Institutional sustainability indicators: an analysis of the institutions in Agenda 21 and a draft set of indicators for monitoring their effectivity

Objectives of sustainable development are defined for the economic, social and environmental dimension, but for effective compliance as well as for sustainability characteristics such as justice or participation they must be complemented by core institutional objectives. The CSD's set of sustainability indicators was the first one to explicitly take into account the institutional dimension of sustainability, and other organizations such as the World Bank and the OECD have followed. Like most pioneers, the indicators suggested offer significant room for improvement. In order to measure the effectiveness of the relevant institutions, Agenda 21 has been analysed regarding its institutional content (organizations, mechanisms, orientations). From this basis, the purposes of the institutions have been determined in a stepwise approach and indicators developed that permit us to measure the progress achieved against the purposes of the respective institution. The methodology developed can be applied to other international agreements, providing the basis for an integrated reporting system. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.