A new era for sustainable development : a comparison for sustainability indices

Abstract

Sustainability is rapidly moving from an abstract concept to a measurable state of dynamic human-ecological systems. The large number of economic, social, and environmental indicators currently available provides a view of system sustainability. In this respect, sets of sustainability indicators and aggregation of these indicators into indices are increasingly used to make policy decisions. The indices offer companies the opportunity to compare their sustainability performances on both local and global level. With the indices, provide companies an instrument for evaluating their performance and consequently adopting new targets or furthering their performance while allowing them to develop their risk management abilities for corporate transparency, accountability and sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to discuss conceptual requirements for Sustainability Indices and with using Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) analyze the differences and the relationship of DJSI Emerging Markets with DJSI Developed Markets in which North America and Europe is chosen.