A. Grunwald, J. Kopfmüller

Sustainability Impact Assessment: Core tool for an appropriate implementation of sustainability in politics and law

Karlsruhe: Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe 2007 (Wissenschaftliche Berichte, FZKA 7349), 46 Seiten
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Summary

Political and legislative action and decision-making is a central place of determining future developments in modern societies. Facing the challenge of sustainability, the question comes up whether and in what respect these societal areas could be committed to follow this Leitbild. In contrast to considering only isolated political measures under aspects of sustainable development, a systematic sustainability assessment of political action could provide an occasion to orientate the entire political and juridical system and its outcomes to the idea of sustainability. In this report we will propose ideas how such a sustainability assessment could be conceptualised and organised. Major issues are the usage of the integrative concept of sustainable development as conceptual basis, a two-stage assessment process – comprising an assessment on the relevance of the political measures considered and the sustainability assessment itself –, the implementation of flexible elements in order to allow institutional learning, and the conviction that the commitment of the political system to implement the results of sustainability assessments (for example, by modifying existing regulations) is of highest importance.