Sustainability Indicators - Essay Example

There are several different types of indicators used in different fields, and the indicators of sustainability differ from other typical indicators employed for measuring social, economic and environmental progress (Sustainable Measures, 2010). Traditional indicators like stockholder profits, water quality etc. are not holistic in nature since they focus on a particular segment of the community; they do measure the progress of one component as if it was independent from other components of the community.

On the other hand, sustainability indicators are resourceful in measuring the interactions of three different aspects of the community i.e. the environment, the economy and the society (Sustainable Measures, 2010). Sustainability indicators (Sis) are those indicators which provide information regarding the feasibility of future goals depending on their social aspects such as material welfare, environmental quality and natural environment (Zhen, 2006). In other words, SIs is a means of finding how efficiently the community is satisfying the needs of its current and future members.

Sustainability indicators and indices have been used popularly for measuring progress and improvement in the sustainability of different ventures. Index is referred to as a composite number which develops from adding together more than one indicator. There may be different types of indicators and many of them are linked to each other, such that one indicator has an influence on the other (Morse, 2010). There are many differences between sustainability and traditional urban indicators. Dividing the traditional urban indicators into three types i.e. economic, environmental and social indicators, a comparison can be drawn up between sustainability and other urban indicators.

When considering environmental indicators, a traditional indicator would measure the ambient levels of pollution in air and water. On the other hand, a sustainability indicator would seek to measure the usage and production of toxic substances, as well as the miles traversed by vehicles. The focus of the environmental SI would be on the measurement of activities that lead to pollution. A typical social indicator might include an analysis of the SAT and other standardized test scores. Contrary to that, a SI would entail the measurement of the total number of students who are given training for jobs available in the community and the number of students who study in college and then return to serve the community.

The comparison between the two approaches used by the indicators is that SI focuses more on matching the job proficiency and training of people to the requirements of the community (Sustainable Indicators, 2010). 2. Introduce the sustainability indicator program. The sustainability indicator program that this paper will be focusing on is the Arizona State University (ASU) sustainability program. The Global Institute of Sustainability is the centre of sustainability initiatives at the ASU. The Institute specializes in the promotion of research, education and business practices for bolstering sustainability in the contemporary urbanizing world.

The Institute is focused on coming up with solutions to economical, environmental and social sustainability challenges the world faces today. The Institute, opened in 2007, was the first of its kind in the entire country. The goals of the Institute is to recognize the major sustainability ch