Assessing the use of sustainability indicators by stakeholders in local governments

Local governments are close to citizens and are moving faster than other public sector levels with regard to the integration of sustainability values in their operations and strategies. The assessment of sustainability aspects... [ view full abstract ]

Local governments are close to citizens and are moving faster than other public sector levels with regard to the integration of sustainability values in their operations and strategies. The assessment of sustainability aspects in local governments is an important issue as public sector organisations are major employers, providers of services and consumers of resources. These issues are associated to significant aspects and impacts in the sustainability of the organisation. Sustainability indicators have been extensively used to evaluate and communicate the state and progress of sustainability in organisations. They can cover robust, less bureaucratic, and more meaningful information to a variety of stakeholders than other similar tools. This characteristic has increased the use of sustainability indicators to respond to stakeholder demands for information about sustainability aspects related to organisations. Sustainability indicators have been also used to enhance stakeholder engagement in sustainability-related initiatives. This can increase the quality of sustainability decisions, since the information in these initiatives is then taken into consideration in more comprehensive ways. This research is aimed at assessing the use of sustainability indicators by stakeholders in local governments. This work is based on a survey questionnaire applied to local governments in Brazil. The findings of this research can provide insights to other levels of public organisations such as central and regional governments to adopt sustainability indicators as a tool to boost stakeholder engagement practices to measure sustainability aspects throughout the use of indicators. Sustainability indicators can be a useful tool to engage stakeholders in the sustainability assessment process in local governments. An increase of interaction between experts and non-experts of sustainability aspects could (i) enhance transparency of sustainability assessment processes, (ii) contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals as it increases partnerships to measure sustainability, and (iii) consequently promote the transition to more sustainable societies.

Keywords: Stakeholders’ engagement; sustainability indicators; collaborative process; interactive participation; public sector organisations.