Leading metrics, sustainable development

Several issues, however, need further exploration. While considerable efforts have been made in developing performance metrics, leading metrics such as management metrics still require additional development. Such metrics, however, may differ considerably from one company or organization to another due to the varying cause-and-effect relationship within each company or organization. Moreover, while anecdotal evidence exists that links various impacts to a company s financial performance, further studies are needed to more explicitly link sustainability metrics to a company s exposure to risks and opportunities. 

Our civilization has taken many wrong paths in technology development that lead away from a sustainable future. To take a local example, consider the state of Pennsylvania and its posture toward energy. Our state has a population of about 12.5 million people. In October 2008, the Department of Energy ranked Pennsylvania third in carbon emissions (284.0 million metric tons) behind Texas (ca. 25 million people, 625.2 million metric tons) and California (ca. 37 million people, 395.5 million metric tons), so our per capita pollution... 

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