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Measuring Sustainability: Deriving Metrics From Objectives (Presentation)
Citation:
HANSEN, V. E. Measuring Sustainability: Deriving Metrics From Objectives (Presentation). Presented at The First International Congress on Sustainability Science and Engineering (ICOSSE), Cincinnati, OH, August 09 - 12, 2009.
Impact/Purpose:
To discuss how sustainability metrics directly addresses human objectives and environmental, social, and economic constraints for meeting these objectives.
Description:
The definition of 'sustain', to keep in existence, provides some insight into the metrics that are required to measure sustainability and adequately respond to assure sustainability. Keeping something in existence implies temporal and spatial contexts and requires metrics that guide human decisions and activities that could threaten losses so that losses are avoided within those contexts. Because intact natural, social, and economic systems are essential to sustain human life, keeping these systems intact requires that human actions/behaviors and development move toward harmony with these systems. Therefore, sustainability metrics must directly address human objectives on one hand and environmental, social, and economic constraints for meeting these objectives on the other.
URLs/Downloads:
Measuring Sustainability: Deriving Metrics from Objectives (Presentation) (PDF, NA pp, 4749 KB, about PDF)Conference Information
Abstract