Does developed mean sustainable? -

Abstract

A simplified concept of sustainability is being widely discussed in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals because of the environmental threat that the world is facing. A more complete definition of this concept presented by the Brundtland Report and the Rio Declaration expresses sustainability as system that involves four different dimensions: economic, social, environmental and technological. The objective of this thesis is to analyze if the countries that are considered developed today are closer to this complete definition of sustainability by ranking them using a new composite index, the Sustainable Development Index (SDI). This ranking will help to derive conclusions that could suggest what policies are promoting positive outcomes and which ones should be reconsidered. The findings suggest that some of the considered developed countries today are closer to sustainability. However there are countries that present much better performance when compared to their Human Development Index (HDI) rank, due to successful policies that make them closer to the goal of sustainable development.