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Russian Dolls and Chinese Whispers: Two Perspectives on the Unintended Effects of Sustainability Indicator Communication

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  • Jari Lyytimäki
  • Henrik Gudmundsson
  • Claus Hedegaard Sørensen

Abstract

ABSTRACT Indicators are considered a key tool in assessing whether societies are progressing towards sustainability. In indicator development, the main emphasis has been on the production of new indicators. Various kinds of sustainable development indicators and indicator sets have been developed to describe and assess key trends at local, national and global level. We argue that it is at least equally important to focus on how, when and by whom indicators are actually used. In addition, the focus should be on what kinds of desirable and undesirable effects are related to the use or non‐use of indicators. Here, attention is paid to the negative, unintended effects of sustainability indicators in communication processes. Starting from an earlier typology focusing on health communication, various types of negative unintended effects of sustainable development indicators are identified and discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Jari Lyytimäki & Henrik Gudmundsson & Claus Hedegaard Sørensen, 2014. "Russian Dolls and Chinese Whispers: Two Perspectives on the Unintended Effects of Sustainability Indicator Communication," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 84-94, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:22:y:2014:i:2:p:84-94
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    Cited by:

    1. Brennan Lowery & John Dagevos & Ratana Chuenpagdee & Kelly Vodden, 2020. "Storytelling for sustainable development in rural communities: An alternative approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1813-1826, November.
    2. Sara Moreno Pires & Liam Magee & Meg Holden, 2017. "Learning from community indicators movements: Towards a citizen-powered urban data revolution," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(7), pages 1304-1323, November.
    3. Jari Lyytimäki, 2023. "Storylines nailing or failing sustainability: Energy, mining and mobility as narrative arenas for societal transition," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 170-179, February.
    4. Jari Lyytimäki & Hanna Salo & Robert Lepenies & Leonie Büttner & Jyri Mustajoki, 2020. "Risks of producing and using indicators of sustainable development goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1528-1538, November.
    5. Burcu Gürbüz & Herman Mawengkang & Ismail Husein & Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber, 2022. "Rumour propagation: an operational research approach by computational and information theory," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 30(1), pages 345-365, March.

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