Balancing the sustainability in the 2030 agenda: the OECD countries

Abstract

ABSTRACT When assessing the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, the equilibrium among the dimensions of the sustainable development should be taken into account, recognizing the balanced and integrated nature of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To this end, we propose the use of a Balance Index to complement the performance indexes of the SDGs and the integration of sustainable development dimensions and experts’ opinions in the normalization process. The data source is the 2020 SDG Index Report proposed by the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Provide and analyse the performance and the balance indexes for OECD countries. Finally, we propose a visual matrix of the two indexes with four progress scenarios to orientate the decision-making. This proposal allows a more accurate quantification of the situation of each country and is, therefore, a useful tool for evaluating the integrated nature of the sustainability (SDG 17).