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Sustainability Analytics
Toolkit for Practitioners
Creating Value in the
21st Century
Renard Siew
Sustainability Analytics Toolkit for Practitioners
Renard Siew
Sustainability Analytics
Toolkit
for Practitioners
Creating Value in the 21st Century
Renard Siew
CENT-GPS
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
ISBN 978-981-19-8236-1 ISBN 978-981-19-8237-8 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8237-8
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023
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This book is dedicated to all sustainability practitioners across multiple
jurisdictions who value and understand the importance of using analytics
to aid better, efficient and more impactful decision making. Your valuable
inputs through our various engagements have been instrumental in
shaping the structure of this book. To mum and dad, my deepest gratitude
for your continuous support even during these challenging times.
Preface
This book is a one-of-its kind sustainability analytics toolkit for practi-

tioners. It provides a framing on how analytical tools (e.g. frameworks,
standards, ratings and indexes) of varying sophistication levels have been
used to address, resolve and make complex decisions involving sustain-
ability issues and manage their risks. The toolkits presented in this book
are practical and relevant across multiple jurisdictions. They primarily
focus on how value can be created in the twenty-first century. Sustain-
ability practitioners will also find topics covered such as recommenda-
tions and tools to improve sustainability communication and stakeholder
engagement insightful.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Renard Siew
vii
Contents
1 Introduction to Sustainability Analytics 1

1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 What Is Sustainability Analytics? 3
1.3 Why Sustainability Analytics? 4
1.3.1 Knowledge Is Key 5
1.3.2 Minimise Cost and Supply Chain
Disruptions 5
1.3.3 Better Understanding of Emerging Risks
and Opportunities 5
1.3.4 Horizon Scanning/Future Landscapes 5
2 Classifications of Analytical Tools 7
2.1 Introduction 7
2.2 Frameworks 8
2.3 Standards 15
2.4 Ratings and Indices 19
References 25
3 Building/Infrastructure Sustainability Analytical
Tools (SATs) 29
3.1 Introduction 29
3.2 SATs for Buildings 30
3.3 SATs for Infrastructure 42
3.4 Benefits of Engaging with SATs 47
ix
x CONTENTS
3.5 Critique of Building/infrastructure SATs 48

References 52
4 Sustainability Decision Analytics 59
4.1 Cost–Benefit Analysis 59
4.2 Risk and Opportunity 60
4.3 Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) 63
4.3.1 Weighted Sum Model (WSM) Method 64
4.3.2 Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Method 65
4.3.3 TOPSIS Method 66
4.3.4 ELECTRE Method 66
4.4 Big Data Analytics 67
4.5 Uncertainty in Sustainability Measurements 69
4.5.1 Experimental Study on Uncertainty
in Measurements 69
References 73
5 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Impact
Investing Framework 75
5.1 Challenges and Risks 91
6 Sustainability Ratios 101
6.1 Introduction 101
6.2 Background 102
6.2.1 Corporate SATs (See Chapter 2 for Further
Details) 103
6.2.2 Link Between Corporate SATs
and Financial Ratios 104
6.3 Sustainability Ratios 104
6.3.1 Efficiency Ratios 104
6.3.2 Impact Ratios 105
6.3.3 Engagement Ratios 105
6.3.4 Innovation Ratios 107
6.4 Results and Discussion 108
6.5 Conclusion 109
References 111
7 Sustainability Communication 113
7.1 Challenges in Sustainability Communication 119
7.1.1 Stages of a Crisis 121
CONTENTS xi
7.2 Frameworks for Crisis Management

and Communication 121
7.2.1 Frandsen and Johansen (2011) Model 121
7.2.2 Major Crisis Models 122
7.2.3 Stewart and Wilson (2015) Model 124
References 126
8 Stakeholder Engagement 129
8.1 What is Stakeholder Theory? 130
8.2 Stakeholder Engagement Tools 131
References 150
9 Analytics for Sustainability Issues 151
9.1 Environmental Issues 151
9.1.1 Climate Change 151
9.1.2 Biodiversity 155
9.1.3 Air Pollution 162
9.1.4 Water 163
9.1.5 Waste 167
9.2 Social Issues 169
9.2.1 Health and Safety 170
9.2.2 Industrial Incident Reporting 176
9.2.3 Labour and Human Resource Management 177
9.2.4 Social Return on Investment (SROI) 198
9.3 Sustainability Governance 201
References 203
10 Sustainability Risks and Policies/Instruments 205
10.1 What Are Sustainability Risks? 205
10.2 Types of Risks 206
10.2.1 Physical Risks 206
10.2.2 Transition Risks 206
10.2.3 Liability Risks 206
10.2.4 Reputational Risks 207
10.2.5 Policy Risks 207
10.2.6 Market Risks 208
10.2.7 Technology Risks 208
xii CONTENTS
10.3 Policy Responses/Instruments to Manage

Sustainability Risk 209
10.4 Tools for Policy Analysis 213
References 215
11 Conclusion 217
Appendix A: RSPO Criteria and Indicators (RSPO, 2022) 223

Appendix B: Profitability, Leverage and Equity Valuation 245
Index 247
Acronyms
AGIC Australian Green Infrastructure Council

ALMO Active Labour Management Policies
ASPIRE A Sustainability Poverty Infrastructure Routine for Evaluation
ASR Asian Sustainability Rating
BREEAM Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment
Methodology
CBECS Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey
CDP Carbon Disclosure Project
CENT-GPS Centre for Governance and Political Studies
CERES Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies
DJSI Dow Jones Sustainability Index
DPSIR Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response
EES Economic, Environmental, Social
EFQM European Foundation for Quality Management
EGTT Expert Group of Technology Transfer
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
EIRIS Experts in Responsible Investment Services
ELECTRE Elimination and Choice Expressing Reality
ESG Environmental, Social, Governance
EU European Union
FPIC Free Prior Informed Consent
GBCA Green Building Council of Australia
GHG Greenhouse Gases
GIIN Global Impact Investment Group
GRI Global Reporting Initiative
HK-BEAM Hong-Kong Building Environment Assessment Method
xiii
xiv ACRONYMS
IBC International Business Council

IFC International Finance Corporation
ILG Investor Lenders Group
ILO International Labour Organisation
IMP Impact Measurement Group
IO Input-Output Analysis
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change
ISPO Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil
KLD Kinder Lydenberg Domini
LCA Life Cycle Analysis
LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
MBO Management by Objectives
MCDM Multi-Criteria Decision Making
MSPO Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil
NABERS National Australian Built Environment Rating System
NDCs Nationally Determined Contributions
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OHSAS Occupational Health and Safety Assessment System
PaLATE Pavement Life Cycle Assessment Tool for Environmental and
Economic Effects
PESTEL Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, Technology, Environmental,
Legislative
PMBOK Project Management Body of Knowledge
PSML Project Sustainability Maturity Level
RSPO Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil
SAM Sustainable Asset Management
SATs Sustainability Analytical Tools
SDGs Sustainable Development Goals
SEEA System of Environmental-Economic Accounting-Ecosystem
Accounting
SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
TCFD Taskforce for Climate Financial Disclosures
TOPSIS Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solutions
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNGC United Nations Global Compact
WBA World Benchmarking Alliance
WBCSD World Business Council on Sustainable Development
WSM Weighted Sum Method
List of Figures
Fig. 2.1 Three main classifications of sustainability analytical tools 9

Fig. 2.2 DPSIR framework (Source Kristensen, 2004) 10
Fig. 2.3 DJSI corporate sustainability assessment 21
Fig. 3.1 Methodology for Green Star award (Source GBCA,
2012a) 35
Fig. 3.2 BEE graph (Source CASBEE, 2002) 37
Fig. 3.3 ASPIRE’s framework (Source Gryc, 2012) 42
Fig. 4.1 PESTEL framework 62
Fig. 4.2 SWOT framework 63
Fig. 4.3 TOPSIS method 67
Fig. 4.4 ELECTRE method (Mal & Majundar, 2019) 68
Fig. 5.1 SDG integration in the investment life cycle 83
Fig. 5.2 How the SDG Impact Standards relate to other
principles, frameworks and tools 87
Fig. 6.1 Process flow for finalising list of sustainability ratios 104
Fig. 6.2 Incorporating Sustainability Ratios into existing ESG
investment approaches 108
Fig. 7.1 Shannon–Weaver model 114
Fig. 7.2 Types of noises in communication 119
Fig. 7.3 Framework for crisis management (Pangakar, 2016) 122
Fig. 7.4 STREMII model of social media communication
(Stewart & Wilson, 2015) 126
Fig. 8.1 BSR’s five-step engagement approach 132
Fig. 8.2 Onion diagram 133
xv
xvi LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 8.3 Circle of change (The size of circles determines

the influence of stakeholder groups) 134
Fig. 8.4 Relationship mapping (The lines represents
the relationships that exist between entities) 134
Fig. 8.5 FPIC Approach 138
Fig. 8.6 Three phases of stakeholder consultation 146
Fig. 8.7 Power/influence vs Interest matrix 148
Fig. 8.8 Different engagement levels 149
Fig. 9.1 SEEA Framework 159
Fig. 9.2 Waste Management Hierarchy 168
Fig. 9.3 Waste Measurement (Siew, 2019) 169
Fig. 9.4 Health and Safety Gap Analysis (ILO, 2016) 171
Fig. 9.5 Relative Risk Measure (ILO, 2016) 174
Fig. 9.6 Hierarchy of Control 175
Fig. 9.7 Steps involved in assessing sustainability competencies 179
Fig. 10.1 Steps involved in MBO 214
Fig. 10.2 Steps in operations research (Lewis, 2021) 215
Fig. 11.1 Summary of Chapters 219
List of Tables
Table 2.1 Summary of sustainability frameworks 12

Table 2.2 Sigma four-phase management framework 14
Table 2.3 PSML criteria 15
Table 2.4 RSPO criteria 25
Table 3.1 BREEAM criteria and subcriteria 31
Table 3.2 BREEAM award 32
Table 3.3 BREEAM’s criteria weightings 32
Table 3.4 LEED award 33
Table 3.5 Green Star criteria 34
Table 3.6 Green Star awards 36
Table 3.7 HK-BEAM criteria weightings 38
Table 3.8 HK-BEAM awards 39
Table 3.9 NABERS—office buildings 39
Table 3.10 NABERS award 40
Table 3.11 Differences between Green Star and NABERS 41
Table 3.12 AGIC’s three reporting types 43
Table 3.13 AGIC’s award 44
Table 3.14 Overall score of reporting tools 49
Table 3.15 Comparison between Green Star and NABERS
(as of 20/5/2012) 52
Table 4.1 Experimental results of post-occupancy survey
between a sustainable building and non-sustainable
building 73
Table 5.1 Investor’s Impact matrix (Impact Management Project) 78
Table 5.2 Principles of Positive Impact Finance 82
xvii
xviii LIST OF TABLES
Table 5.3 List of SDG Impact Investing Frameworks and Tools 92

Table 6.1 Efficiency ratios 105
Table 6.2 Impact ratios 106
Table 6.3 Engagement ratios 107
Table 6.4 Innovation ratios 108
Table 6.5 Content analysis on Top 30 NASDAQ Companies 110
Table 7.1 Sustainable Management Theory vs Sustainability
Communication Theory 116
Table 7.2 Theories on sustainability communication and corporate
reputation 117
Table 7.3 Internal crisis management (Frandsen & Johansen,
2011) 123
Table 7.4 Different models of crisis communication 125
Table 9.1 Scoring framework for CDP (CDP, 2021) 154
Table 9.2 TCFD elements 156
Table 9.3 AQI Range (SciJinks, 2021) 163
Table 9.4 Indoor Air Quality Parameters 163
Table 9.5 List of indoor air quality contaminants and acceptable
limits (DOSH, 2021) 164
Table 9.6 Water Quality Rating based on different Water Quality
Index methods 167
Table 9.7 Definition of health-hand safety indicators 178
Table 9.8 One- and Two-Tier Governance Systems (Sustentare,
2007) 203
Table 10.1 Examples of policies/instruments that address multiple
risks at different jurisdictional levels 211
CHAPTER 1
Introduction to Sustainability Analytics
1.1 Introduction
The term sustainability has gained much interest in the public domain
in the past few decades. Businesses and leaders worldwide have acknowl-
edged that its full meaning is complex, emerging from a myriad of sectors.
For some, it has also become a platform to forge one of the most
profound and meaningful transformations of this century, some calling
it, “The Sustainability Revolution” which calls on us to take collective
responsibility to design the future we want centred on humanity and the
collective interest of stakeholders.
The relevance of this call is more important than ever with companies
fast adopting new approaches and business models as they manoeuvre
complex environmental and social relationships. Increasingly, stakeholders
are requesting for more transparency when it comes to the reporting of
environmental, economic and social (EES) issues, the three main pillars
of sustainability. This has led to the proliferation of a range of tools in the
form of frameworks, standards as well as ratings and indexes with differ-
ences across geopolitical, socio-economic and industry sectors. While
some researchers have welcomed the more robust approach to sustain-
ability reporting, others have critiqued that this proliferation of tools has
led to more confusion in interpreting sustainability performance.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023
R. Siew, Sustainability Analytics Toolkit for Practitioners,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8237-8_1
2 R. SIEW
This book complements ‘The Sustainability Revolution’ in two ways.

First, it is intended to help readers, especially corporate sustainability prac-
titioners, ‘connect the dots’ by framing existing tools used to measure
sustainability and soliciting meaningful contributions from key experts
and practitioners that have been dealing with the emerging area of
sustainability analytics to understand the cost, impact and performance
of their sustainability initiatives. The different chapters in this book will
be extremely useful to both researchers and practitioners who are looking
for best-in-class practices and tools to create value from their sustainability
initiatives.
The book highlights that:
• Sustainability analytics is becoming significantly more important as

practitioners navigate the complexities of this emerging field across
different sectors.
• Effective use of sustainability analytics requires collaborating with
different stakeholders to overcome key challenges, factoring in
externalities and dealing with complex emerging technologies and
political systems. This needs to be done in line with the principle
of ‘not leaving anyone behind’ as highlighted in the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
• To harness the benefits of sustainability analytics, we should strive
to seek where human values can be embedded into these tools and
help shape the future agenda focused on improving livelihoods and
the state of our planet.
This chapter and Chapters 2, 3 and 4 present the framing on analytical

tools to measure and report on sustainability. This section takes a deep
dive into what sustainability analytics mean, existing tools that are used to
measure sustainability, and makes a case for the use of sustainability ratios
as a new narrative to define performance. There are sections that compare
and contrast these tools to highlight their key strengths and weaknesses.
Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8 focus on building a case for the impor-
tance of embedding sustainability analytics from the perspective of a
wide range of stakeholders: industry players, regulators, customers and
financiers. Evidence of positive impacts arising from the implementation
of sustainability analytics is documented. Issues surrounding sustainability
of businesses are often complex and uncertain, especially in a dynamic
1 INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABILITY ANALYTICS 3
operating environment. There is a growing need to integrate environ-

mental and social data into the different stages of decision making.
This section also explores a set of tools to conduct effective stakeholder
engagement that would lead to better partnerships. Innovation is key to
solving complex sustainability issues. In the past decade, there has been
an emergence of innovative technologies that aid better sustainability
analytics and ensure reporting that is more aligned to the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
Chapters 9 and 10 outline the intricacies of sustainability issues and
the specific tools that have been developed to navigate some of these
issues. Sustainability risks are discussed at length and how policies and
instruments can play a role in managing sustainability risks across multiple
jurisdictions.
Chapter 11 of this book concludes with a summary of these chapters
and provides a vision for systems leadership, summarising critical issues
that would require participation from key stakeholders and leaders from
all sectors to help curate a sustainable future for everyone.
1.2 What Is Sustainability Analytics?

Sustainability analytics is method of analysing, describing and interpreting
sustainability-related data to help entities (e.g. both private sector and
public sector) understand the impacts of their initiatives or programmes.
It helps entities make informed decisions using the latest techniques and
tools on a large amount of data across different time horizons: past,
present and the future. While it may not feel momentous to those dealing
with data crunching daily, it is not a minor change. Sustainability analytics
is essentially a new exciting and emerging field driven by increasing data
accessibility and improvements in technologies.
In general, there are three approaches to analytics.
• Descriptive—helps to answer the question on what has occurred?

Deals with data aggregation and data mining to provide insights of
the past (i.e. what is the companies’ carbon footprint, water and
waste generated?).
• Predictive—helps to answer the question on what could happen?
Uses statistical models and forecasting techniques to understand the
future (i.e. how much emissions can be reduced by leveraging on a
certain technology?).
4 R. SIEW
• Prescriptive—helps to answer the question on what should be done?

Use of optimisation algorithms to find best possible outcome (i.e.
comparing and contrasting best available technologies to achieve
maximum emissions reduction).
It is important to discern that sustainability analytics is not just descrip-

tive in nature although this seems to be the case for most companies. True
power lies in being able to leverage on sustainability analytics to provide
useful insights and aid decision making (predictive and prescriptive). In
essence, sustainability analytics provides an opportunity to frame a series
of conversations that can guide all of us—corporate leaders, policy makers
and citizens from diverse backgrounds to influence the world around us.
To do this, there is a need for us to dive deeper and understand the
way that sustainability analytics can play a role in helping us connect
with one another and influence us, reflecting and amplifying our core
values as we make decisions on design, adoption, reinvention and invest-
ment. It is almost impossible for us to develop partnerships or collaborate
in these areas unless we can appreciate the way that the three pillars
of sustainability (economic, environmental and social) interact with our
interventions. The real opportunity therefore is to leverage on the power
of sustainability data and explore ways to empower the greatest number of
people to create positive impacts in their own companies or communities.
In this book, we will not be dwelling too deeply into these three
analytics approaches as they have been covered extensively in the extent
literature on data analytics; rather, we will be focusing specifically on
sustainability analytical tools that would be useful for practitioners. Never-
theless, it is still important to note their existence. It is also important
to understand that we operate in systems—a set of norms, rules, expec-
tations and institutions that are fundamental to our economic, political
and social lives. These systems influence the way that we make decisions,
produce, work, consume and communicate. As we inch closer towards
the Sustainability Revolution, our systems and mindset will also shift
accordingly.
1.3 Why Sustainability Analytics?

One of the most common questions that leaders have is the big ‘WHY’
question. Why the need to focus on sustainability analytics? Under ideal
1 INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABILITY ANALYTICS 5
circumstances, if sustainability analytics can be matched with appro-

priate institutions, standards and norms, there are immense opportunities
to unlock value. Outlined are a few key arguments for investing in
sustainability analytics
1.3.1 Knowledge Is Key

We have heard this saying a lot that knowledge is key. Sustainability deals
with a broad range of issues—carbon emissions, eco-efficiency (waste,
water), health and safety to sustainable supply chains. If entities are adept
at leveraging on the power of sustainability analytics to discern the interre-
lationship between these sets of data, this could potentially lead to greater
insights and informed decision making.
1.3.2 Minimise Cost and Supply Chain Disruptions

Specifically, for companies, sustainability analytics can help identify excess
resource use and plan further ahead by anticipating future changes in
supply and demand of goods. This would minimise price shocks and
volatility in inventory management which saves cost.
1.3.3 Better Understanding of Emerging Risks and Opportunities

Entities need to evolve alongside a rapidly changing world. There are
constantly new legislations, frameworks and tools that are introduced
relating to sustainability, some regulated, some are not. Entities can
better understand key risks both within the country/organisation and
how external factors (i.e. political, technological) might impact its supply
chain. For example, if a new carbon tax was legislated in a country, a
company that has been keeping track of its carbon footprint will be able
to easily estimate the amount of tax that would need to pay or if water
cuts or floods are expected to occur, a company will be able to identify
key areas of operations that will be at risk and develop a contingency plan.
1.3.4 Horizon Scanning/Future Landscapes

Sustainability analytics allow the modelling of different scenarios that can
help an entity better understand the complex interplay between economic,
social and environmental factors. The ability to link, for example, climate
6 R. SIEW
projections (i.e. change in weather events and possibility of floods,

droughts happening) and interpret them alongside different geopolitical
developments (i.e. new legislation, technological developments) would
put entities in a much better position to strategise their future growth
plans.
A New Mindset
The Sustainability Revolution is creating a set of new challenges for the
world and this is happening at a time of rising social and political tension,
where citizens are exposed to not just economic and health uncertainties
(with COVID-19) but also the threat of natural disasters. The question
remains as to what sort of entities are required to help reset and create
a world that is inclusive and equitable; more importantly, what is the
mindset required in the use of sustainability analytics? There are three
principles that I think would be helpful in framing this thinking:
1. Systems thinking not just technologies—as alluded to earlier, we

operate in interlinked systems. While it may be tempting to shift
towards the use of tools and tech when it comes to analytics, what
would matter at the end of the day are systems that are focused on
delivering positive outcomes and this require co-operation among
different stakeholders.
2. Danger of the Einstellung Effect—we should not resign ourselves
to the inevitability of default options. The Einstellung Effect states
that when all you have is hammer, every single problem is a nail to
you. Sustainability analytics should be used to help with designing
and shaping new systems and new possibilities.
3. Focus on Value—we can easily get into the trap of wanting to
measure everything, but not everything that is measured is useful
for the entity. There is a need to think about the use of data for the
greater good and the question of value debated at all stages.
These three principles were identified in interviews with data scientists,

corporate sustainability practitioners, policy makers and entrepreneurs.
Together, they are a useful framework to evaluate, discuss and shape our
approach towards to use of sustainability analytics. We will be exploring
specific analytical tools in subsequent chapters.
CHAPTER 2
Classifications of Analytical Tools
2.1 Introduction
The Sustainability Revolution will indeed give rise to ecosystems of value
creation as different stakeholders begin to unravel how connected their
entities are to each other. The question is how fast can we achieve
this? There are three main challenges that would need to be resolved to
accelerate our current pace:
• Lack of sustainability data/disclosures—entities choosing not to fully

disclose their sustainability datasets due to reputational risk-fear of
judgement by the public—is the entity doing enough to address
material issues?
• Lack of stakeholder engagement—as key aspect to value creation is
listening to the concerns of stakeholders within an ecosystem and
the willingness to share data in an open and transparent platform.
We will cover more on this in subsequent chapters.
• Lack of resources—not having sufficient or competent resources
to assist with sustainability data collection/processing. Entities that
are new to the sustainability journey may not be familiar with the
availability of tools that exist to help them better disclose their
sustainability data.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8237-8_2
8 R. SIEW
With the advancement of technologies, data accessibility will improve

over time and allowing for better tracking and increased transparency—
sustainability analytics will also advance with this development.
One of the principles discussed in Chapter 1 was the importance of
having a systems view of things. Adopting a systemic perspective can be
advantageous to leaders when considering the application of sustainability
analytics, as they will be able to get clarity on how their specific interven-
tions (sustainability initiatives or programmes) are transforming the entity
(internal—from within) and other interlinked systems (external). Analo-
gously, there is also external pressure, an increasing demand for higher
levels of transparency from stakeholders on the reporting of sustainability
issues which has led to the proliferation of sustainability analytical tools
(SATs) in the market.
This chapter frames SATs into three broad classifications (Siew, 2015):
• Frameworks—a set of guiding principles and prescriptive sustain-

ability disclosures.
• Standards—a measurement of conformance or compliance against a
predetermined set of criteria.
• Ratings and Indices—a sustainability performance measure of enti-
ties, usually in a rank-and-file format to distinct between leaders and
laggards.
Note that there may be occasional overlaps between frameworks and

standards or ratings and indices. The subsequent chapters will dive deeper
into examples of these classifications which may be differentiated by
industries and geographical locations (Fig. 2.1).
2.2 Frameworks
DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) Framework

For: Companies, Public Sector
The DPSIR framework is useful when trying to map out a chain of causal
links of environmental incidents and can be used by a range of entities (i.e.
public or private sector). To illustrate, it begins with a set of driving forces
(i.e. economic sectors; human activities) that translate into pressures on
the environment (i.e. waste; pollution; emissions). These pressures affect
2 CLASSIFICATIONS OF ANALYTICAL TOOLS 9
Standards
Ratings and
Frameworks
Indices
Fig. 2.1 Three main classifications of sustainability analytical tools
the physical, chemical and biological states of the environment and bring
harmful impacts not only on the ecosystem but also on human health.
Responses from stakeholders (i.e. prioritisation; target setting for criteria;
policies) are then needed to eliminate these harmful impacts (Kristensen,
2004). The DPSIR framework is actually an extension of the pressure-
state-response model (see OECD, 2003) in the 1970s and is adopted by
the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
(UNEP, 2006). It is also currently used as an integrated approach for
reporting by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
Figure 2.2 illustrates an example of the relationships between these
causal links. The driving force is defined as a need; for example, the
driving force for a company is to generate profit via economic activity.
Driving forces motivate human activities, such as transportation or food
production, which exert pressures on the environment, for example,
direct emissions, production of waste and noise. As a direct consequence
of these pressures, the physical, chemical and biological states of the envi-
ronment are affected (air quality; water quality; and soil quality among
others). Changes in these states impact the quality of the ecosystem. As a
10 R. SIEW
result of these impacts, responses from either society or policy makers are
required (Kristensen, 2004). These responses have the potential to influ-
ence any part of the DPSIR chain. Using the DPSIR framework to map
out the causal links of human activities is important to obtain a systemic
perspective of the impacts that are created and can help with developing
an appropriate response to these impacts.
The Principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)

For: Companies
To help businesses embark on their sustainability journey, 10 principles
are introduced by UNGC spanning across areas such as human rights,
labour, environment and anti-corruption. It seeks the co-operation of
companies to embrace and support these principles within their sphere
of influence. Companies that are signatory members of the UNGC are
expected to develop a communication on progress which demonstrates
how the company has supported and is aligned to these principles every
year. These principles are outlined as follows (UNGC, 2011):
Human rights:
• Principle 1: Companies should support and respect the protection of

internationally-acclaimed human rights.
• Principle 2: Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights
abuses.
Responses
Driving forces
Policies and
Causes
targets
Pressures
Impact
Pollutants
State Health, ecosystem
Air and water quality
Fig. 2.2 DPSIR framework (Source Kristensen, 2004)

Labour:
• Principle 3: Companies should uphold the freedom of association

and the effective recognition of rights to collective bargaining.
• Principle 4: The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory
labour.
• Principle 5: The effective abolition of child labour.
• Principle 6: The elimination of discrimination in respect of employ-
ment and occupation.
Environment:
• Principle 7: Companies should support a precautionary approach to

environmental challenges.
• Principle 8: Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental
responsibility.
• Principle 9: Encourage development and diffusion of environmen-
tally friendly technologies.
Anti-corruption:
• Principle 10: Companies should work together against corruption in

all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
Broad Principle-Based Frameworks

For: Companies, Public Sector
There are also broad principle-based frameworks that exist to guide the
process of better sustainability reporting, such as:
• Natural Step
• Ecological Footprint
• CERES
• Sustainable Process Index
• 2001 Environmental Sustainability Index
12 R. SIEW
The underlying principles behind these frameworks, and which stake-

holder group would find these frameworks useful, are summarised in
Table 2.1.
Only two out of six of these frameworks (Natural Capitalism and
CERES) incorporate the triple bottom line concept on sustainability
(Elkington, 1998). The others (natural step, ecological footprint, Sustain-
able Process Index and 2001 Environmental Sustainability Index) are
predominantly focused on the environment, neglecting both social and
Table 2.1 Summary of sustainability frameworks
Principle-based Principles Who is this for?

frameworks
Natural step • Applies scientific • Companies

principles/laws of nature to
justify whether an act is
sustainable
• A methodology for
successful organisational
planning. Based on systems
thinking recognising that
what happens in one part of
the system affects another
Ecological footprint • Ecological footprint • Companies
introduced as an accounting
concept for ecological
resources
CERES • Represents a commitment • Companies
for companies to make
continuous improvements
and be accountable for their
business activities
Sustainable Process • Primary focus is on • Companies
Index anthropogenic material
flows, renewable resources
and the sustenance of a
variety of species and
landscapes
2001 Environmental • Components of • Public
Sustainability Index environmental sustainability sector/governments
include environmental
systems, reducing
environmental stress,
reducing human vulnerability
and global stewardship
economic criteria. CERES has been translated into what is now known as
the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
SIGMA Project
For: Projects
The SIGMA Project describes a four-phase cycle (leadership and vision;
planning; delivery; monitor, review and report) broken down into three
to five levels each to manage and embed sustainability within a company.
These phases and their purposes are described in Table 2.2.
Project Sustainability Maturity Level (PSML)

For: Projects
Project management has traditionally focused on outcomes such as cost,
time and quality with little to no consideration for environmental and
social issues. Silvius and Tharp (2013) propose two ways of looking at
‘sustainability in projects’:
i. Integration of economic, environmental and social aspects in the

management and delivery of project beyond cost, time and quality.
ii. Sustainability in project management stretches the system bound-
aries of the project. Given sustainability’s forward-looking orien-
tation, it would make sense to consider the entire life cycle of a
project from conception to its disposal phase (this will be covered in
subsequent sections of this book under Life Cycle Analysis).
While numerous scholars have proposed sustainability criteria that

can be embedded into project management (as per i), Siew et al.’s
(2013) project sustainability maturity level (PSML) framework is closest
to aligning with the core areas of Project Management Body of Knowl-
edge (PMBOK) which is seen as the authority in project management
studies. Under PSML, four maturity levels are defined, namely: Ad Hoc
(Lowest maturity), Defined, Managed and Integrated (Highest Maturity)
depending on their level of attainment following a set of criteria proposed
(Table 2.3).
14 R. SIEW
Table 2.2 Sigma four-phase management framework
Management phases Purposes
Leadership and vision • Develop a business case to address

• LV1: Business case and top-level sustainability and secure top-level
commitment commitment to integrate sustainability
• LV2: Vision, mission and operating into core processes
principles • Identify stakeholders and open
• LV3: Communication and training dialogue with them on key impacts
• LV4: Culture change • Formulate company’s long-term
strategy
• Raise awareness of sustainability
• Ensure corporate culture is supportive
of move towards sustainability
Planning • To ascertain company’s current
• P1: Performance review sustainability performance, legal
• P2: Legal and regulatory analysis and documents and voluntary commitments
management • Identify and prioritise company’s key
• P3: Actions, impacts and outcomes areas of sustainability
• P4: Strategic planning • Develop strategic plans to deliver
• P5: Tactical planning company’s vision
• Engage with stakeholders on plan
• Formulate tactical short-term plans to
support sustainability objectives
Delivery • Align and prioritise management
• D1: Change management programmes in line with company’s
• D2: Management programmes sustainability vision
• D3: Internal controls and external • Ensure appropriate internal controls
influences are in place
• Improve performance by delivering
sustainability strategies and action plans
• Exercise appropriate external influence
on suppliers, peers and others to
advance sustainable development
Monitor, review and report • Monitor progress against stated values,
• MMR1: Monitoring, measurement, strategies and performance objectives
auditing and feedback • Engage with internal and external
• MRR2: Tactical and strategic review stakeholders via reporting and
• MRR3: Reporting progress assurance
• MRR4: Assurance of reporting
Source SIGMA Guidelines (2008, p. 6)

