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Sustainability at the Local Scale: Defining Highly Aggregated Indices for Assessing Environmental Performance. The Province of Reggio Emilia (Italy) as a Case Study

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Abstract

In order to achieve improved sustainability, local authorities need to use tools that adequately describe and synthesize environmental information. This article illustrates a methodological approach that organizes a wide suite of environmental indicators into few aggregated indices, making use of correlation, principal component analysis, and fuzzy sets. Furthermore, a weighting system, which includes stakeholders’ priorities and ambitions, is applied. As a case study, the described methodology is applied to the Reggio Emilia Province in Italy, by considering environmental information from 45 municipalities. Principal component analysis is used to condense an initial set of 19 indicators into 6 fundamental dimensions that highlight patterns of environmental conditions at the provincial scale. These dimensions are further aggregated in two indices of environmental performance through fuzzy sets. The simple form of these indices makes them particularly suitable for public communication, as they condensate a wide set of heterogeneous indicators. The main outcomes of the analysis and the potential applications of the method are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The research was developed with financial support from the University of Parma (FIL 2002). Many thanks are due to Massimo Becchi (Legambiente Reggio Emilia) for providing the database and for his constant support. Also, the authors wish to thank Dr. Luigi Grossi (Department of Statistics, University of Parma) for technical advice. The final version of the manuscript was completed with the valuable contribution of four reviewers. Special thanks are also due to Dr. M. Pike and an anonymous reviewer for precious advice on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Nicola Clerici, Antonio Bodini & Alessandro Ferrarini

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  1. Nicola Clerici
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  2. Antonio Bodini
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  3. Alessandro Ferrarini
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Correspondence to Nicola Clerici.

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Clerici, N., Bodini, A. & Ferrarini, A. Sustainability at the Local Scale: Defining Highly Aggregated Indices for Assessing Environmental Performance. The Province of Reggio Emilia (Italy) as a Case Study. Environmental Management 34, 590–608 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-003-0196-x

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