Use Of Sustainability Indicators Research Articles

Use of Sustainability Indicators for the Breeding System

Introduction: In general, the creation system in Brazil has been characterized as an activity of great importance in the socio-economic market, as it generates employment and income opportunities.
 Aims: This work aims to carry out a brief bibliographical review regarding the use of sustainability indicators within the creation systems.
 Literature Review: The notion of sustainability is still a recent term and is under construction. Among the countless concepts of sustainability found in specialized literature, sustainability means the "possibility of continuously obtaining equal or superior conditions of life for a group of people and their successors in a given ecosystem. On the other hand, the concept of indicators, as well as for the concept of sustainability does not have a universal definition. Sustainability indicator “is an instrument that allows, based on its interpretation, to define the condition of a system as sustainable or not.” In other words, sustainability indicators can be understood as parameters, in which the assessment shows whether the limit, established according to the values ​​and objectives that govern a given reality, was exceeded or respected.

Which are lifecycle phases considered for Circular Economy evaluation in the Agri-food sector?

The present article is focused on the sustainable indicators that could be applied in the production phases of agri-food sector. The main purpose is to investigate regarding the importance of sustainable indicators in the production phases called “Life Cycle stages”, which can be divided as follow: Beginning of Life, Middle of Life and End of Life. The use of sustainable indicators will increase companies’ performance and will allow them to get higher results than the competitors. In the last years, Circular Economy acquired lots of importance and for this reason, lots of companies started to work with a sustainable vision. In particular, some authors expressed their opinion regarding the importance of sustainable indicators, which are useful for making decisions oriented on sustainability [1]. It means that the use of sustainable indicators encourages Circular Economy vision inside agri-food companies. Agri-food sector needs to have sustainable indicator in such a way that companies achieve sustainable goals for satisfying needs and requirements of customers. All the production phases are important and sustainable indicators are also useful to face up issues as global warming and climate challenges. However, notwithstanding all the studies realized regarding this topic, there is not a study which explains in which phase an indicator should be placed. Furthermore, in all the documents analyzed for the research, authors do not mention them explicitly. So, this could be identified as the gap of the research. Hence, this study allows to discover the importance of sustainable indicators applied on the production phases of agri-food sector and the benefits deriving from their use. Finally, it is also necessary to have a specific metric to understand in which production phases sustainable indicators should be placed.

Uso de indicadores de sustentabilidade na gestão de projetos de tecnologia da informação

Objetivo – O objetivo deste estudo é compreender a relação entre indicadores de sustentabilidade e projetos do segmento de Tecnologia da Informação.Metodologia - A pesquisa caracteriza-se como exploratória com abordagem qualitativa realizada por meio de um estudo de caso múltiplo realizado em prestadores de serviços da área de Tecnologia da Informação.Resultados – A pesquisa concluiu que as organizações não possuem a aplicação de indicadores de sustentabilidade em nível organizacional na gestão de projetos de Tecnologia da Informação, porém, nenhum dos casos abordados apresenta a presença de indicadores específicos para projetos de Tecnologia da Informação. Assim, a utilização de indicadores de sustentabilidade está sujeita à natureza envolvida no projeto de tecnologia da informação.Limitações/implicações da pesquisa - O estudo se limita à identificação de indicadores de sustentabilidade em empresas de tecnologia da informação.Originalidade - Embora pesquisas apontem para a eficácia da utilização de indicadores de sustentabilidade em projetos, ainda existe uma lacuna para a realização de novos estudos em projetos de tecnologia da informação, com o objetivo de aumentar seu desempenho econômico.