Table 2.3 PSML criteria
Integration • Project development—strategic planning to create a consistent

document that can be used to guide the execution of
sustainability practices
• Project execution—the execution of sustainability practices
• Change control—the management of factors that create
changes in the sustainability practices of a project
• Information systems—the use of technology to ensure that
sustainability information is captured in a database
Scope • Business requirements—the incorporation of sustainability
practices in business related requirements
• Technical requirements—the incorporation of sustainability
practices in the technical requirements of the project
• Deliverables—the development of a detailed sustainability
project scope; work breakdown structure
• Scope change—the incorporation of additions, changes and
deletions to the scope of sustainability
Cost • Estimation—of the costs of resources needed to deliver
sustainability practices
Human resources • Resource planning—the planning of human resources required
to deliver sustainability practices
• Recruitment process—the hiring process of sustainability
professionals
Communication • Planning—how sustainability information is conveyed to
stakeholders
• Sustainability reporting—the collection and reporting on
sustainability progress of a project
Procurement • Planning—the consideration of sustainability issues in
procurement and the supply chain
• Contracts management—the development of contract clauses to
ensure that sustainability targets are delivered
2.3 Standards
Standards exist to provide guidelines on best-in-class practices, some
more specific than others. Examples of standards that cover the social
criteria are OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, UN Global
Compact, EFQM, OHSAS 18001, AS/NZS 4801 and SA8000. Guide-
lines on the management of environmental criteria can be found across
standards such as ISO14001 and EMAS. There are also industry-specific
tools, for example in the agriculture sector (specifically on palm oil various
sustainability standards exist—RSPO, ISPO, MSPO) or the building and
construction sector (BREEAM, LEED, Green Star see Chapter 3). In
16 R. SIEW
recent times, GRI has considered itself to be a standard for sustainability

reporting. These tools are introduced here.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

For: Companies
GRI started off as a global voluntary reporting framework founded
in 1997 by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies
(CERES) (GRI, 2011). Subsequent versions of the GRI guidelines have
been issued, namely G3 and G3.1 with a stronger emphasis on clarity,
purpose of criteria as well as the process of reporting. GRI issues
sector supplements which are reporting guidelines specifically prepared
for different industry sectors. In recent years, a fourth-generation guide-
line (G4) has been launched where GRI is now considered a standard
for reporting and includes proposed changes to thematic areas such as
anti-corruption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The GRI guide proposes that a typical report should contain the
following elements: vision and strategy; company profile; governance
structure and management systems; GRI content index; and performance
criteria (economic, social and environmental). Performance criteria are
divided into either ‘core’ or ‘additional’. ‘Core’ criteria are intended to
identify generally applicable criteria and are assumed to be material to
most companies, whereas ‘additional’ criteria refer to emerging prac-
tices that may or may not be applicable to all companies. Materiality is
defined in GRI guidelines as criteria that reflect the companies’ significant
economic, environmental and social impacts or that would substantively
influence the Chester and Woofter (2005) claim that the number of
companies using GRI’s guidelines has been increasing and attribute this
to several reasons:
• Demand for social and environmental criteria. Chester and Woofter

(2005) point out that a company adopting GRI guidelines may be
able to efficiently reduce the time and effort spent responding to
demand for disclosures on social and environmental criteria.
• GRI-based reports are superior. ‘Several studies have shown that
GRI users score higher than non-users in a benchmark of overall
quality of sustainability reports’ (Chester & Woofter, 2005, p. 19).
AA1000
For: Companies
The AA1000 was designed to provide organisations with an internation-
ally accepted, freely available set of principles to frame and structure
the way in which they understand, govern, administer, implement, eval-
uate and communicate their accountability. There are three principles in
AA1000, namely the ‘Principle of Inclusivity’, the ‘Principle of Material-
ity’ and the ‘Principle of Responsiveness’.
A company is considered to adhere to the ‘Principle of Inclusivity’
(AA1000, 2008, p. 11) when:
• It is committed to be accountable to those whom it has an impact

on.
• It has in place a process for stakeholder participation (identi-
fying and understanding stakeholders; identifying, implementing and
developing appropriate, robust and balanced engagement strategies;
establishing ways for stakeholders to be involved in decisions that
serve to improve sustainability).
• It has in place necessary competencies and resources to conduct the
process for stakeholder participation.
• The engagement with stakeholders results in them developing and
achieving an accountable and strategic response to sustainability.
Adherence to the ‘Principle of Materiality’ is when a company

(AA1000, 2008, p. 13):
• Has a materiality determination process in place (determines criteria

from a wide range of sources such as the needs and concerns of
stakeholders, societal norms and financial considerations).
• Has in place or access to the necessary competencies and resources
to apply the materiality determination process.
• The materiality determination process leads to a balanced under-
standing and prioritisation of material sustainability criteria.
A company is considered to adhere to the ‘Principle of Responsiveness’

(AA1000, 2008, p. 15) if it:
18 R. SIEW
• Has in place a process for developing responses.

• Has access to necessary competencies and resources that would assist
the company in achieving their commitments.
• Respond in a comprehensive (addresses the needs, concerns and
expectations of stakeholders), balanced and timely manner.
• Has a process in place to communicate with stakeholders.
SA8000
For: Companies
The aim of SA8000 is to provide a standard according to international
human rights norms and national labour laws so that employees within
a company can stay protected and empowered. Other standards also
addressing similar issues (not covered here) are ILO Convention 1 (Hours
of Work), ILO Convention 29 (Forced Labour), ILO Convention 87
(Freedom of Association), Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, among
others (SA8000, 2008). Given the existence of these standards, ques-
tions arise as to which standard dominates (or would be applicable). The
SA8000 guideline provides a resolution by clearly stating that ‘a company
shall comply with national and all applicable laws, prevailing standards and
other requirements to which the company subscribes, and this standard
(SA8000). When such and other applicable laws, prevailing industry stan-
dards, and other requirements to which the company subscribes, and this
standard address the same issue, the provision most favourable to workers
shall apply’ (SA8000, 2008, p. 4).
The nine main criteria covered under SA8000 are child labour,
forced and compulsory labour, health and safety, freedom of association
and right to collective bargaining, discrimination, disciplinary practices,
working hours, remuneration and management systems.
ISO 14001
For: Companies
ISO 14001:2004 provides a generic requirement for environmental
management, which can be used as a common reference for communi-
cating about environmental criteria with stakeholders. The standard itself
does not specify the levels of environmental performance because this is

believed to be specific depending on the nature of each activity.
ISO 9001
For: Companies
ISO 9001:2008 provides the requirements for quality management. To
qualify, an entity must demonstrate an ability to consistently provide
products that meet the needs of the customer, and adhere to applicable
statutory and regulatory requirements. The entity must also demon-
strate commitment to enhancing customer satisfaction and have in place
a process for continuous improvement.
OHSAS 18001
For: Companies
The Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Specification (OHSAS)
18001 is an international occupational health and safety specification. Key
areas addressed are: planning for hazard identification; risk assessment;
training, awareness and competence; operational control; performance
monitoring and improvement; consultation and communication with
others (BSI, 2013).
2.4 Ratings and Indices

Ratings and indices have surfaced in the last decade to measure the
sustainability performance of various entities. As one would expect,
different terms have emerged over time to describe the sustainability
performance of specific industry sectors. For example, the capital markets
use the term environmental, social and governance (ESG) with refer-
ence to sustainability performance of companies whereas the property and
construction sector uses terms such as sustainable construction to refer to
the level of embeddedness of sustainability criteria. These analytical tools
are explored in this section.
Capital Markets
Many ratings and indices exist in the market which attempts to measure
ESG performance of companies such as KLD, EIRIS, SAM, FTSE4Good,
MSCI’s ESG index, Asian Sustainability Reporting (ASR), among others.
20 R. SIEW
Of these reporting tools, only a few actually disclose information about

the criteria and methodology used behind their ESG measurements. A
discussion of these major tools is summarised here for the reader.
Kinder Lydenberg Domini (KLD)

For: Financial Industry
KLD evaluates a company’s environmental, social and governance perfor-
mance. Its scoring is designed using a binary scale where a value of
‘1’ indicates the presence of a particular issue while ‘0’ indicates the
absence of an issue. KLD has its own independent research staff equipped
with industry and issue specialties (environment; community relations;
employee programmes and diversity; product safety and accessibility;
labour relations; human rights; and governance). The criteria assessed are
divided into ‘strengths’ and ‘concerns’. Typically, a KLD score is derived
by subtracting the ‘concerns’ from the ‘strengths’ to arrive at a single net
value (see Hillman & Keim, 2001).
Experts in Responsible Investment Services (EIRIS)

EIRIS functions as an independent, not-for-profit company which prides
itself as a global leading provider of research into corporate environ-
mental, social and governance criteria. It covers approximately 87 criteria
including climate change, human rights, supply chain labour standards,
relations with customers and suppliers, stakeholder engagement, board
practices and risk management. Each item is rated on an interval scale as
follows: −3 (High Negative), −2 (Medium Negative), −1 (Low Nega-
tive), 0 (Neutral), 1 (Low Positive), 2 (Medium Positive) and 3 (High
Positive) (EIRIS, 2011). EIRIS provides research covering approximately
3000 companies across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.
Sustainable Asset Management (SAM)

SAM rolls out a set of questionnaires which are specifically targeted at
CEOs, investor relations, sustainability departments and public affairs.
The scores obtained through these surveys are weighted accordingly
and form the basis for the inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability
Index (DJSI), one of the primary global indices used to track leaders in
sustainability-driven companies (UNEP, 2011).
Asian Sustainability Rating (ASR)

ASR employs a proprietary set of 100 criteria surrounding sustainability
and is grouped into four main categories: general, environmental, social
and governance. Scoring is done by a group of experienced investment
analysts in Singapore where one point is awarded for every criterion on
the list. Assessments are done solely based on publicly-available informa-
tion such as regulatory filings and corporate websites and the data have to
be within 18 months from the period the assessment is conducted (ASR,
2011).
Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)

DJSI, first launched in 1999, is a global sustainability benchmark
(DJSI, 2009). Firstly, the top 2500 companies in terms of float-adjusted
market capitalisation across industries/sectors are invited to participate
in a corporate sustainability assessment based on SAM’s questionnaire.
Companies are then filtered out as part of the DJSI construction process.
The stock performance of the world’s leading companies in terms of
social, economic and environmental criteria (the DJSI family) is then
monitored on a continuous basis. The process is shown in Fig. 2.3.
MSCI ESG Indices

