Dilemmas in developing a sustainable built environment index

Indicators and indices are an important part of contemporary governance, giving a steer to preferred directions of change. Such indicators and indices are prepared not only by governmental bodies but also by non-government, economic and professional organisations. This paper presents a new index, commissioned by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, for measuring zero-carbon capacity in relation to the built environment. The index seeks to incentivise measures to build capacity at the national level for moving towards zero-carbon built environments. The paper discusses the methodological issues involved in preparing the index and the first two runs of results across an international sample. It highlights the choices that are inherent in any such index exercise.