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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]

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]

Over the past two decades, the application of nanostructured materials in construction, such as concrete, paint, coatings, glass, renders, plasters, thermal insulation, steel, and even sensors, has become increasingly prevalent. However, previous studies and reports have raised concerns about the ecotoxicity and long-term impact of nanomaterials on human health and the environment. National and international legislation and regulations are struggling to keep up with the rapid development of nanomaterials, taking into account their unique characteristics and essential requirements for application and commercialization. This paper, based on existing standards for conventional materials and bibliometric networks of papers focused on nanomaterials, conducts a critical review and proposes relevant indicators for the application of nanomaterials in the construction sector. These indicators should be mandatory and are divided into environmental, human health, and economic perspectives, providing a risk assessment framework for applying nanomaterial-based constructive solutions oriented to environmental, social, and economic sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) suffer from a lack of national data needed for effective monitoring and implementation. Almost half of the SDG indicators are not regularly produced, and available datasets are often out-of-date. New monitoring approaches using big data are advancing rapidly and can complement official statistics to help fill critical data gaps. However, there is poor information-sharing on the latest innovations and research collaborations across different thematic areas, and limited evaluation of strengths and weaknesses for supporting national monitoring. This paper provides a systematic review of the academic literature over the past 5 years relating to the use of big data to support monitoring of the SDGs. It reviews the state-of-the-art research using big data and advanced analytics to produce new datasets, the alignment of these datasets with the official SDG indicators, the main types and sources of big data used, and the analytical methods applied. We developed a set of evaluation criteria and applied it to highlight some of the strengths and limitations of these datasets derived from big data. We find that recent research has developed a considerable range of new datasets that could contribute to monitoring 15 goals, 51 targets, and 69 indicators. Dominant focal areas of research include land and biodiversity, health, water, cities and settlements, and poverty. Satellite and Earth Observation data were the primary sources used, most commonly applied with machine learning methods and cloud computing. However, several challenges remain, including ensuring the relevance of new datasets for monitoring SDG indicators, cost and accessibility considerations, sustainability aspects, and linking global datasets to nationally owned monitoring processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of circular economy (CE) is increasingly prominent in European Union (EU) countries, considering the demand for incorporating renewable resources into end products. Similar to sustainable development dimensions, CE indicators can be classified within economic, social, and environmental protection categories, depending on their measuring scope, and within micro-, meso-, and macro-level, depending on the level of observation. The aim of the research is to determine the impact of CE innovation on CE performance in EU countries by modeling the Eurostat indicators via SmartPLS software. Relying on the relevant literature review, the paper first presents the concept of CE and the composite indicators used for evaluating its specific performances, as well as previous global and European experiences. Further, the study focuses on the modeling options for CE performance composite indicators demonstrating the relationship between the accomplishments of CE and the use of innovative measures at the level of products, services, or processes. Based on the data from EU27 countries for the period 2018–2021, the paper explores the relationship between variable and model composite indicators using SmartPLS software. SmartPLS output results support four assumption paths between CE indicator groups which are also confirmed with convergent and discriminant validity and heterotrait-monotrait ratio (HTMT) values. CE path modeling structure confirms the positive connection between CE innovations and CE performance emphasizing the need for providing a supportive environment and funds for innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge on sustainable development goals (SDGs) interactions has a bias toward global perspectives and lacks regional or country‐specific differentiation. This paper takes a biosphere‐based sustainability approach and assesses SDG interactions in a local governmental context. We start by addressing how the SDGs promote a biosphere‐based sustainability. Here, we find a range of opinions and we settle on a set of SDGs. Second, we explore how a set of sustainability indicators are connected to the SDGs and biosphere‐based sustainability. We conduct a case study and develop an SDG interaction model, and further compare global and local level interactions. We find that the local level has some differences compared to global level findings. However, the distribution among synergies and trade‐offs was found to be quite coherent. Our SDG interaction model connects sectors both within a single government and between governmental levels and can as such facilitate policy coherence. The main contribution of this study is our unique approach of conducting a local level assessment which aligns an existing sustainability measurement system with interaction research. [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]

