society. ICoS points out crucial documents for sustainable development (e.g., Brundtland report and Agenda 21), and moreover, it does not neglect the potential of the capability approach. By this, the dynamic interrelationship between the abovementioned dimensions is taken into account. Another characteristic of the MSWD is the strong involvement of stakeholders, experts, and decision-makers during the construction and application of that instrument. Their central task was to certify the relevance, compatibility, flexibility of the chosen nine assessment criteria and the related 18 indicators on the ground of the ICoS. Any other study is known which looks for the dynamics of MSWM. The proposed approach helps to identify the constitute elements of MSWM clearly and to match to goals of sustainability without distinguishing and prioritizing any dimensionality. This approach clarifies the scientific background for sustainable development in the process of decision making regarding MSWM which is not done by conventional sustainability assessment methodologies. By the participation of the most relevant stakeholders of Belo Horizonte, the municipal solid waste diagram is verified. Belo Horizonte has currently obtained a level of development of about one third towards the goals of sustainability. The city had the best performance on securing human existence, in which the individual protection takes currently a high priority. The presented MSWD and thus the findings are specific to Belo Horizonte, but not the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A constant evolution in the efficiency of production systems and government policies has enabled the control of the environmental impact of production activities and encouraged companies to develop strategies to achieve more sustainable operations. Despite this, more needs to be done to reduce the risks of globalised production activities. In this context, evidence suggests that Lean Manufacturing (LM) and Cleaner Production (CP) make a positive contribution to the environmental performance of organizations. However, very little has been reported in the scholarly literature regarding the convergence and divergence of these two approaches. This work therefore attempts to take advantage of the synergies of LM and CP by proposing a Lean Cleaner Production Benchmarking (LCPB) method to assess the practices and culture regarding the application of CP in companies. The method considers the management aspects of people, information, products, suppliers and customers, management and processes, as well as the LM practices that contribute to a more eco-efficient production. LCPB uses a methodology based on benchmarking that was applied to 16 Brazilian manufacturing companies in order to assess their practices and performances regarding CP. The method seeks to provide a diagnosis to verify whether CP is effectively carried out by the companies, and what their performances are regarding actions beneficial to the environment. The application of LM practices that contribute to CP was also evaluated through the proposed LCPB method. The paper contributes to the theory by proving further evidence of the compatibility and synergies of LM and CP. In addition, it proposes a novel method that enables the analysis of companies' practices and performances related to CP, assesses their actions associated with sustainability, and contributes to identifying points where there is a lack and difficulty regarding CP. The proposed method helps to relate LM and CP activities, indicating that companies that seek to apply LM concepts are those that present high CP practices and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

This paper reports on a study that was a response to a call from the UK government's Department of Children, Schools and Families for research into the link between the work of schools that address sustainability and the UK's national sustainable development indicators. This was part of the government's sustainable schools initiative, developed as a contribution to the UN's Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The paper uses the four capitals model of Herman Daly and Donella Meadows to critically examine, firstly, how a school might make such a contribution to sustainable development, and, then, how we might come to know how effectively this is progressing. In doing this, the paper builds on Webster's work about the stages that a sustainable school might go through in its development, and the result is three sets of process descriptors to guide a school's thinking about what it might do. These are presented in the sense of an embryonic and sketchy map to the terrain, rather than as a set of instructions or a detailed plan to follow. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper present and discuss the current level of environmental sustainability of People Farm Rural Community, Ipiaú, Bahia, Brazil. Then we present a description of the research design, including the procedures adopted for the construction and application of the primary data collection instrument in a bottom-up approach. We did the application of a semi structured questionnaire to 111 families, and a second semi structured form applied to the families that have production units. We also capture GPS points at different times. The collection of secondary data was through bibliographical and documentary research. Obtained that the community reached the general index of environmental sustainability 1,794, which puts the overall level of average environmental sustainability. The three dimensions evaluated are in the average environmental sustainability level, not reaching the sustainability threshold "3.2" - minimum high sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with inconsistencies of composite sustainability indicators and their different subsets (economic, environmental, social, and corporate governance). Corporate sustainability performance is usually highly nonlinear, vague, partially inconsistent and multidimensional. The resulting models are often oversimplified. The key reason is an information shortage which eliminates the unsophisticated applications of classical statistical methods. Numbers are accurate and information intensive. Verbal quantifications are less accurate and therefore not that information intensive. Fuzzy sets and fuzzy reasoning are used to make verbal quantifiers suitable for computer applications. A fuzzy similarity graph is defined. A team of experts identified 17 relevant variables (e.g. Environmental costs, Occupational diseases, Number of complaints received from stakeholders) and 12 company data sets are available. Each company is presented as a fuzzy conditional statement. A set of fuzzy pairwise similarities is generated and used to evaluate five similarity graphs: a Total Graph (based on all 17 variables) and graphs based on relevant specific subsets of variables, Economic, Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance graphs. The topologies of these graphs are significantly different. No prior knowledge of fuzzy reasoning is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential to reduce energy consumption in buildings is high. The design phase of the building is very important. In addition, it is vital to understand how to measure the energy efficiency in the building operation phase in order to encourage the right efficiency efforts. In understanding the building energy efficiency, it is important to comprehend the interplay of building occupancy, space efficiency, and energy efficiency. Recent studies found in the literature concerning energy efficiency in office buildings have concentrated heavily on the technical characteristics of the buildings or technical systems. The most commonly used engineering indicator for building energy efficiency is the specific energy consumption (SEC), commonly measured in kWh/m2 per annum. While the SEC is a sound way to measure the technical properties of a building and to guide its design, it obviously omits the issues of building occupancy and space efficiency. This paper studies existing energy efficiency indicators and introduces a new indicator for building energy efficiency which takes into account both space and occupancy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]