A system oriented integrated indicator for sustainable development in Italy

The scientific community currently deals with the challenge of measuring sustainable development by using long lists of core set indicator. These are then used in one of two ways: either shortened sets of headline indicators are selected (these vary by sector or theme), or an aggregation procedure is adopted that allows the creation of unique integrated indices, such as the well known ISEW, HDI, PPI. Recent work has demonstrated that most countries prefer to develop their own approaches over and above the accepted international standards, in some cases adapting these standard approaches, whilst seeking to strike a delicate balance between, on the one hand, globally accepted environmental and socio-economic indicators and, on the other, national and local peculiarities. The imperative in such cases is to avoid losing international comparability. The choice must take account of the varying space and time scales of each country with regard to sustainable development, as well as the role of the national policymakers in selecting the approach to sustainability. This paper introduces the ISSI index which is based on three baskets: welfare, environmental quality and resource use each one defined by a limited set of headline indicators. A combination algorithm is then proposed which gives a global, integrated non-dimensional index, which allows comparisons between the Italian regions as well as between countries. A multidimensional vector presentation tool is introduced that allows the trends of each index component, as well as the index as a whole to be monitored. The index sections relating to all of the three components require a system approach based on models rather than on simple groupings and combinations of variables. Modelling introduces the capability to manage quantitative indicators together with non-numeric evaluations of quality of life. The resource use component makes use of the material flow model to evaluate the overall performance in the area of production and consumption in Italy by assessing eco-efficiency and by calculating total material input and resulting waste generation.