National metrics, sustainable development

Various metrics within each of the three dimensions of sustainability have long been well developed and used. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, literacy and poverty rates, and ambient concentration of urban air pollutants are some examples of economic, social, and environmental metrics employed at the national level. In businesses, financial metrics such as return on investment as well as certain metrics that reflect employee well-being and environmental performance, such as health and safety incident rates and regulated toxic releases, are also conventionally used. Sustainable development, however, requires further cross-functional integration of these metrics as well as the inclusion of additional metrics that facilitate more systemic and comprehensive multidisciplinary communication and thinking. 

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