- Although some businesses, organizations and people have varying definitions and ideas as to what sustainability is, according to the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States, sustainability means ensuring that the needs of both modern and future society can be met. While often the term sustainability is used in conversations and narratives related to protecting the environment, ensuring that future generations can meet their needs also requires policies that protect the social and economic foundations of society.
- Sustainability assessment tools can vary in subject and length, and often rely on qualitative and quantitative data to reach a conclusion. For example, an assessment tool may include surveys asking for a person's opinion and observations or ask for statistics and numerical data related to an issue or practice. More extensive assessment tools include numerous sections with multiple questions and data inputs related to a wide range of subjects and policies. While some tools are designed and utilized by the organization in question, often they are created, enacted and then analyzed by firms specializing in environmental and socioeconomic sustainability, such as Global Reporting Initiative.
- Many assessment tools are used to determine whether the activities of a business, organization or community are harming the local environment and ecology in the short and long term. Some of the environmental issues and factors a tool might try to asses include the carbon footprint of a corporation or community, whether a manufacturing process or a waste disposal system is polluting a region's water supply and soil, or if industrial and recreational activities are eradicating natural resources, such as trees and wildlife.
- The activities of businesses, agencies and governments can also damage the prospects of future generations, if they are not conducted in a manner that protects and respects the social cohesion, values and culture of a community. As a result, a sustainability assessment tool may evaluate whether a multinational corporation provides safe working conditions and fair wages for its local workers, or if a company's commercial activities are adversely affecting local customs and relations in a manner that might lead to regional or inter-regional conflicts. In addition, the tools might assess whether a government's policies protect the educational institutions of a society, so that future generations can gain the skills and knowledge they require to be competitive in the global marketplace.
- Sustainability assessment tools are also used to determine whether the activities of organizations and businesses are protecting or diminishing the future economic opportunities of society. For example, the tool may evaluate whether a business is training and hiring regional workers to promote local and sustainable economic growth, or if it is only importing temporary employees from another territory or region. Another assessment tool might examine whether a government's proposed taxation policy will create future economic opportunities for its local citizenry and businesses.
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