In the post-pandemic social and economic conditions, the proper assessment of the effectiveness of regional innovation systems (RISs) becomes a key endeavor. In our paper, we highlight the necessity to enhance the set of indicators used to evaluate the performance of regional innovation systems in countries with varying innovation capabilities. Specifically, we concentrate on examining case studies from the United States, Japan, China, and the Czech Republic, comparing their experiences with the current situation to innovations and innovation systems in Russia and drawing lessons for this country. Utilizing the Global Innovation Index (GII) rankings, we conduct an analysis of the characteristics of innovative progress and propose specific groups of indicators that can enhance the effectiveness of evaluating the innovative advancement of different regions. Moreover, we determine the need for uniqueness, flexibility, and adaptability of these based on the state's strategic guidelines in the field of innovation and the innovative potential of the territory as well as the factors of external and internal influence. In addition, we conduct and present the results of the bibliometric network analysis of the research publications retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database using VOSViewer software and covering the role of regional innovation systems (RISs) in shaping up the national innovation systems (NISs) both in general terms and specifically applied to the case of Russia. Our results might be relevant for the stakeholders and policymakers who are engaged in promoting innovation, regional development, and sustainable economic growth, as well as for the academics working on the topics of innovation and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While international trade in agricultural commodities can spur economic development especially where governance is strong, there are also concerns about the local impacts of commodity production and their distribution on the environment and on people. The sustainable development goals (SDGs), though seeing trade as a means to support their achievement, recognise the need to address potential negative social and environmental impacts. It is therefore important to assess the contribution of international trade to the SDGs in commodity production areas. The environmental impacts of commodity production are widely acknowledged, but much less is known about its social impacts, and how this affects poverty reduction objectives across different dimensions. Impacts on human wellbeing and equity depend on a multitude of factors, including resources, systemic conditions and outputs of production. Through a broad literature review on soy, coffee, cocoa and palm oil, we show how studies have addressed different aspects of these factors and their impacts. The paper demonstrates how efforts by actors in global supply chains are related to a large number of SDGs and their targets. We link the social impacts and factors to the SDGs and a list of potential indicators and variables to guide operationalisation of assessments in new empirical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Accounting & Management is the property of Croatian Accountant and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As more higher education institutions strive to embed sustainable development principles in their teaching, it becomes increasingly important to identify indicators that can measure institutional contribution in a meaningful and internationally comparable manner. This paper shows that existing sustainability rankings, such as the UI Green Metric and THE Impact ranking, have paid relatively little attention to indicators on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). In a quest to develop such indicators for U-Multirank—the multi-dimensional transparency and ranking tool—we reviewed the literature, consulted experts, and ran a survey amongst practitioners. This article summarises opportunities and challenges for developing internationally comparable ESD indicators in the higher education sector, discussing indicator relevance, validity, and feasibility. The results suggest that (i) ESD indicators are considered highly relevant by diverse stakeholders; (ii) the majority of HEIs surveyed are planning to collect ESD data within 3 years, signalling good prospects for data feasibility; (iii) the ESD indicators proposed so far still lack criteria that would allow one to sufficiently identify and compare these indicators across countries, inhibiting indicator validity. At least three potential definitions are used by HEIs. The results of this paper can contribute to the discussion on identifying appropriate criteria for the development of ESD indicators and their use in international rankings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncontrolled development of mass tourism has led to the over-exploitation of tourism resources in a short period of time. By insisting solely on the economic effects of development, tourism has irreversibly degraded and to a certain extent 'exhausted' resources and attractiveness of destinations, thereby leading to their stagnation, and ultimately, to a decline in tourism activities in many destinations. By introducing the concept of sustainable tourism development, tourism analysis extends to other effects that tourism development produces in a given area, primarily the environmental, social and cultural ones. The paper analyses the achieved level of development of tourism in mountain destinations in the Republic of Serbia by using the comparative indicators of sustainable tourism applied in the EU countries. The results of the research indicate that the development of tourism in mountain destinations of the Republic of Serbia does not fully comply with sustainable development. In this respect, the paper provides specific recommendations on how to make tourism sustainable and therefore implement acceptable long-term concept of development of mountain destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main purpose of this paper is to present the diversity and trends of changes taking place in cities and communities in Poland and in other European Union countries with respect of implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Design/methodology/approach: The indicators included in Eurostat, which are collected to analyse the implementation of Objective 11: Sustainable cities and communities, have been used to assess the problem. 