Measuring progress towards sustainability: The geographer's view

Abstract

Measuring progress towards sustainability goals is of key importance for successful policy-making. Numerous initiatives worldwide propose diverse sets of sustainable development indicators, monitoring changes in individual economic, social, and environmental aspects of development. On the other hand, there is still no consensus on the best composite indicator, which would encompass those aspects and allow comparisons across countries. The paper evaluates the suitability of some composite indicators (green GDP initiatives, Environmental Performance Index, Ecological Footprint, Human Development Index, Happy Planet Index) for sustainability measurement and also proposes an alternative measure of overall development - the Development Balance Index - in an attempt to bring to a common denominator a country's socio-economic achievements as well as their accompanying environmental pressures.