Methodological choices for reflecting strong sustainability in composite indices

Composite indicators are widely used to represent sustainability or its underlying dimensions. Nonetheless, an alignment between the multiple choices made during their construction and the underlying conceptual framework is often lacking. This reduces the relevance of the composite indicator. This p...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Usubiaga-Liaño, A., Ekins, P.
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Recursos:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/66796
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/66796
Access Level:acceso embargado
Palavra-chave:Composite indicators
Environmental indicators
ESGAP
Strong Environmental Sustainability Index
Strong sustainability
Sustainability
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spelling Methodological choices for reflecting strong sustainability in composite indicesUsubiaga-Liaño, A.Ekins, P.Composite indicatorsEnvironmental indicatorsESGAPStrong Environmental Sustainability IndexStrong sustainabilitySustainabilityComposite indicators are widely used to represent sustainability or its underlying dimensions. Nonetheless, an alignment between the multiple choices made during their construction and the underlying conceptual framework is often lacking. This reduces the relevance of the composite indicator. This paper provides an overview of the theoretical implications of the choices made during the construction of strong sustainability indices, particularly focusing on reflecting environmental sustainability and the limited substitution capacity between different types of capitals. The theoretical perspective is complemented through an uncertainty analysis of the Strong Environmental Sustainability Index and the Sustainable Human Development Index in which the quantitative implications of choices made in the indicator selection, normalisation, weighting and aggregation processes are assessed. The results show that different choices significantly affect country scores. Given the conceptual implications of these choices in relation to strong sustainability, we conclude that the choices made during the construction of a composite indicator need to be aligned with the underlying conceptual framework. In a context in which a growing number of composite indicators is produced every year, it becomes of utmost importance to make sure that those that percolate to the decision-making process monitor what they are intended to monitor. © 2023AUL was supported by the María de Maeztu Excellence Unit 2023-2027 Ref. CEX2021-800 001201-M, funded by MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033.Ecological Economics202420242024info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10810/66796reponame:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigacióninstname:Universidad del País VascoInglésinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MCIN/CEX2021-001201-M/https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108192info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/es/© 2024 Elsevier B.V.Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 3.0 Españaoai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/667962026-06-18T09:23:17Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Methodological choices for reflecting strong sustainability in composite indices
title Methodological choices for reflecting strong sustainability in composite indices
spellingShingle Methodological choices for reflecting strong sustainability in composite indices
Usubiaga-Liaño, A.
Composite indicators
Environmental indicators
ESGAP
Strong Environmental Sustainability Index
Strong sustainability
Sustainability
title_short Methodological choices for reflecting strong sustainability in composite indices
title_full Methodological choices for reflecting strong sustainability in composite indices
title_fullStr Methodological choices for reflecting strong sustainability in composite indices
title_full_unstemmed Methodological choices for reflecting strong sustainability in composite indices
title_sort Methodological choices for reflecting strong sustainability in composite indices
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Usubiaga-Liaño, A.
Ekins, P.
author Usubiaga-Liaño, A.
author_facet Usubiaga-Liaño, A.
Ekins, P.
author_role author
author2 Ekins, P.
author2_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Composite indicators
Environmental indicators
ESGAP
Strong Environmental Sustainability Index
Strong sustainability
Sustainability
topic Composite indicators
Environmental indicators
ESGAP
Strong Environmental Sustainability Index
Strong sustainability
Sustainability
description Composite indicators are widely used to represent sustainability or its underlying dimensions. Nonetheless, an alignment between the multiple choices made during their construction and the underlying conceptual framework is often lacking. This reduces the relevance of the composite indicator. This paper provides an overview of the theoretical implications of the choices made during the construction of strong sustainability indices, particularly focusing on reflecting environmental sustainability and the limited substitution capacity between different types of capitals. The theoretical perspective is complemented through an uncertainty analysis of the Strong Environmental Sustainability Index and the Sustainable Human Development Index in which the quantitative implications of choices made in the indicator selection, normalisation, weighting and aggregation processes are assessed. The results show that different choices significantly affect country scores. Given the conceptual implications of these choices in relation to strong sustainability, we conclude that the choices made during the construction of a composite indicator need to be aligned with the underlying conceptual framework. In a context in which a growing number of composite indicators is produced every year, it becomes of utmost importance to make sure that those that percolate to the decision-making process monitor what they are intended to monitor. © 2023
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024
2024
2024
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10810/66796
url http://hdl.handle.net/10810/66796
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MCIN/CEX2021-001201-M/
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108192
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/es/
© 2024 Elsevier B.V.
Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 3.0 España
eu_rights_str_mv embargoedAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/es/
© 2024 Elsevier B.V.
Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 3.0 España
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Ecological Economics
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Ecological Economics
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
instname:Universidad del País Vasco
instname_str Universidad del País Vasco
reponame_str Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
collection Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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