Sustainability in Information Technology: An analysis of the aspects considered in the model Cobit

Parallel to the development of technology in its different fronts and particularly about the various applications of Information Technology (IT), another trend that has been consolidated in organizations is the search for sustainability. There are initiatives such as Green IT, Sustainable IT, and Green software that combine these two elements (IT and sustainability). In this context, this study aims to identify the presence of sustainability aspects in the COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies) model of IT management. Thus, this article seeks to verify if and how versions 4.1 and 5 of the COBIT model—which guide IT managers in the alignment of technical activities with the organization's strategy—are related to sustainability, through the use of sustainability indicators defined by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) as a representative proxy of sustainability aspects necessary for the user organization of the model. This exploratory research makes use of documental research and presents the following main results: (1) partial alignment of the COBIT model with the generic categories of the GRI, especially the governance category; and (2) it highlights the small relation of this model with broader environmental and social aspects in the same way that it presents relationship limitations with economic aspects evaluated by the GRI.

Urban Sustainability Indicators: how do Australian city decision makers perceive and use global reporting standards?

ABSTRACTThe introduction in 2014 of the first globally standardised sustainability metric for cities, ISO 37120, transformed the concept of scalability for sustainable city indicators. Our study uses original research involving producers and consumers of urban sustainability indicators (USIs), including ISO 37120, to review the current use of sustainability indicators (SIs) in Sydney and ascertain the use-value of internationally standardised USIs as perceived by professionals in the field. Our findings show that managers of cities use SIs in a variety of ways, yet links between SIs and organisational decision making are often weak. The cost of adaptation to a new indicator set may be prohibitive, especially for smaller city governments. Larger cities are seen to benefit more from international exposure and comparison. Highlighting ISO 37120 should be valued for the opportunity it presents for comparative learning regarding the nature of a sustainable city rather than its benchmarking potential. This article recommends that the process of achieving a sustainable city should be informed by ‘strong’ rather than ‘weak’ sustainability; in this regard ISO 37120 has potential for refinement. Further research is needed into determining aspects of city comparability and methods for linking USI data to government decision making in order to achieve sustainability outcomes.

Prioritizing Sustainability Indicators: Using Materiality Analysis to Guide Sustainability Assessment and Strategy

AbstractDespite the growing awareness of complexity in sustainable development, the practical implementation of sustainability assessment through the use of sustainability indicators requires prioritizing the myriad indicators available. This study identifies the highest priority sustainability indicators for the New Zealand wine industry using materiality analysis. Thirteen information sources representative of different stakeholder perspectives considered to drive the need for sustainability assessment are analysed to provide a measure of sustainability issue salience and risk. Based on a meta‐analysis of relevant information, it is found that environmental issues make up the highest priority issues, followed by social issues relating primarily to worker wellbeing. Significantly, economic and governance issues were not found to be high priorities. These findings are discussed in the context of the common bias in agricultural sustainability assessment towards environmental issues, and the broader business implications for sustainability assessment, strategy and policy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

ESTABLECIMIENTO AGROPRODUCTIVO ECOLOGICO VS. AGRICULTURA CONVENCIONAL: PARTIDO DE TANDIL, PROVINCIA DE BUENOS AIRES

RESUMEN En Argentina, en las últimas décadas, se ha generado un proceso denominado como “agriculturización”, con diversos impactos ambientales. Lo anterior ha llevado a plantear modelos agrícolas más sustentables. El presente trabajo propone analizar la sustentabilidad de un establecimiento rural dedicado a la agricultura ecológica con respeto a los sistemas agrícolas convencionales, ubicados en el partido de Tandil, provincia de Buenos Aires. La metodología aplicada se basa en el uso de indicadores de sustentabilidad, trabajos antecedentes, entrevistas, matriz de debilidades-amenazas-fortalezas-oportunidades, y propuestas de corrección de puntos críticos. Se observa que el establecimiento con prácticas ecológicas, a diferencia de aquellos que utilizan prácticas convencionales, presenta múltiples beneficios tales como alta biodiversidad, diversificación de actividades, cultivos orgánicos, autoabastecimiento. Los puntos críticos se ven reflejados en las amenazas y debilidades del sistema, tales como el manejo del suelo para la siembra y la productividad media en cultivos, siendo menor a los sistemas agrícolas imperantes en el partido de Tandil, con alto grado de insumos y uso de transgénicos que permiten altos rendimientos. Se concluye que la agricultura ecológica, conforma una alternativa a los sistemas convencionales de producción, basadas en sistemas más diversificados y autosuficientes.

