SEEING CHANGE THROUGH THE LENS OF SUSTAINABILITY

The document argues that traditional economic measures like GDP are insufficient for tracking sustainability and advocates for a systems-thinking approach. It proposes a 'Performance Measurement and Progress Assessment' (PMPA) cycle that integrates quantitative data, qualitative narratives, and interdisciplinary judgment to inform policy. The text outlines various existing measurement frameworks—ranging from ecological footprints to the Triple Bottom Line—and identifies key technical challenges such as aggregation, weighting, and the tension between scientific transparency and policy communication.

• Traditional economic indicators, specifically the Systems of National Accounts (SNA) and GDP/GNP, are viewed as unidimensional and reflective of a 'material growth-dominated perspective' that fails to account for ecological and human conditions.
• Sustainability requires a systems-thinking approach that recognizes economics as a subsystem of the human subsystem, which is itself nested within the enveloping ecosystem.
• Effective sustainability assessment must address 'slow change'—decadal accumulations of human influence on the environment—because these often trigger sudden, disruptive changes in fast environmental variables.
• There is a fundamental tension between scientists, who require transparency and complex data to avoid weak causal assumptions, and policy-makers, who prefer simple, few-in-number indicators for accountability and communication.
• The document identifies four primary technical challenges in measuring sustainability: aggregation (which can lead to information loss), weighting (which is value-dependent), units, and scaling.
• The proposed Performance Measurement and Progress Assessment (PMPA) cycle emphasizes that 'story' and narrative are as critical as quantitative measurement for engaging stakeholders and understanding prevailing values.

APA

Hodge, R. A., Hardi, P., & Bell, D. V. (1999). SEEING CHANGE THROUGH THE LENS OF SUSTAINABILITY. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/background.pdf

Chicago

Hodge, R. Anthony, Peter Hardi, and David V.J. Bell. SEEING CHANGE THROUGH THE LENS OF SUSTAINABILITY. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 1999. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/background.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hodge |first1=R. Anthony |last2=Hardi |first2=Peter |last3=Bell |first3=David V.J. |title=SEEING CHANGE THROUGH THE LENS OF SUSTAINABILITY |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=1999 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/background.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hodge1999seeing, author = {Hodge, R. Anthony and Hardi, Peter and Bell, David V.J.}, title = {{SEEING CHANGE THROUGH THE LENS OF SUSTAINABILITY}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {1999}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/background.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }