Overview on Sustainability Measurement in Public and Private Projects

The adoption of sustainability measurement criteria in public and private projects represents a crucial priority for ensuring compliance with sustainable development goals. Various European Union member states refer to European standards such as the European Green Deal and the Global Reporting Initiative, but they implement these with different interpretations according to national needs. To date, despite the centrality of issues related to sustainable development, a homogeneous framework that formulates universally adoptable KPIs is lacking. Even the Sustainability Methods and Criteria (MEC), although extremely valid and efficient, are left to the free choice of companies, which select them based on corporate culture and territorial context. This study aims to evaluate which tools and methods are currently in use to pursue sustainability objectives in projects, focusing on both the role of institutions in regulatory activities and the technological potential of industries, which is essential for innovation. In conclusion, the corrective potential of public-private partnerships (PPPs) will be investigated within a still unclear framework, closely observing their nature as hybrid entities that perfectly reflect the multidimensionality of the concept of sustainability, as well as all the incentives—financial and otherwise—that state and supranational entities provide to encourage their establishment. The goal is to underline the need for standardized and harmonized criteria for sustainability, in order to ensure that both infrastructural and non-infrastructural projects effectively contribute to achieving the SDGs. © 2024, AIDI - Italian Association of Industrial Operations Professors. All rights reserved