Local sustainability indicators in Portugal: assessing implementation and use in governance contexts

This paper assesses the implementation and use of sustainability indicators (SI) in local governance contexts in Portugal. The need to analyse the development of local SI is considered critical, given the lack of research on the understanding of how, when and by whom SI are implemented and used, particularly in the Portuguese local governance context. The first aim of this article is to map experiences of SI in Portugal by assessing how many local councils developed indicator systems and when, and the major driving-forces and general features of those systems. The second aim is to analyse and compare 7 case studies, in further detail, to explore the governance factors that influence indicator success and how indicators are used within local contexts. Two particular conceptual frameworks were applied to structure research and analysis. Based on a national survey and case study methodology, findings reveal that local SI in Portugal are still in early stages of development. Where SI have been designed earlier, there has been a lack of political commitment and vision, and a need to overcome local government malfunctioning more than the complex obstacles of sustainable development governance. Applying both conceptual frameworks enabled to present critical lessons on the relationship among governance factors and types of uses when implementing SI in Portugal and to suggest the value of this integrated analysis for other governance contexts.

Development of a general sustainability indicator for renewable energy systems: A review

Renewable energy is considered as a solution for mitigating climate change and environmental pollution; however, an important problem of the application of renewable energy systems (RESs) is that the evaluation of the sustainability of these systems is extremely complex. In order to assess the sustainability of renewable energy systems comprehensively, the use of sustainability indicators (SIs) is often necessary. Since sustainability indicators are necessary to reflect various aspects of sustainability, the development of a general sustainability indicator (GSI) including many basic sustainability indicators (BSIs) becomes critical. In this paper, the methods of selection, quantification, evaluation and weighting of the basic indicators as well as the methods of GSI aggregation are reviewed. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed. Based on these discussion and the analysis of the uncertainties of sustainability assessment, an effective framework and its procedures of the development of GSI for renewable energy systems is presented. This GSI is not only able to evaluate all the sustainability criteria of RESs, but also can provide numerical results of sustainability assessment for different objective systems. The proposed framework in this study can be used as a guidance of the development of sustainability indicator for various renewable energy systems.

Assessing environmental sustainability in tourism and recreation areas: a risk-assessment-based model

This paper presents a three-stage model that applies the principles of risk assessment to the evaluation of environmental sustainability in the tourism and recreation sectors. The model uses both qualitative and quantitative data. While assessing environmental risk at and from tourism and recreation areas is fundamental to sustainable management, existing methodologies rely on sets of environmental data that are often poorly linked and difficult to interpret in a holistic manner. Risk assessment is a concept that can overcome current limitations in environmental assessment methodologies. This model demonstrates its utility by assessing the environmental sustainability of two tourism and recreation sites in Ireland, with 25 environmental hazards identified at the rural Lough Derg (Shannon River) site and 29 at the relatively urban Dublin Bay site. The results show that the practical production of holistic and representative data on environmental risk from tourism and recreation areas is possible, with water quality, amenity value, traffic and transport, boating activity and noise found particularly relevant. The strengths and limitations of the proposed model are considered and compared with three existing tourism impact models: the use of sustainability indicators and two tourism-planning frameworks, limits of acceptable change (LAC) and visitor impact management (VIM).

Sustainability indicator systems within urban governance: Usability analysis of sustainability indicator systems as boundary objects

