Methods for sustainability practice

Many methods and tools for sustainability practice are available. Some more commonly used ones are introduced in this chapter. We do not provide a detailed explanation of each, as this information can be found elsewhere and sources are signposted throughout the chapter. We do comment, from experience, on their applicability, their key issues and their limitations. We have tried to provide a balanced view and hope this will help you to select the right approaches to achieve good sustainability outcomes for the specific context of the project in question.

These tools are useful in helping to build an evidence base and business case for sustainable solutions. However, they need to be used with care. Partial scoping or a bias in how they are applied can skew results. In many cases, they can be open to manipulation so that they provide the answer that is wanted. Nevertheless, when used effectively, they can reveal the necessary insights needed to support effective action.