10 indicators and 27 European Union countries were analysed. The research period was 2010-2019 and the data was statistically analysed. Variations and distances between countries, trends in the changes taking place, ranking of countries, and relationships between the analysed indicators and the scale of their changes were calculated. Findings: EU Member States (27) are significantly differentiated in terms of household living conditions, environmental conditions, and safety at home. In Poland, dwellings are overcrowded but in relatively good condition. The Polish population is more often exposed to noise and air pollution, and they are at a higher risk of dying in a traffic accident, but they are less likely to report the occurrence of crime and vandalism. The results of the study confirmed important trends towards the development of sustainable cities and communities in Poland and in other EU countries. Research limitations/implications: The study resulted in a confirmation of the hypothesis that sustainable cities and communities have developed in EU countries in the last decade. There has been an improvement in the living conditions, safety, and environment of the population, especially in those countries where 10 years ago the variables describing sustainable cities and communities were the lowest. One of the countries where sustainable development was a priority was Poland, where the dynamics of improvement of almost every indicator was higher than the EU average. Practical implications: The conclusions may be useful for managers of economic entities for making more effective decisions regarding allocation of financial resources and making investments in social and technical infrastructure or safety regarding sustainable development of cities and communities. Social implications: The paper provides useful information for city and community managers and citizens of EU countries and cities about living conditions, quality of life, and safety of inhabitants. Originality/value: The article presents the latest information regarding the conditions of cities and communities in EU countries and compares that data with indicators from previous years. The value of the article lies in identifying and recognising the significance of differences between EU countries and in verifying whether any positive changes towards sustainable development of cities and communities are occurring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid expansion of tourist destinations has important environmental, climate change, and socioeconomic impacts on countries. The main objectives of the paper are: to analyze sustainable tourism concepts, indicators, and frameworks of sustainability assessment in tourism; to develop a framework for sustainable tourism assessment of tourist destinations; to apply a developed framework for sustainability assessment of tourism destinations in Visegrad countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) from the lens of green, digital transformations and boosting social-economic resilience. These are crucial policy pillars due to experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The main methods and data applied: several MCDM tools were applied to rank Visegrad countries on the progress achieved in sustainable tourism development. The data on indicators of the EU Tourism Dashboard were applied. The results of the ranking indicated that the best-performing country in terms of sustainable tourism development was Poland, following Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The main reason for this was the best results in digitalization and social-economic resilience shown by Poland and Hungary. The main policy implications for these countries are linked to the enhancement of environmental impact mitigation policies in tourism. The main contribution of this paper is a sustainability assessment of tourism destinations in Visegrad countries based on policy priorities and the newest available data by applying advanced MCDM tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A qualitative and quantitative deterioration of natural environments occurred recently worldwide. Loss of ecological capacities and agricultural decline are the critical consequences of urbanisation. This paper focuses on the value of assessing the urban sprawl in a southern Italy territory in order to evaluate the significant landscape transformations and provide a document to local administrators for a more balanced management of land use. The importance to calculate the soil consumption dynamics is remarkable in the investigated territory, Rende municipality in the Calabria region, southern Italy, since it is characterized by the same human pressure that occurred in other Mediterranean areas, so it is well representative of wider territories included in the Mediterranean setting. The transition from rural areas to urban settlements has been investigated via landscape analysis, and conducted for spatial and temporal changes over 25 years. The landscape analysis has integrated data from the orthophotos and Esri topographic base map. Quantitatively, the estimation of urban growth, in all its components, and soil consumption are evident by analysis of the number of patches. Qualitatively, the occurred consumption of fertile soil has caused a significant impact on local environmental conditions and on human activities resulting in decreasing of arable land, which decreased significantly over the considered period. This study addresses how knowledge of the change in urban areas is needed to effectively manage urban environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Silvae et Ligni is the property of Biotechnical Faculty, Slovenian Forestry Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of University of Sharjah Journal for Humanities & Social Sciences is the property of University of Sharjah - Scientific Publishing Unit and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target for access to safe sanitation and hygiene represents a marked improvement over the target used during the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) period. The SDG target attempts to: explicitly address hygiene; eliminate inequalities within populations; evaluate sanitation services beyond the household; account for the accessibility, safety, acceptability, and affordability of service delivery; and improve the sustainability of services (WHO/UNICEF, 2015). However, the proposed indicators for monitoring progress in sanitation and hygiene still rely primarily on infrequent household surveys and census data. This paper provides a critical review of the sanitation and hygiene target and explores the potential gaps between the expanded understanding of access, the proposed monitoring strategies, and the desired impacts. A variety of innovative methodologies and technologies are reviewed, with specific attention given to their suitability for measuring and monitoring progress towards the sanitation and hygiene target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Interações is the property of Revista Interacoes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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 aim of this paper is to analyse renewable energy strategies in the Baltic States, provide assessment of the achieved results when implementing these strategies and propose a new approach in the promotion of renewables and the implementation of renewable energy targets in the Baltic States. In order to implement the renewable energy development strategies, to achieve and surpass the set goals, with continued advances for the renewable energy in the Baltic States, a degree of social awareness, perception and acceptance is required. This paper proposes a new model of renewable energy strategies' development, which can be considered as an add-on to the existing renewable energy strategy system that includes a social dimension in making and implementing future European Commission's renewable energy framework for the Baltic States. It is divided into five main stages. Each stage shows approach to the framework and adds aspects of the social perspective. This model can serve as a guide for the Baltic States in the promotion of renewable energy source utilization to overcome the social dimension problems of sustainable energy development, such as uncertainty, misunderstanding of the issue, unawareness of problems arising in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Accounting & Management is the property of Croatian Accountant and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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]

