Measures of sustainability for Brazil

In 2001, UNESCO started monitoring the sustainability level of 193 countries. The algorithm used by UNESCO considers that sustainability will have been achieved when the 17 goals of sustainable development (SDG) have been attained, and that these goals are similarly important. UNESCO’s assessments are based on 409 measures (indicators); and on data provided by each government. According to UNESCO’s assessments, the sustainability level of Brazil has been improving since the beginning of the current millennia and is currently at 72.9/100 points. As this assessment does not seem to reflect the alarming levels of hunger and of deforestation in the country, this research looked into the causes of mismatch and concluded with suggestions on how to improve the algorithm so that results closely portray reality. The initial hypotheses were that discrepancies were due to poor data and or problems with the rationale behind the algorithm (i.e., with the understanding of sustainability, with the framework in which the concept of sustainability is represented, with the indicators considered in the framework, and or with the formulas and conditions used for assessment). To test these hypotheses, the sustainability level of Brazil was recalculated using an alternative algorithm and selected data from the World Bank’s dataset on sustainability. The results obtained suggested the opposite scenario than that portrayed by UNESCO’s assessment. Based on this exercise, six suggestions were made to improve the algorithm UNESCO currently uses to measure sustainability.