5. Sustainability Measurement for Technology and Business Systems: Use of Currently Available Tools for Quantification

This chapter provides a review of the current state of the art in sustainability indicators or metrics for business and technology scales. These are the two scales at which the scientists and engineers have the most control over sustainability performance. At the business scale the purpose is to ensure investments to be secure and profitable, and for business to provide adequate support for the environment and the society. Three measurement systems are analyzed: the Global Reporting Initiative, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and an emerging method developed by the American Institute of Chemical engineers (AIChE), the first two being widely used. Of the technology systems, we cover the ones provided by the professional societies. The indicator system suggested by the Institution of Chemical Engineering (UK) explicitly lists the indicators under environmental, societal, and economic categories, but the AIChE system lists the most important technical indicators. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Life Cycle Assessment techniques are also presented to provide the context and tools needed for sustainability assessment at these scales.