MSCI provides investment decision support tools to over 5000 clients on
pension funds and hedge funds. MSCI generates scores for each appli-
cable criterion (environmental, social and governance). These scores are
then aggregated to form one composite ESG score which is mapped to
DJSI review and

SAMís questions DJSI construction family
validation process
Continuous monitoring
Fig. 2.3 DJSI corporate sustainability assessment

22 R. SIEW
a letter scale, much like the credit rating structure where AAA repre-
sents the highest sustainability performance while C represents the lowest
sustainability performance (MSCI, 2011).
FTSE4Good Index
The FTSE4Good inclusion criteria were developed with similar aims as
all the other tools, which is to provide investors a means by which they
could identify and invest in companies that meet the minimum require-
ment of socially responsible practices. To be included in the FTSE4Good
Index Series, companies must be able to meet bare requirements in five
criteria, namely working towards environmental sustainability, upholding
and supporting universal human rights, ensuring good supply chain
labour standards, countering bribery and mitigating climate change. It
liaises with EIRIS and other networks of international partners to research
on corporate performance in ESG. Some of the research mechanisms
involved are: a review of annual reports and publicly-available material;
research of company websites; and sending questionnaires to selected
companies (FTSE, 2011). The FTSE4Good Index series include: Global;
Global 100; UK; UK 50; UK 100; Australia; Japan; and Environmental
Leaders Europe 40 among others (FTSE4 Good Index Series, 2011).
Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE)-Corporate Social Responsibility Index

The SSE-CSR index tracks the performance of the top 180 compa-
nies listed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange which have the best-in-class
practices in corporate social responsibility.
Bloomberg ESG Disclosure Scores

Up to 2010, Bloomberg’s research into approximately 20,000 of the most
capitalised companies across 73 countries resulted in ESG data for only
3600 companies (Suzuki & Levy, 2010). Suzuki and Levy (2010) note
that although the response to Bloomberg’s Sustainability Survey has been
disappointingly low, companies’ coverage on ESG criteria have grown by
approximately 11–12% annually. In an effort to encourage companies to
disclose more ESG data, Bloomberg decided to score companies based
on their ESG data disclosure. The Bloomberg ESG Disclosure Score out
of 100 is based on GRI’s guidelines. There are four types of scores,
namely Environmental Disclosure Score, Social Disclosure Score, Gover-
nance Disclosure Score and ESG Disclosure Score (overall combination
of Environmental, Social and Governance Disclosure Scores) (Suzuki &
Levy, 2010). Weightings differ by sectors. For example, the omission of
the number of fatalities would not be considered significant for a retail
company but will be punitive for a company in the oil and gas sector.
Eccles et al. (2011) study the market interest in Bloomberg’s ESG data.
They find that generally interest in both environmental and governance
criteria supersedes social criterion.
Trucost
For: Companies
Trucost creates environmental profiles of companies accounting for 464
industry sectors worldwide and monitors about 100 different types of
environmental impacts (Trucost, 2013). There are four major steps in the
evaluation process. The first step involves conducting a segmental anal-
ysis to identify a company’s activities and accordingly assign revenues and
costs to each of these activities. The second step involves creating an
environmental profile depicting the company’s direct and supply chain
environmental impacts. The third step involves enhancing the profile
developed by incorporating publicly-available sources such as annual
reports and websites. Additionally, during this step, companies are invited
to verify the environmental profiles created for them. In the fourth
and final step, Trucost generates a report on companies’ environmental
impacts and makes suggestions to reduce these impacts (Trucost, 2013).
Not much information about these environmental profiles is disclosed
in the Trucost website although Marquis and Toffel (2012) did high-
light that Trucost has developed two environmental criteria, namely an
absolute disclosure ratio and a weighted disclosure ratio.
(i) Absolute disclosure ratio
The absolute disclosure ratio is the proportion of relevant environmental

criteria for which a company publicly discloses quantitative information.
24 R. SIEW
Trucost determines (a) the set of criteria relevant to a company based on

the industries in which it operates (the denominator) and (b) the subset of
those criteria that the company publicly discloses in annual reports, regu-
latory filings and company websites (the numerator). (Marquis & Toffel,
2012, p. 21)
(ii) Weighted disclosure ratio
The weighted disclosure ratio takes this concept a step further by incor-
porating the extent of environmental impact associated with each envi-
ronmental criterion. If Company A discloses only the ten least damaging
criteria out of 20 and Company B discloses only the ten most damaging
criteria out of 20, they will have the same absolute disclosure ratio but
very different weighted disclosure ratios, as Company A is concealing more
important information ... the weighted disclosure ratio shows how much of
the most important information was disclosed. (Marquis & Toffel, 2012,
p. 22)
Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Malaysian Sustainable

Palm Oil (MSPO) and Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO)
For: Palm Oil Companies
The palm oil industry has received a lot of attention in the media and
often linked to controversial issues such as deforestation which leads to
the destruction of habitats and concerns around labour practices. Yet,
palm oil is one of the most efficient crops producing more yield per
hectare compared to other oil-producing crops (e.g. rapeseed, sunflower).
To ensure the sustainability of palm oil, standards have emerged to guide
best practices in this industry.
RSPO has developed a set of environmental and social criteria which
companies must comply to produce certified sustainable palm oil. RSPO
is seen as the international benchmark for sustainable palm oil production.
Different countries have also since developed their own sustainable palm
oil standards arguing that RSPO does not sufficiently account for local
context (e.g. MSPO and ISPO).
To date, RSPO has in total more than 4000 members globally repre-
senting all links along the palm oil supply chain. RSPO’s principles are
divided into the following impact areas (see Appendix A for detailed
breakdown of RSPO criteria) (RSPO, 2022) (Table 2.4).
Table 2.4 RSPO criteria
Impact goals Objectives Principles
Prosperity A sustainable, competitive and 1. Behave ethically and

resilient palm oil sector ensuring transparently
long-term viability of the entire 2. Operate legally and respect
supply chain and shared benefits rights
for both private sector and the 3. Optimise productivity, efficiency
livelihoods of communities where an positive impacts and resilience
oil palm is grown
People Human rights protected, respected 4. Respect community and human
and remedied. The palm oil sector rights and deliver benefits
contributes to reducing poverty 5. Support smallholder inclusion
and palm oil production is a source 6. Respect worker’s rights and
of sustainable livelihoods. People conditions
participate in the processes that
affect them with shared access and
benefits
Planet Conserved, protected and enhanced 7. Protect, conserve and enhance
ecosystems that provide for the ecosystems and the environment
next generation. Ecosystems and
their services are protected,
restored and resilient through
sustainable consumption and
production and sustainable
management of natural resources
(sustainably managed, forest,
combat desertification, halt and
reverse degradation)
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United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). (2011). The Ten Principles. Founda-
tion of the Global Compact, New York. Viewed on 16 June 2021, http://
www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/index.html
CHAPTER 3
Building/Infrastructure Sustainability
Analytical Tools (SATs)
3.1 Introduction
The World Economic Forum (2011, p. 11) identifies the building sector
as an area that needs to be addressed, accounting as it does for ‘40% of
the world’s energy use, 40% of carbon output and consuming one-fifth of
available water’. The large use of electricity in buildings has been identi-
fied as one of the main culprits for high emissions across the globe. The
Centre for International Economics Canberra and Sydney (2007) reports
that 23% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in Australia come from
the energy demand of the building sector, while the US Green Building
Council (USGBC, 2011) claims that both residential and commercial
buildings account for 39% of total emissions in the United States, and
more than any other country in the world except China.
The increased recognition that buildings are substantial carbon dioxide
emitters (Reed et al., 2009), and contribute significantly to climate
change, puts pressure on construction industry practitioners to incorpo-
rate sustainability goals aside from the traditional project goals of cost,
time and quality. Translating sustainability goals into action at the project
level is exacerbated by the individual characteristics of countries, their
cultures, climates and types of buildings (Ugwu & Haupt, 2007).
As a result of a widely recognised need to identify models, metrics
and tools that would help articulate the extent to which current activi-
ties are either sustainable or not sustainable (Singh et al., 2009), SATs

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8237-8_3
30 R. SIEW
in the building/infrastructure sector have risen in popularity. Infrastruc-

ture includes transport (roads and bridges, bus and cycle ways, footpaths,
railways), water (sewage and drainage, water storage and supply), energy
(transmission and distribution) and communication (transmission and
distribution), among others (AGIC, 2012).
While Chapter 2 provides background information on corporate SATs,
this particular chapter focuses on providing a review of available tools
used to assess and report sustainability in the infrastructure and building
sectors. The tools are commonly used in their country of origin, particu-
larly if this is legislated, but are also adopted in other countries.
The structure of the chapter is as follows. The following three sections
explore, respectively, the nature of major building SATs, infrastructure
SATs and life cycle tools applicable to both buildings and infrastruc-
ture. Next, a critique of these tools and conclusions from the review is
discussed.
This chapter acknowledges that the multiplicity of terms in SATs can
be confusing to the reader. As such, it is important to clarify some of this
terminology upfront. Typically, for most SATs, there are levels of hier-
archy in the list of sustainability criteria proposed. To ensure consistency,
the top (highest) level of this hierarchy will be referred to as ‘criteria’ and
the next (lower) level as ‘subcriteria’.
3.2 SATs for Buildings

