Measuring uncertainties in composite indicators of sustainability

Byline: Giuseppe Munda, Michela Nardo, Michaela Saisana, Tanja Srebotnjak Composite indicators are very common in economic and business statistics for benchmarking the relative progress of countries in a variety of policy domains such as industrial competitiveness, sustainable development, globalisation and innovation. This article provides an analysis of the key uncertainties underlying the mathematical modelling used to construct composite indicators within the broader context of sustainability measurement. A case study of the Environmental Sustainability Index illustrates how these uncertainties can be modelled and estimated.