Systemic indicator of sustainable development: Proposal and application of a framework

Human action is moving the levels of environmental, social, and economic systems far beyond the limits of sustainability. A great number of authors discuss the importance of monitoring and controlling the activities of people toward sustainability, but few discuss this issue through the systems-thinking and decision-making point of view. We contribute to this problem by proposing a framework for a methodologically developed indicator using systems theory as a background: the systemic indicator of sustainable development (SISD). An example of this indicator was developed using data extracted from the World Bank database of 219 countries through 47 variables based on the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs). The framework proposed improved ways of measuring and monitoring the sustainable development (SD) process of a country or any geographic spot. Public managers and academics could therefore attenuate the complexity of development by understanding the level of SD systemically and, using this information to make smart decisions, create a more sustainable world quickly and with less effort. Practical implications and future research opportunities are also discussed. •We propose a framework for an indicator using systems theory: the systemic indicator of sustainable development (SISD).•The framework was developed by using 47 variables of 219 countries based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).•The correlation between the UN's SDGs is discussed, connecting this issue with the decision-making process.•We plotted the SISD data of each country over the shapefile of the world political map.