A review of some of the major tools applicable to buildings is given. This
is followed, after a similar review for infrastructure and life cycle tools, by
a critique.
BREEAM
Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method
(BREEAM), established in 1990, was first launched in the UK with office
buildings in mind (Bonham-Carter, 2010; Sharifi & Murayama, 2013),
but later expanded in scope to also include specific schemes for residen-
tial housing and neighbourhoods. It is perceived to be one of the world’s
foremost environmental reporting tools for buildings (Crawley & Aho,
1999). Scores are awarded to 10 criteria—management, health and well-
being, energy, transport, water, materials, waste, land use and ecology,
pollution and innovation—according to performance, and summed to
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to themselves the office of escort. Quite gleefully they followed her,
as she, unconscious of their presence, trudged toward the hotel. She
was so thoughtful as to save them even the small trouble of
transporting her.
“Like the feller that let the bear chase him into camp so’s he could
shoot his meat nigh home,” whispered one of the gentlemen.
Carmel proceeded rapidly; too rapidly for such precautions as she
should have observed. She was without plan; her mind was in such
chaos as to render planning futile. Instinct alone was not inactive....
No matter how shaken the objective faculties may be, those superior
subjective intuitions and inhibitions and urgings never sleep. Their
business is so largely with the preservation of the body which they
inhabit that they dare not sleep.
Quite without thinking; without a clear idea why she did so, Carmel
turned off the road and took to the woods. Self-preservation was at
work. Instinct was in control.... The gentlemen behind quickened
their pace, disgruntled at this lack of consideration on the part of
their quarry.... It was with some difficulty they found the place where
she entered the woods.... Carmel herself had vanished utterly. In that
black maze, a tangle of slashings, a huddle of close-growing young
spruce, it was impossible to descry her, to tell in which direction she
had turned. Nor did they dare make use of a flashlight in an effort to
follow her trail. However, they must needs do something, so, keeping
the general direction of the hotel, paralleling the road, they
proceeded slowly, baffled, but hopeful....
CHAPTER XXIII
IT is not easy for one unaccustomed to the woods to remain
undeviatingly upon his course even in the daytime; at night it can be
accomplished only by a miracle. Carmel, in a state of agitation which
was not distant from hysteria, had paused neither to consider nor to
take her bearings. Of herself she was utterly careless. The only
thought in her mind was to reach, and in some manner to give aid to,
Evan Pell if he remained alive. Instinct alone moved her to turn off
the road and seek the protection of the forest. Once engulfed in its
blackness she stumbled alone, tripping, falling, turning, twisting—
hurrying, always hurrying.... The physical exertion cleared her brain,
reduced her to something like rationality.
She paused, leaned panting against the bole of a great beech ... and
discovered she was lost.
The evening had been cloudy, but now the clouds were being
dissipated by an easterly breeze—a chilly breeze—and from time to
time the moon peered through to turn the blackness of the woods
into a cavern, dim-lit, filled with moving, grotesque alarming
shadows. The shape of fear lurks always in the forest. It hides
behind every tree, crouches in every thicket, ready to leap out upon
the back of him who shall for an instant lay aside the protective
armor of his presence of mind. The weapon of fear is panic.... Fear
perches upon the shoulder, whispering: “You are lost. You know not
which way to go.... You have lost your way.” Then there arises in the
heart and brain of the victim a sensation so horrible that words
cannot describe it; it can be realized only by those who have
experienced it. It is a combination of emotions and fears, comparable
to nothing.... It is a living, clutching, torturing horror. First comes
apprehension, then bewilderment. A frenzied effort to discover some
landmark, to tear from the forest the secret of the points of the
compass. One determines to sit calmly and reflect; to proceed
coolly.... The thing is impossible. One sits while the watch ticks fifty
times, and is sure he has rested for hours. He arises, takes two
steps with studied deliberation, and finds he is running, bursting
through slashings and underbrush in unreasoning frenzy. And frenzy
thrives upon itself. One wishes to shout, to scream.... Fear chokes
him, engulfs him. Reason deserts utterly, and there remains nothing
but horror, panic....
Carmel experienced this and more. Throbbing, rending terror was
hers, yet, even at the height of her panic, there lay beneath it,
making it more horrible, her fear for Evan Pell. She uttered his name.
Sobbing, she called to him—and always, always she struggled
forward under the urge of panic. Even the little nickel-plated electric
flash in her pocket was forgotten. That would have been something
—light! It would have been a comfort, a hope.... How long she ran
and fell, picked herself up to stagger onward to another fall, she did
not know. For minutes the woods were an impenetrable gulf of
blackness; then the moon would emerge to permit its eerie light to
trickle through the interlacing foliage, and to paint grotesque patterns
upon the ground beneath her feet. Threatening caverns loomed;
mysterious sounds assailed her.... She was sobbing, crying Evan
Pell’s name. And then—with startling suddenness—the woods
ceased to be, and light was.... The heavens were clean swept of
clouds, and the moon, round and full, poured down the soft silver of
its radiance—a radiance reflected, mirrored, turned to brighter silver
by the rippled waters of the lake.... Carmel sank in a pitiful little heap
and cried—they were tears of relief. She had reached the lake.
It was possible to reason now. She had turned from the road to the
right. The Lakeside Hotel was to the left of the road, and, therefore,
she had but to skirt the shore of the lake, traveling to leftward, and
she must reach her destination.
She arose, composed herself, and, womanlike, arranged her hat and
hair. Then, keeping close to the water for fear she might again
become bewildered and so lose this sure guide, she started again
toward her objective.
As she turned a jutting point of land she saw, a quarter of a mile
distant, the not numerous lights which indicated the presence of
Bangs’s ill-reputed hostelry. This sure realization of the nearness of
danger awakened caution. It awakened, too, a sense of her futility.
Now that she was where something must be done, what was there
possible for her to do? What did she mean to do?... She could not
answer, but, being an opportunist, she told herself that events should
mold her actions; that some course would open before her when
need for it became imminent.
Small things she noted—inconsequential things. The lake had fallen
during the dry weather. She noted that. It had receded to leave at its
edge a ribbon of mud, sometimes two feet, sometimes six feet
wide.... This was one of those inconsequential, extraneous facts
which appear so sharply and demand attention when the mind is
otherwise vitally occupied.... She noted the thick-growing pickerel
grass growing straight and slender and thrusting its spears upward
through the scarcely agitated water. It was lovely in the moonlight....
She noted the paths upon the water, paths which began without
reason and wound off to no destination.... Her eyes were busy,
strangely busy, photographically occupied. No detail of that nocturne
but would be printed indelibly upon the retina of her brain so long as
she should live.... Details, details, details!
Then she stopped! Her hand flew to her breast with sudden gesture
and clutched the bosom of her waist. She started back, trembling....
Was that a log lying half upon the muddy ribbon, half submerged in
the receded waters of the lake? She hoped it was a log, but there
was something—something which arrested her, compelled her.... If it
were a log it was such a log as she never had seen before.... It had
not a look of hard solidity, but rather of awful limpness, of softness. It
sprawled grotesquely. It was still, frightfully still.... She gathered her
courage to approach; stood upon the grassy shelf above this shape
which might have been a log but seemed not to be a log, and bent to
peer downward upon it....
She thought she screamed, but she did not. No sound issued from
her throat, although her lips opened.... She fell back, covering her
face.... The log was no log; it was no twisted, grotesque drift wood....
It was the body of a man, the limbs of a man fearfully extended....
Carmel felt ill, dizzy. She struggled against faintness. Then the
searing, unbearable thought—was it Evan?... She must know, she
must determine....
Alone with the thing beneath her, with the fearsome woods behind
her, with the lonely, coldly glittering lake before her, it was almost
beyond belief that she should find the courage to determine....
Something within her, something stronger than horror, than terror,
laid its hand upon her and compelled her. She could not, dared not,
believe it was Evan Pell.
From her pocket she drew the little, nickel-plated flashlight and
pressed its button. Then, covering her eyes, she forced herself inch
by inch to approach the lip of the grassy shelf.... She could not look,
but she must look.... First she pointed the beam of the light
downward, her eyes tight-closed. Clenching her fist, biting her lips,
she put every atom of strength in her body to the task of forcing the
lids of her eyes to open—and she looked, looked full upon the awful
thing at her feet.
For an instant sickness, frightful repulsion, horror, was held at bay by
relief.... It was not Evan. Those soggy garments were not his; that
bulk was not his.... She dared to look again, and let none decry the
courage required to perform this act.... It was a terrible thing to
see.... Her eyes dared not remain upon the awful, bearded face.
They swept downward to where the coat, lying open, disclosed the
shirt.... Upon the left bosom of the shirt was a metal shape. Carmel
stared at it—and stared.... It was a star, no longer bright and
glittering, but unmistakably a star....
Then, instantly, Carmel Lee knew what had become of Sheriff
Churchill....
It was enough; she was required to look no more.... The spot was
accursed, unendurable, and she fled from it; fled toward the lights of
the Lakeside Hotel.... That they were lights of which she could not
beg shelter she did not think; that she was safer with the thing which
the lake had given up she did not consider. That the living to whom
she fled were more frightful than the dead whom she deserted was
not for her to believe in that moment. She must have light; she must
feel the presence of human beings, hear human voices—it mattered
not whose they were.
Presently, forcing her way through a last obstruction of baby
spruces, she reached the thoroughfare, and there, hidden by the
undergrowth, she stood, looking for the first time upon this group of
buildings so notorious in the county, so important in her own affairs.
The hotel itself, a structure of frame and shingles, stretched along
the lake—a long, low, squatting, sinister building. A broad piazza
stretched from end to end, and from its steps a walk led down to a
wharf jutting into the water. To the rear were barns and sheds and an
inclosure hidden from the eye by a high lattice—a typical roadhouse
of the least desirable class.... She searched such of its windows as
were lighted. Human figures moved to and fro in the room which
must have been the dining room. An orchestra played....
She had been on the spot but a moment when she heard the
approaching engine of some motor vehicle. She waited. A huge
truck, loaded high and covered with a tarpaulin, drew up to the gate
at the rear of the hotel. Its horn demanded admittance, the gate
opened and it rolled in.... She waited, uncertain. Another truck
appeared—high loaded as the first—and was admitted.... Then, in
quick succession, three others.... Five trucks loaded to capacity—
and Carmel knew well what was their load!... Contraband!... Its value
to be counted not by thousands of dollars, but by tens of thousands!
The facts were hers now, but what was she to do with them? To
whom report them?... And there was Evan. What mattered
contraband whisky when his fate was in doubt? Evan Pell came first
—she realized now that he came first, before everything, before
herself!... She asked no questions, but accepted the fact.
Keeping to the roadside in the shadows, she picked her way along
for a couple of hundred feet, meaning to cross the road and to make
her way to the rear of the hotel’s inclosure. There must be some
opening through which she might observe what passed and so make
some discovery which might be of use to her in her need.... She
paused, undecided, determined a sudden, quick crossing would be
safest, and, lifting her skirts, ran out upon the roadway....
There was a shout, a rush of feet. She felt ungentle hands, and,
dropping such inhibitions as generations of civilization had imposed
upon her, Carmel fought like a wildcat, twisting, scratching, tearing....
She was crushed, smothered. Her arms were twisted behind her, a
cloth jerked roughly over her face, and she felt herself lifted in
powerful arms.... They carried her to some door, for she heard them
rap for admission.
“Who’s there?” said a voice.
“Fetch Peewee,” said one of her captors. “Quick.” Then came a short
wait, and she heard Peewee Bangs’s nasal voice. “What’s up?” he
demanded.
“We got her. What’ll we do with her?”
“Fetch her in,” said Peewee. “Up the back stairs. I’ll show ye the
way.”
Carmel, not struggling now, was carried up a narrow flight of steps;
she heard a key turn in a lock. Then she was thrust into a room,
pushed so that she stumbled and went to her knees. The door
slammed behind her and was locked again.... She got to her feet,
trembling, wavering, snatched the cloth from her face, and looked
before her.... There, in the dim light, she saw a man. He stood
startled, staring with unbelieving eyes.
“Evan!...” she cried. “Evan!... Thank God you’re alive.”
CHAPTER XXIV
HE did not come toward her; did not move from his place, and then
she saw that he stood only by clinging to the back of a chair.... He
leaned forward and stared at her through eyes drawn by pain.
“You’re hurt!... They’ve hurt you!” she cried.
“My ankle only,” he said. “Sprained, I fancy.” Then, “What are you
doing here?” He spoke almost petulantly as one would speak to a
naughty child who turns up in some embarrassing spot.
“I—I found your letter,” she said.
“My letter?... Ah yes, my letter.... Then I—I brought you into this
trap.”
“No.... Evan, it was a fine thing you did. For me. You—have come to
this for me.”
“It was an exceedingly unintelligent thing—writing that letter.”
“Listen, Evan.... As long as I live I shall be glad you wrote it. I am
glad, glad ... to know there is a man capable of—of sacrificing and—
maybe dying for——”
“Nonsense!” said Evan. “It was a trap, of course. And I thought my
mental caliber was rather larger than that of these people. Very
humiliating.” He frowned at her. “Why did you have to come?”
“You ask that?”
“I most certainly do ask it. You had no business to come. Wasn’t my
failure to return a sufficient warning?... Why did you take this foolish
risk?”
“You don’t know?”
“I want to know,” he said with the severity of a schoolmaster cross-
questioning a refractory pupil.
“Must I tell?”
“You must.” Carmel was almost able to see the humor of it. A
pathetic shadow of a smile lighted her face.
“I didn’t want to—to tell it this way,” she said. “I——”
“Will you be so good as to give me a direct answer? Why did you
come rushing here—headlong—when you knew perfectly well——”
He paused and his severe eyes accused her.
She moved a step closer; her hands fluttered up from her side and
dropped again; she bit her lip. “Because,” she said, in the lowest of
voices, “I love you—and—and where you were I—wanted to be.”
The chair which supported Evan tipped forward and clattered again
into place. He stared at her as if she were some very strange
laboratory specimen indeed, and then said in his most insistently
didactic voice, punctuating his words with a waggling forefinger, “You
don’t mean to stand there—and to tell me—that you love me!”
Carmel gave a little laugh.
“Don’t you want me to?”
“That,” he said, “is beside the question.... You ... you ... love me?”
She nodded.
“I don’t believe you,” he said. “You couldn’t. Nobody could.... I’ve
been studying this—er—matter of love, and I am assured of my
complete unfitness to arouse such an emotion.”
Her heart misgave her. “Evan—you—you love me?”
“I do,” he said, emphatically. “Most assuredly I do, but——”
“Then it’s all right,” she said.
“It’s not all right.... I don’t in the least believe you—er—reciprocate
my feeling for you.... You are—er—deceiving me for some reason.”
“Evan—please—oh——” Her lips quivered and her voice became
tearful. “You—you’re making it—terribly hard. Girls don’t usually have
to—to argue with men to—to make them believe they love them....
You—you’re hurting me.”
