Categorising tools for sustainability assessment

Summary, in English

The aim of this paper is to provide a cohesive categorisation of the most common sustainability assessment tools within the broader objective of lifting the understanding of tools from the environmentally-focused realm to that of the wider concept of sustainability. The framework provided is based on four main categories: indicators/indices, regional material and energy flows, life cycle approach and tools for integrated assessment. Furthermore, there is the overarching category of monetary valuation tools that can be used as a part of many of the tools listed in the subcategories above. The paper also shows that many of the tools for sustainability assessment still fail to fulfil the demands of the complex environmental, social and economic systems as proposed by the promoters of sustainability science.