Sustainbility Indicators - the Promise and the Morass

Regarding a recent discussion with a colleague on the topic of indicators in general and sustainability indicators in particular, the key take-away ideas for me are as follows:

1. The value of info is in the difference it makes to decision making and accomplishments. If it does not change a decision that produces higher value than otherwise, the info is worthless, actually negative because it costs money.

2. Key tripping point is the conceptual foundation

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Real Transdiciplinary Sustainability Training

There are a few programs that have evolved over the years that would be widely viewed as delivering serious sustainability training. Such programs deliver the accurate understanding and powerful skills required to design effective solutions and authentic progress. These would include at the top of the list, the Masters in Leadership for Strategic Sustainability, Blekinge Instiute of Technology, Karlskrona (TNS), the Columbia University masters and PhD programs of its Earth Institute, and the Presidio Graduate School Sustainability MBA and MPA programs.

Now there is a new program on the global "block," the Master's (and PhD) in Programme in Social-ecological resilience for sustainable development at the Stockholm University and its Stockholm Resilience Center (research for governance of social-ecological systems). Check it out. It's a systems-based transdiciplinary integration of relevant knowledge and research methods for advancing understanding and practice.