The latest debate on smart cities and sustainability is underpinned by the United Nations' 2030 Agenda and their accompanying Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which place urban data and monitoring systems at the forefront. Therefore, there is a strong need to assess the data-driven capabilities that will help achieve the SDGs. To fill the capability gaps between existing tools and SDG indicators, new smart city data sources are now available. However, scant indicators and assessment criteria have been empirically validated. This paper identifies some of the challenges alongside the potential of using new local data in urban monitoring systems. A case study of an SDG monitoring platform implementation in a district of Berlin is examined, and the results show that the use of locale-specific, and unofficial data not only improves data availability, but it also encourages local public participation. Based on our empirical findings, we determine that the incorporation of new data for urban sustainability monitoring should be treated as a complex social process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Valori e Valutazioni is the property of Societa Italiana di Estimo e Valutazione (SIEV) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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]

• Tailored set of 116 regional indicators for monitoring EU's 2030 SDGs. • Harmonized standardization and customization for robust regional sustainability monitoring. • Emphasis on fostering regional data capacities and infrastructure for effective monitoring. • Facilitates strategic policy alignment with significant EU initiatives such as the European Green Deal. • Encourages mutual learning and collective growth among European regions. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the United Nations General Assembly, encompassing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), established a universal framework for addressing global challenges. Within the European Union (EU), the commitment to these goals has prompted the integration of the SDGs into a strategic framework for sustainable and inclusive growth. Recognizing the need for localized and detailed monitoring to capture the nuanced progress and challenges across Europe's diverse regions, this paper proposes a comprehensive set of regional indicators specifically designed for the European context. Through a systematic review of existing SDG monitoring frameworks at different territorial levels and an extensive methodological process, the paper identifies 116 indicators that address 75 SDG targets. This tailored set is derived from a combination of national, regional, and supranational sources. The paper discusses the critical balance between standardization for comparability and customization to accommodate unique regional characteristics. The proposed indicator set is evaluated for its capacity to reflect the holistic vision of the SDGs while allowing for effective regional benchmarking. The research emphasizes the need for robust regional data infrastructure, the importance of aligning policies with broader sustainability objectives, and the dynamic nature of indicators that can adapt to societal changes such as demographic shifts. Finally, the paper highlights the significance of a pragmatic and adaptive regional approach to SDG monitoring. The proposed indicator set is a strategic tool for policymakers, stakeholders, and practitioners, guiding Europe's regions towards a sustainable future and contributing to the global effort to achieve the SDGs by 2030. [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]

