Abstract
This paper discusses how efficiency and equity are treated in the indices for sustainability. Ecological Footprint (EF) is known as an index for strong sustainability, and is widely believed that it focuses on only the physical aspect of land productivity, and does not reflect any social aspects. However, the introduction of a measuring unit, global hectare, has made it possible for EF to take not just only inter-generational but also inter-regional, and hence inter-individual equity into account. Recently, Lenzen et al. (2007) has proposed a way to share environmental responsibility between producers and consumers. The way to deal with efficiency and equity in the index analysis is very important because it will crucially affect the policies that we should apply.