While sustainability indicator systems (SIs) have proven to be valuable rational tools for improving the availability of information related to the relationship of cities and communities to natural limits, the indicators movement has achieved limited instrumental uptake in policy. This paper begins from a recognition that instrumental use of sustainability indicator systems is rare. Greater potential impact exists for SIs designed to be much more attentive to their conceptual and political values within their particular social and political context. In other words, greater attention to what has been called the governance of indicator systems, or the ways in which SIs fit as policy tools within a multilevel and multiactor governance context, is key to increasing their utility. This is particularly true given the need for decisive policy change, or even the introduction of a new development path, which is asserted within the sustainability agenda.Understanding the real and potential utility of indicator systems within multiactor governance processes, in which their roles are primarily rhetorical, conceptual and political, is facilitated by thinking about indicator systems as boundary objects, tools which open up dialogue, information sharing, learning and consensus-building across different policy boundaries: between experts and nonexperts, formal government and different nongovernment actors, higher-order governments and lower-order governments. This paper offers a comparative analysis of three sustainability indicator systems in the North American context – Vancouver's Vital Signs (Vancouver Foundation), Seattle's Happiness Initiative, and LEED-ND (US Green Building Council) – all of which have shown some success in operationalizing a new policy boundary as a means of making conceptual and political contributions to governance practices. The specific boundaries operationalized, the different approach taken by each project, and the usability demonstrated by each project at that boundary in terms of salience, legitimacy and credibility, are assessed comparatively. In general, the trajectory in design and use of ecological and sustainability indicators demonstrates an increase in appetite, aptitude and numbers of channels for use in processes of governance; however, these factors vary with the local social–political opportunity structure. This analysis presents the advances made as well as the tradeoffs evident in these cases across the gamut of different forms of usability of nongovernmental indicator systems designed for use as boundary objects, and suggests a path forward for indicator work which aims to change policy, from a governance perspective.

From sustainability to well-being: Lessons learned from the use of sustainable development indicators at national and EU level

Indicators describing sustainability and, more recently, well-being have raised considerable interest throughout the world. Much conceptual and empirical research exists focusing on the criteria for sustainability and development of indicators, while relatively few studies examine the actual use and influence of indicators. Employing document analysis and interviews of key actors, we explore the use of sustainable development indicators at national and EU level and draw forth lessons relevant for topical discussion of the measurement of human well-being. We apply a conceptual model of three main types of indicator use: instrumental, conceptual, and political. The results indicate that the use of sustainability indicators is mainly confined to the ‘indicator circuit’ formed by indicator-developers themselves and actors obliged to use the indicators. The results suggest that direct instrumental use of indicators shows limited potential, whereas conceptual use is the key for enhanced indicator influence in the long term. Political use of indicators cannot be controlled by the indicator-developers.

Searching for sustainability: are assessments of wildlife harvests behind the times?

The unsustainable harvest of wildlife is a major threat to global biodiversity and to the millions of people who depend on wildlife for food and income. Past research has called attention to the fact that commonly used methods to evaluate the sustainability of wildlife hunting perform poorly, yet these methods remain in popular use today. Here, we conduct a systematic review of empirical sustainability assessments to quantify the use of sustainability indicators in the scientific literature and highlight associations between analytical methods and their outcomes. We find that indicator type, continent of study, species body mass, taxonomic group and socio-economic status of study site are important predictors of the probability of reported sustainability. The most common measures of sustainability include population growth models, the Robinson & Redford (1991) model and population trends through time. Indicators relying on population-specific biological data are most often used in North America and Europe, while cruder estimates are more often used in Africa, Latin America and Oceania. Our results highlight both the uncertainty and lack of uniformity in sustainability science. Given our urgent need to conserve both wildlife and the food security of rural peoples around the world, improvements in sustainability indicators are of utmost importance.

A proposal to explore the role of sustainability indicators in local governance contexts: The case of Palmela, Portugal

The actual use of sustainability indicators and their steering potential is constrained by the particularities of governance contexts, by institutional patterns and changes, by the different interpretations of what sustainable development means and entails, and by the tensions around the main values nurturing the positions of the most relevant actors. This paper proposes a normative conceptual framework to further explore the role of sustainability indicators in local governance contexts, and applies it to the Portuguese municipality of Palmela. It aims to contribute to a better understanding of how, why and in what circumstances the processes of developing and using indicators can be important steering mechanisms for governance for sustainability, particularly at the local level. The methods used include primary literature review and official documents and data, interviews to local public officers and qualitative analysis. Palmela provides insights on concrete government achievements through the implementation of sustainability indicators, but clearly shows how they are insufficient to foster innovative governance arrangements for sustainability. The normative framework enables the identification of successes and failures of developing and using sustainability indicators in improving local governance and ultimately in helping to achieve sustainability goals.

