No system can be managed without information, which is why we have dashboards and bank statements. Achieving sustainability also requires information, and there have been major efforts, especially since the Rio Earth Summit adopted Agenda 21, to devise indicators of sustainability. Indicators can provide guidance for adaptive management, which is necessary when we do not fully understand complex systems. Indicators are increasingly used by governments and non-governmental organizations, and include statistics, materials flows, ecological footprints, scientific data and other types of information for decision-making. Economic indicators are reasonably well developed, but there are significant gaps in social and environmental indicators necessary for sustainability. Most indicators concern the material side of development, and more needs to be done to balance this with indicators of social, cultural, scientific, ethical and spiritual development. There are indicators that individuals, families and communities can use to measure the sustainability of their lifestyles. More should be done to help each person develop and use such indicators to manage their own well-being and sustainability. Such indicators can also contribute substantially to education for sustainable development.

Indicators
No system can be managed without information
• Dashboards
• Bank statements
• Achieving sustainability also requires information
• Indicators are numbers/symbols that tell something about the system

Use of indicators
• Information for decision-making
• Public information
• Early warning, vulnerability
• Indicators can provide guidance for adaptive management, which is necessary when we do not fully understand complex systems.

Types of indicators
• Statistics (GNP, unemployment rate)
• Materials flows
• Ecological footprints
• Scientific data (CO₂ concentration)
• Maps, GIS
• Other types of information

Indicators of sustainable development
• Rio Earth Summit adopted Agenda 21
• UNDP Human Development Index
• Commission on Sustainable Development, Programme of Work on Indicators
• SCOPE project on Indicators of Sustainability
• Menu of 134 indicators, DSIR framework
• Revised set of 52 core indicators
• SCOPE Assessment of Sustainability Indicators

NGO Initiatives
• Environmental Sustainability Index
• Ecological Footprint
• WWF Living Planet Index
• IUCN Wealth of Nations
• BIC Spiritually Based Indicators for Development

Local Indicators
• Sustainable Seattle
• Fraser Valley, BC, Canada
• Local Agenda 21 in many communities

Status of indicator development
Challenge of measuring sustainability and sustainable development
• Temporal and spatial scales
• Planetary limits
• Vulnerability and resilience
• Irreversibility
• Reference values, baselines, targets
• Data drivenness

Defining Development
Other dimensions than material:
• Cultural diversity
• Global consciousness
• Equality of men and women
• Participation in science/knowledge

Process of indicator development
Challenges of developing indicators through processes that ensure their universal applicability:
• Comparing countries
• Diversity of development goals
• Equity
• Democracy

Individual indicators
• There are indicators that individuals, families and communities can use to measure the sustainability of their lifestyles.
• More should be done to help each person develop and use such indicators to manage their own well-being and sustainability.
• Such indicators can also contribute substantially to education for sustainable development.

Examples of individual indicators
• Water consumption, use of polluting materials (detergent, cleaners, toxics)
• Energy: Electricity/gas consumption, heating bills, CO2 budget
• Transport: automobile mileage, public transport use, bicycle use, walking
• Food: purchases of fast food,organic, fair trade; weight gain; number of meatless meals
• Clothing: number of shirts, dresses, shoes; expenditures on clothes
• Housing: number of rooms per person, cost
• Technology: number of electronic devices bought/discarded
• Contact with nature, animals (hrs/week)
• Travel for recreation, tourism (km)
• Experiences of beauty, cultural diversity
• Community: participation in activities
• Solidarity: gifts to charity, development
• Altruism: volunteer service
• Spirituality: daily prayer

Action
• Make up your own sustainability indicator profile
• Compare your progress yearly
• In school, develop a class indicator profile (choose, measure, analyze)