Sustainability assessment: basic components of a practical approach

The last few years have brought many experiments with forms of sustainability assessment, applied at the strategic and project levels by governments, private-sector firms, civil society organizations and various combinations. The attractiveness of the work so far suggests that it is now time to prepare for comprehensive adoption and more consistent application of the requirements and processes. The key first steps in sustainability assessment regime design are addressed in this paper. They centre on the basic sustainability requirements that should inform a transition to sustainability assessment; the main implications of these requirements for sustain-ability assessment decision criteria and trade-off rules; how to incorporate proper attention to the specific circumstances of applications into particular cases and contexts; and, more generally, how to design practical sustainability assessment regimes.