What constitutes a credible and legitimate metric of sustainability?

Credibility of sustainability science will rely on its ability to assess progress towards the goal of maintaining adequate levels of well-being for future generations. Arrow et al. 2010 define sustainability based on the consumption function C(s) which is not limited to goods but also can be extended to leisure and health services among others. A discussion on the metrics of sustainability on session 12 highlighted the disagreement on whether this definition integrates key aspects of well-being. In my opinion the analysis made by Arrow et al 2010 as it stands will not be legitimate for decision makers and even more important for citizens across the world unless C(s) is expanded or modified according to other aspects associated to well-being. Despite that well-being in many cultures around the world relies strongly on our relationships with others, especially family and friends, the proposed framework lacks the incorporation of social capital. A key issue at the core of sustainability science will be how to integrate the diversity of views on what well-being means into a unified, comparable, and legitimate measurement of sustainability.

References

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Easterlin, R. A. (2003). "Explaining happiness." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100(19): 11176-11183.

Easterlin, R. A. (2009). "Lost in transition: Life satisfaction on the road to capitalism." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 71(2): 130-145.