Forest degradation is a critical issue around the globe particularly in developing countries like India which has diverse phytogeography and forest types. It is a complex issue, existing parameters are difficult to apply across different forest types and classes, due to lack of specific guidelines therefore needs to be addressed in broader terms and scale. Therefore, the present paper proposes a new methodology based on Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) criteria and indicators leveraging remote sensing data for assessing the forest degradation. Emphasis is put on the upscale and explicability aspects of the methodology rather than stand level and local dentitions of forest degradation so that the methodology can be broadly applicable to all Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests of India. Hence to provide a scientific framework for assessing forest degradation and helps in the implementation of specific rehabilitation practices in degraded forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to establish new, multi-dimensional indicators of child well-being suitable to urban regions such as Attica, Greece, and adjusted to the new form of child poverty that has become apparent during its recent financial crisis. The paper mainly argues that child well-being is a multi-dimensional phenomenon and that the financial crisis produced a specific need for new scientific tools adapted to the particular features that emerged under this circumstance. Within this context, definitions of child well-being and child poverty were developed. With these definitions as foundation, a tool comprising many indicators was formulated to record child well-being; this was applied in Attica through questionnaires addressing 27 public schools and three support centers of the organization, The Smile of the Child, covering two periods: the school years between 2010 and 2018 collectively and the school year 2018–2019 individually. The total number of children in the sample was 878, belonging to three distinct school categories. The results were mapped out in seven clusters. The theoretical and methodological framework of the study was confirmed through a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results reveal that child well-being improved in the period 2018–2019 while there were evident concerns regarding unemployment and whether the education individuals receive is relevant to what kind of people they ought to be. Finally, an action plan focusing on these dimensions and some of the clusters along with an auxiliary tool for decision-making founded on fuzzy logic have been suggested. [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]

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]

The rich cultural and natural heritage of European countries have brought European tourism to the forefront. This status creates a need to take care of said tourism, with a particular focus on analysing its sustainability. Although several authors have pointed out the difficulties of transferring the principles of sustainable development to a specific sector, there is a consensus regarding the need to carry out an analysis at a local level, using indicators as a key tool. In this regard, it becomes very apparent that there is a need for an international set of indicators that enable an assessment of the transition towards sustainability at a local level. As yet, however, there is no widely-used approach. This paper proposes an index to measure sustainable tourism at the European NUTS 2 level, since lack of available data makes it impossible to produce indicators for cities. [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]

The social criteria of sustainable development, with a focus on green building assessment tool, have remained underexplored. Moreover, a large number of green building assessment tools and social sustainability documentations have been developed and have had a direct impact on social criteria issues, but there seems to be a substantial gap in the study of social criteria in green building assessment tools. The present study aimed at introducing the subject area supported by categories to monitor social criteria in building assessment tool. In light of this argument, this paper, through analysis of frequency data and results of studies, aims to identify some potential factors that will impact building practitioners toward making the right decision for selecting and implementing social criteria in green building assessment tools. In order to organize this paper, it adopts an analytic approach where social criteria would be interpreted in a new position. The aim is to identify social criteria of sustainable development to assist building practitioners in order to assess the building project and embed them toward building assessment tool to achieve sustainable development goal. [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]

This paper presents and discusses the selection of a set of core indicators for the sustainable conservation of built heritage. This core set of indicators was selected by following a two-step methodology: 1) first, a comparative analysis of indicators of two building sustainability assessment (BSA) tools with different approaches was performed by using content analysis to identify common priorities; 2) second, a selection of the indicators according to scale, stage of the life cycle, and coverage of core aspects for sustainable development, following the criteria established by the International Organization for Standardization. The results show that even if current methodologies have different structures, terminology, and priorities, they share common principles that promote a more sustainable built environment. However, by being mostly oriented to the intervention and operation phases, these methods do not have direct application as an assessment framework for the sustainable conservation of the built heritage. To overcome this situation, this research presents a concise set of indicators that can support the development of an assessment tool to ensure the sustainable conservation of existing buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present the results of implementing a new, multi-dimensional, and cumulative tool that records child well-being in the first semester of the school year 2019–2020, which is the second round of an ongoing research. The tool was applied in Attica through questionnaires addressing 30 schools and 3 support centers for children and families of the organization The Smile of the Child (thirty-three bodies in total). The total number of children participating in the sample was 1,171, belonging to three distinct school categories: 6th grade of elementary school (10–11 years old), 3rd grade of junior high (13–14 years old), and 3rd grade of high school (16–17 years old). The results were mapped out in 7 clusters. The findings raise concerns regarding nutrition and moral education of students in Attica. The theoretical and methodological framework of the study was confirmed through a principal component analysis (PCA) and a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Finally, an action plan is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]