Amplifiers on the Commons: Using Indicators to Foster Place-Based Sustainability Initiatives

As with watershed management or adaptive management plans, place-based sustainability initiatives are required to deal with complex and intertwining systems of social and ecological organization. One approach to fostering successful place-based initiatives features the development and use of sustainability indicators to promote community dialog, thereby amplifying the risks and opportunities of movement toward more environmentally benign practices. This article uses the author's personal experience as a methodological springboard for demonstrating how the development of sustainability indicators at a landscape-scale were incorporated into community-based planning in the Lake Superior Basin. An introduction to the science and practice of indicator development is followed by two case studies involving different spatial and temporal scales of community engagement in the development of place-based sustainability initiatives. The relative success of these examples leads to a suite of principles for using public participation as a means for stressing the opportunities occasioned by the sustainability imperative.

A gis for urban sustainability indicators in spatial planning

Urban development and alterations in local/urban/sub-urban expansion plans is usually based on the analysis of spatial indicators and how they induce the future development in a specifi c area. For this structural reason the alterations of urban plans mainly occur under a surface observation and analysis of the spatial characteristics. Examining the issue under a more comprehensive framework we also focus on other characteristics such as social and economic policies, health and education, transportation, commercial, etc. that dominate on the devel- opment. Thus, urban sustainability indicators from a broad spectrum of activities should be introduced during urban planning. This paper investigates and analyzes the use of such urban sustainability indicators in spatial planning through the use of geographical information systems (GIS) designed for this reason. In the mid-90s, the European Commission prepared a report called 'European Sustainable Cities Report' (1). In this report, the Commission recognized the need for sustainability indicators as a tool for quantifying the return of sustainability. Since sustainability is a rational policy objective, it is possible to measure whether we have hysteresis or progress. In addition, the World Bank uses indica- tors as performance measures. All institutions involved in indicators' defi nition appear to consent that indicators are a useful tool, both for assessing policy measures and policy making as well. In both cases, these organizations stress their limitations. The use of sustainability indicators is capable of playing a catalytic role in supporting planners, decision, and policy makers as well as other relevant stakeholders to assess urban development on one hand, while on the other to endorse the planning and implementation of sustainable spatial policies. Furthermore, the expansion and development (local) plans implemented in a more general (met- ropolitan) approach will also be supported and monitored. In addition, decision makers and more policy makers will be enabled to discard groundless and purblind individual demands and requests, often based on speculation and personal gains rather than the chase of durable sustainability and societal benefi ts. The paper aims to introduce the integration of urban sustainability indicators into the spatial plan- ning process through geographical information systems (GIS). An appropriate sustainability indicators framework set is introduced. Furthermore, the procedure continues throughout the design and development of the appropriate information technology infrastructure to support the update, monitoring, and reporting of these indicators. Finally, these indicators are used as an urban policy tool in the decision making process. In section 2, an introduction in urban sustainability indicators is mentioned. The background information and the defi nition of an indicative proposed set of indicators, spread in various thematic areas (e.g. social, economy, environment, etc.), are explained. This set originates from the URBAN- GUARD project, which took place in Cyprus as an EU co-funded project via LIFE scheme. In this section, the spatial dimension of indicators is discussed while a proposed geodatabase model for

Decision Making Support in Wastewater Management: Comparative analysis of techniques and tools used in centralized and decentralized system layouts UDK 628.2