“I—er—have no intention of doing so. In fact I—I would not hurt you
for—anything in the world.... As a matter of—of fact, I want to—
prevent you from being hurt....” At this point he bogged down, the
wheels of his conversation mired, and progress ceased.
“Then,” demanded Carmel, “why do you make me do it?”
“Do what?”
“Propose to you, Evan Pell. It’s not my place. I have to do all the
courting.... If you—you want me, why don’t you say so—and—and
ask me to marry you?”
“You—you’d marry me?”
“I don’t know.... Not—I won’t say another word until you’ve asked me
—as—as a man should.”
He drew a deep breath and, bending forward, searched her face with
hungry eyes. What he saw must have satisfied him, given him
confidence, for he threw back his shoulders. “I can’t come to you,” he
said, gently. “I want to come to you. I want to be close to you, and to
tell you how I love you—how my love for you has changed my life....
I—my manner—it was because I couldn’t believe—because the idea
that you—you could ever see anything in me to—to admire—was so
new. I never believed you—could.... I—was satisfied to love you. But
—Carmel—if you can—if some miracle has made you care for a
poor creature like me—I shall—Oh, my dear!—it will make a new
world, a wonderful and beautiful world.... I—I can’t come to you. Will
you—come to me?”
She drew closer slowly, almost reluctantly, and stood before him. His
grave, starving eyes looked long into hers.
“My—my dear!” he said, huskily, and kneeling upon the chair with his
sound leg—in order to release his arms for more essential purposes,
he held them out to her....
“Your arms are strong,” she said presently. “I had no idea.... You are
very strong.”
“I—exercise with a rowing machine,” he said.... And then: “Now we
must think.... I didn’t much care—before. Now I have something to
live for.”
His words brought Carmel back to the realities, to the prison room in
which they were locked, and to the men below stairs who had made
them prisoners for their sinister purposes.
“I have found Sheriff Churchill,” she said.
“His body?”
She nodded. “And this house is full of contraband liquor. Five big
trucks—loaded....”
“All of which is useless information to us here.”
“What—do you think they will do with us?”
Evan turned away his head and made no answer.
Carmel clutched his arm. “Oh, they wouldn’t.... They couldn’t.... Not
now. Nothing can happen to us now.”
“At any rate,” he said, gravely, “we have this. It is something.”
“But I want more. I want happiness—alive with you.... Oh, we must
do something—something.”
“Sit down,” he said. “Please—er—be calm. I will see what is to be
done.”
He sank into the chair, and she sat close beside him, clinging to his
hand. Neither spoke.... At the sound of footsteps in the hall outside
their heads lifted and their eyes fastened upon the door. A key
grated in the lock and the door swung inward, permitting Peewee
Bangs to enter. He stood grinning at them—the grin distorting his
pinched, hunchback’s face.
“Well,” he said, “here you be—both of ye. How d’ye like the
accommodations?”
Peewee evidently came to talk, not to be talked to, for he did not wait
for an answer.
“Folks that go meddlin’ in other folkses’ business ought to be more
careful,” he said. “But numbers hain’t.... Now you was gittin’ to be a
dummed nuisance. We’ve talked about you consid’able.... And say,
we fixed it so’s you hain’t goin’ to be missed for a day or so. Uh huh.
Had a feller telephone from the capital sayin’ you was back there on
business.”
“What—are you going to do with us?” Carmel asked.
“Nothin’ painful—quite likely. If you was to turn up missin’ that ’u’d
make too many missin’ folks.... So you hain’t a-goin’ to. Nope. We
calc’late on havin’ you found—public like. Sure thing. Sheriff’s goin’
to find ye.”
“Sheriff Jenney?”
“That’s him.... We’re goin’ to kind of arrange this room a little—like
you ’n’ that teacher feller’d been havin’ a nice leetle party here.
Understand?... Plenty to drink and sich.” He drew his head back
upon his distorted shoulders and looked up at them with eyes in
which burned the fire of pure malice. Carmel turned away from him
to determine from Evan’s face if he understood Bangs’s meaning. It
was clear he did not.
“Don’t git the idea, eh?” Peewee asked, with evident enjoyment.
“Wa-al, since we got a good sheriff and one that kin be depended on,
things is different here. He’s all for upholdin’ the law, and he aims to
make an example out of me.”
“Sheriff Jenney make an example of you!” Carmel exclaimed.
“Funny, hain’t it? But that’s the notion. You bet you.... Goin’ to kind of
raid my hotel, like you might say, and git evidence ag’in’ me. Dunno’s
he’ll find much. More’n likely he won’t.... But he’ll find you two folks—
he’ll come rampagin’ in here and find you together as cozy as bugs
in a rug.” Peewee stopped to laugh with keen enjoyment of the
humorous situation he described. “He’ll find you folks here, and he’ll
find how you been together to-night and all day to-morrer.... And
plenty of refreshments a-layin’ around handy. Reg’lar party.”
“You mean Sheriff Jenney will come to this hotel—officially—and find
Mr. Pell and myself in this room?”
“That’s the ticket.”
“Why—why—he’d have to let us go.”
“Sooner or later,” said Peewee. “Fust he’d take you to the jail and
lock you up—disorderly persons or some sich charge. Drinkin’ and
carousin’ in my hotel!... Course he’ll have to let you go—sometime.
Maybe after the jedge gives you thirty days in the calaboose.”
“Um!... I think I comprehend,” said Evan, slowly. “I—In fact, I am sure
I comprehend.... Sheriff Jenney did not originate this plan, I am
sure.... Nor yourself. It required a certain modicum of intelligence.”
“’Tain’t no matter who thought it up—it’s thought,” said Peewee, “and
when the town of Gibeon comes to know all the facts—why, I don’t
figger you two’ll be in a position to do nobody much harm.... Folks
hain’t apt to believe you like you was the Bible. Kind of hidebound,
them Gibeon people. Sh’u’dn’t be s’prised if they give you a ride out
of town on a rail.”
“Nobody would believe it. We would tell everyone how we came to
be here.” This from Carmel.
“We’re willin’ to take that chance,” grinned Peewee. “Seems like a
certain party’s got a grudge ag’in’ you, miss, and he allus pays off his
grudges.”
“As he paid off Sheriff Churchill,” said Carmel.
“Killin’,” said Peewee, sententiously, “is quick. This here’ll last you a
lifetime. You’ll allus be knowed as the gal that was arrested with a
man in the Lakeside Hotel....”
He turned on his heel and walked to the door; there he paused to
grin at them maliciously before he disappeared, locking the door
after him with elaborate care.
“They—nobody would believe,” said Carmel.
“I am afraid, indeed, I may say I am certain, everybody would
believe,” said Evan. “I have seen the reactions of Gibeon to affairs of
this sort. Gibeon loves to believe the worst.”
“Then——”
“We would have to go away,” said Evan, gravely.
“But—but the story would follow us.”
“Such stories always follow.”
Carmel studied his face. It was Evan Pell’s face, but for the first time
she saw how different it was from the pedant’s face, the
schoolmaster’s face, he had worn when first she met him. The
spectacles were gone; the dissatisfied, supercilious expression was
gone, and, in its place, she perceived something stronger, infinitely
more desirable. She saw strength, courage, sympathy,
understanding. She saw what gave her hope even in this, her
blackest hour. If the worst came to the worst she had found a man
upon whom to rely, a man who would stand by her to the end and
uphold her and protect her and love her.
Yet—she closed her eyes to shut out the imagined scenes—to be
branded as a woman who could accompany a man to such a resort
as the Lakeside, and to remain with him there for days and nights—
carousing!... She knew how she regarded women who were guilty of
such sordid affairs. Other women would look at her as she looked at
them, would draw away their skirts when she passed, would peer at
her with hard, hostile, sneering eyes.... That would be her life
thenceforward—the life of an outcast, of a woman detected in sin....
It would be horrible, unspeakably horrible—unbearable. She had
valued herself so highly, had, without giving it conscious thought, felt
herself to be so removed from such affairs as quite to dwell upon a
planet where they could not exist. She had been proud without
knowing she was proud.... It had not been so much a sensation of
purity, a consciousness of purity, as a sureness in herself, a certainty
that evil could not approach her.... And now....
“Evan—Evan—I am frightened,” she said.
“If only you had not come,” he answered.
“But I am here—I am glad I am here—with you.”
He stretched out his hand toward her and she laid her hand in the
clasp of his fingers.
“We have until to-morrow night,” he said. “Twenty-four hours.”
“But——”
“Empires have fallen in twenty-four hours.”
“Maybe—some one will come to look for us.”
He shook his head. “They will have taken care of that.”
“Then you—think there is no chance.”
“I—— Carmel dear, the chance is slight. I must admit the chance is
slight. But with twenty-four hours.... If——” His eyes traveled about
the skimpily furnished room, searching for something, searching for it
vainly. “If I could walk,” he said. “I’m—almost helpless.”
She went to him, trembling, the horror of the future eating into her as
if it were an acid-coated mantle. “I—I won’t be able to live,” she said.
He did not answer, for his eyes were fixed on the door which led, not
into the hall, but into an adjoining bedroom. They rested upon its
white doorknob as if hypnotized.
“Will you help me to that door?” he asked. “I’ll push the chair along.
You—can you keep me from falling?”
Slowly, not without twinges of hot pain in his injured ankle, they
reached the door. Evan felt in his pocket for his penknife, and with it
set about loosening the screw which held the knob in place. Twice
he broke the blade of his knife, but at last he managed the thing. The
white doorknob rested in his hand.
“There,” he said, “that is something.”
“What?... I don’t understand.”
He sat in the chair, removed the shoe from his sound foot and then
the sock. He did this slowly, methodically, and as methodically
replaced the shoe on his sockless foot. Then he lifted from the floor
the stocking and dropped into it the doorknob. It fitted snugly into the
toe.
“Er—I have read of such things,” he said. He grasped the sock by
the top and whirled it about his head. “Mechanics,” said he, “teach us
that a blow delivered with such an implement is many times more
efficacious than a blow delivered with the—er—solid object held
directly in the hand....”
CHAPTER XXV
“I HAVE come to the conclusion,” said Evan Pell, “that every man, no
matter what his vocation, should be a man of action. That is to say,
he should devote some attention and practice to those muscular and
mental activities which will serve him should some unexpected
emergency arise.”
“Yes,” said Carmel.... “Yes.”
“I find myself with little or no equipment for strenuous adventure.
This, we must admit, proves itself to be a serious oversight.”
“Do you know how long we have been shut in this room?” Carmel
demanded.
“I do. You were—er—propelled into this place at approximately ten-
thirty last night. It is now five o’clock to-day. Eighteen hours and a
half.”
“Nothing has happened—nothing!... We’ve been fed like animals in a
zoo.... I dozed fitfully during the night. We’ve talked and talked, and
waited—waited.... This waiting! Evan, I—it’s the waiting which is so
terrible.”
“There are,” said Evan, with self-accusation in his voice, “men who
would escape from this place. They would do it with seeming ease.
Undoubtedly there is a certain technique, but I do not possess it. I—
er—on an occasion I attended a showing of motion pictures. There
was an individual who—without the least apparent difficulty,
accomplished things to which escape from this room would be mere
child’s play.”
“To-night,” said Carmel, “the sheriff will come to this hotel, and find
us here.”
“What must you think of me?” Evan said, desperately. He turned in
his chair and stared through the window toward the woods which
surrounded the hotel upon three sides, his shoulders drooping with
humiliation. Carmel was at his side in an instant, her hands upon his
shoulders.
“Evan!... Evan! You must not accuse yourself. No man could do
anything. You have done all—more than all—any man could do....
We—whatever comes, we shall face it together.... I—I shall always
be proud of you.”
“I—I want you to be proud of me. I—the man will be here with our
food in half an hour.... Would you mind standing at some distance?”
She withdrew, puzzled. Evan drew from his pocket the stocking with
the doorknob in its toe and studied it severely. “This,” said he, “is our
sole reliance. It has a most unpromising look. I have never seen an
implement less calculated to arouse hope.”
He edged his chair closer to the bed, grasped the top of the sock,
and scowled at a spot on the coverlid. He shook his head, reached
for his handkerchief, and, folding it neatly, laid it upon the spot at
which he had scowled.
“A—er—target,” he explained.
Then, drawing back his arm, he brought down the improvised slung-
shot with a thud upon the bed.
“Did I hit it?” he asked.
“I—I don’t think so.”
“I knew it.... It is an art requiring practice.”
Again and again he belabored the bed with his weapon, asking after
each blow if he had struck the mark. “I fancy,” he said, “I am
becoming more accomplished. I—er—am pretending it is a human
head. I am endeavoring to visualize it as the head of an individual
obnoxious to me.”
“But why? What are you about?”
“I have heard it said that desperate situations demand desperate
remedies. I am about to become desperate. Do I look desperate?”
He turned to her hopefully.
“I—you look very determined.”
“It is, perhaps, the same thing. I am very determined. I am
inexorable.... Please listen at the door. If he comes upon us before I
have time to make essential preparations, my desperation will be of
no avail.”
Carmel went to the door and listened while Evan continued to
belabor the bed. “Decidedly,” he panted, “I am becoming proficient. I
hit it ten times hand-running.”
“But——”
“Please, listen.... You see how impossible it is for me to escape. I am
unable to walk, much less to make satisfactory speed.... You,
however, are intact. Also, if one of us is found to be absent, this
unspeakable plan must fail. I am working upon a plan—a desperate
plan—to make possible the absence of one of us—namely, yourself.”
“Silly!... Do you think I would leave you here—for them to—to do
what they wanted to?”
“If you escape they will dare do nothing to me. That is clear.
Undoubtedly they will be chagrined, and at least one of their number
will be—in a position to require medical attention. I trust this will be
so. I should like to feel I have injured somebody. A latent savagery is
coming to the surface in me.”
“But what are you going to do?”
“I think I had best assume the position necessary to my plan,” he
said. “Would you mind helping me to the door?”
He hitched his chair along until it stood close to the wall at the side of
the door opposite from its hinges. Evan flattened himself against the
wall where it would be impossible for one entering the door to see
him until well within the room.
“There,” he said. “You, also, have your part.”
“What—what must I do?”
“He will be carrying a tray of dishes. If—events should so shape
themselves that he should drop this, a tremendous and alarming
crash would result. It would spell disaster. You, therefore, will be at
the door when the man opens it, and will reach for the tray. Be sure
you have it grasped firmly—and on no account—it matters not how
startled you may be at what follows—are you to drop it. Everything
depends upon that.”
“And then——”
“A great deal depends upon yourself. The unexpectedness of our
attempt will militate in our favor. Should matters eventuate as I
expect, you will be able to leave this room. From that instant I cannot
help you.... But, an attempt on our part not being expected, I rather
imagine you will be able to make your way downstairs and out of
doors.... It is only a chance, of course. It may fail, in which event we
will be no worse off than we are at present.... You will then hasten to
Gibeon and take such measures as you conceive to be adequate.”
“I shan’t leave you.... I shan’t, I shan’t, I shan’t.”
His lips compressed and an expression appeared upon his face
which she had never seen there before. It was masterful, an
expression of conscious force. It was the real man peering through
its disguise. His hand clenched into a fist.
“By Heavens!” he said, “you’ll do as you’re told.”
“Evan!”
“Precisely,” he said. “Now make ready.”
They waited, wordless. It was five minutes perhaps before heavy
feet ascended the stairs, and they heard the rattle of dishes as the
man set down his tray to unlock the door. He thrust it open with his
foot, picked up the tray and stepped through the opening. Carmel
stood before him. She stretched out her hands for the tray and
grasped it.... As she did so, Evan Pell, standing poised over his
chair, swung forward his homely weapon.... His practice had made
for efficiency. The doorknob thudded sickeningly upon the man’s
bald head; he stood swaying an instant, then his knees declined
further to sustain his weight, and he folded up into a limp heap on
the floor.

