Discussion on Sustainability Assessment and the Japanese context

Abstract

Sustainability Assessment (SA) is widely recognized as a fundamental tool for shaping a sustainable society by integrating consideration of environmental, economic, and social impacts in various decision-making, unlike conventional EIA or SEA. On the other hand, there are few examples of SA in Japan, and discussions toward its institutionalization have not kicked off. This paper summarizes the international discussions on SA and the concerns of issues on SA that have been presented, focusing on key pieces of literature. This paper also shares the purpose and future research activities of the Study Group on SA, which was established within the Japan Society for Impact Assessment, to develop discussions on SA in the academic society.