Wastewater management has been seen primarily as a technical and economic issue but it is now recognised that these are some of the elements in an array of other factors that affect sustainability of wastewater systems. Literature studies point out that municipal authorities have a general and long-standing tradition of using indicators in monitoring performance, reviewing progress and reporting the state of the environment as part of the regulatory enacted compliance. However, they have neglected other critical aspects of use of these indicators such as their input into the planning and decision making process. This research advocates for the use of sustainable indicators in a context based planning approach and the utilisation of Multi Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA) in a two step approach for comparative analysis and assessment of the sustainability of wastewater systems. The overall objective was to develop a methodology for wastewater systems selection and to produce a practical planning tool to aid in decision making for municipalities. Another objective was to provide recommendations for wastewater and sanitation management improvement in the case study area. The methodology consisted of comprehensive literature review, case study analysis, a review of the Decision Support Systems (DSS) in use and the development of the DSS for Gauteng Province. The full spectrum of viable wastewater or sanitation options was incorporated into the DSS. From the sustainability assessments carried out using Multi criteria decision analysis, one result showed that varying degrees of sustainability are obtainable with each treatment technology involved and decentralised technologies appear more sustainable. Based on the local context and indicators used in this research, the DSS results suggest that land treatment systems, stabilisation ponds and ecological treatment methods are more sustainable. One major finding from literature is that no technology is inherently sustainable on its own but is a function of the local context specifics. Since there is so much variation in social and economic needs within the areas; the overall results imply that a differential wastewater management approach should be employed with tailor made solutions resulting for each municipality or certain areas within a municipality.

Indicator development in sustainability impact assessment: balancing theory and practice

In this article, the development and operationalisation of forestry-wood chain indicators within the frame of sustainability impact assessment are discussed. The analytical framework follows a distinction between indicator definition and selection in a first phase, and a second operational phase of indicator application in terms of interconnecting material flows, calculation of chain performance and utilisation within evaluation components. A clear boundary drawing effort in terms of the development of indicator definitions, related subclasses, and measurement units as well as the creation of conversion factors between indicator values and individual chain stages supports this. Economic, social and environmental indicators have to respond to data collection needs on individual process levels (that correspond to sub-divisions of the forestry-wood chain). For the usage of indicators within evaluation tools, a functional hierarchy has to be provided that supports clear preference elicitation as well as information on related externalities. In total, this paper aims at demonstrating an enhanced spectrum in the use of sustainability indicators, and the challenges that arise from a developing and applying multi-functional indicators in sustainability impact assessment.

Développement durable et attractivité des territoires dans l’Union Européenne, opposition ou convergence ?

Le concept de developpement durable suscite encore aujourd’hui de nombreuses controverses. L’une d’elles oppose le developpement durable et l’attractivite des territoires. Cet article a pour but de montrer que les deux concepts peuvent converger ou etre totalement antinomiques. Dans cette optique, nous privilegierons plutot une approche empirique a travers l’utilisation des indicateurs du developpement durable tels qu’ils servent de reference au sein de l’Union europeenne pour appliquer sa politique de developpement economique. En partant de l’hypothese qu’il existe une compatibilite entre la durabilite et l’attractivite des territoires, nous ferons apparaitre certains indicateurs susceptibles de convenir aux deux concepts, dans le meme temps, nous en determinerons d’autres uniquement applicables a l’un ou l’autre. Pour terminer, nous etudierons les interactions entre certains indicateurs du developpement durable et d’attractivite du territoire en prenant comme exemple les 27 pays de l’Union Europeenne.

Indicadores e equidade social: propriedades dos indicadores de sustentabilidade e ausência do princípio de justiça social em estudos sobre mudança climática e C02 DOI:10.5007/1807-1384.2010v7n1p199

This article’s main objective is to analyze the radical transformation of results in use of sustainability indicators and the consequences when a key principle is no longer considered. In this sense, we analyze some studies about CO2 emission and its relationship with climate change; and we hypothesise that they do not consider the social equity principle. Initially search is made in the literature about the properties of indicators and about the importance of such indicators. We then analyze the studies mentioned in order to test this hypothesis. As a result, we suggest the need of making explicit the target of social equity in the set of properties for those indicators, in order to avoid such biases. The role of these sustainability indices in decision-making processes is enough to justify our concern in the present article.