ABSTRACT
Assessing progress on sustainability has to identify not only the economic, environmental and social impacts, but also the synergies and trade-offs across the three pillars of sustainable development. By definition, a green economy has to address the complex connections and interdependence of these three pillars, with the aim of avoiding the trade-offs that traditional sustainable development policies can imply. The key assumption of the green economy approach is the idea that initiatives that help achieve outcomes in one pillar do not need to lead to trade-offs with other pillar objectives. This chapter argues that any set of indicators for green economy initiatives must measure and give equal weight to economic growth, social equity and ecosystem protection. The scope of most existing measurement frameworks is at the country or sub-national level and gives little space to comprehensively and simultaneously measure stand-alone initiatives’ contributions to green economy and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). If the green economy is to be viable and successful, then measurement frameworks need to also identify potential trade-offs and win–win–win options between the three pillars of sustainable development. This chapter proposes a methodology to fill this gap. Acknowledging that indicators traditionally require a lot of system- and measurement-related work, the authors develop a system of assessment that is quick and helps policy makers and others assess whether so-called green interventions actually meet the objectives of a green economy. The criteria developed help measure the social, environmental and economic performance of environmental initiatives, and inform about their contribution to the SDGs. The framework is then tested by applying it to four environmental initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean.
