Addressing practical problems in sustainability assessment frameworks

It is widely accepted that complex decisions resulting in more sustainable outcomes require integration between different professional domains as well as those making and those affected by the decisions (stakeholders, actors). In practice, a lack of adequate knowledge-sharing across domains leads to consideration only of tried and tested practices and an over-reliance on monetary evaluations to determine ‘appropriate’ solutions. Furthermore, stakeholder and actor engagement is often inadequate due to the failure of decision makers to connect to the reality of the problem being addressed from the point of view of those affected by it or by wider considerations. Many assessment frameworks have been developed in order to enhance the explicit incorporation of sustainability into decision-making processes and to provide a means for stakeholders to contribute their judgement and views to the decision. Such frameworks have been useful in contextualising decision-making processes but have drawbacks in practical application. This paper describes experiences of developing assessment frameworks for water and related asset management decisions, discusses the limitations of their use in practice and draws upon current thinking in the field of sustainable development to suggest improved means of addressing complex problems.