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Sustainability Analytics Toolkit for

Practitioners: Creating Value in the 21st

ISBN 978-981-19-8236-1 ISBN 978-981-19-8237-8 (eBook)

Cover credit: Nirian/Gettyimages

This book is a one-of-its kind sustainability analytics toolkit for practi-

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Renard Siew

1 Introduction to Sustainability Analytics 1

3.5 Critique of Building/infrastructure SATs 48

7.2 Frameworks for Crisis Management

10.3 Policy Responses/Instruments to Manage

Appendix A: RSPO Criteria and Indicators (RSPO, 2022) 223

AGIC Australian Green Infrastructure Council

IBC International Business Council

Fig. 2.1 Three main classifications of sustainability analytical tools 9

Fig. 8.3 Circle of change (The size of circles determines

Table 2.1 Summary of sustainability frameworks 12

Table 5.3 List of SDG Impact Investing Frameworks and Tools 92

Introduction to Sustainability Analytics

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

This book complements ‘The Sustainability Revolution’ in two ways.

• Sustainability analytics is becoming significantly more important as

This chapter and Chapters 2, 3 and 4 present the framing on analytical

operating environment. There is a growing need to integrate environ-

1.2 What Is Sustainability Analytics?

• Descriptive—helps to answer the question on what has occurred?

• Prescriptive—helps to answer the question on what should be done?

It is important to discern that sustainability analytics is not just descrip-

1.3 Why Sustainability Analytics?

circumstances, if sustainability analytics can be matched with appro-

1.3.1 Knowledge Is Key

1.3.2 Minimise Cost and Supply Chain Disruptions

1.3.3 Better Understanding of Emerging Risks and Opportunities

1.3.4 Horizon Scanning/Future Landscapes

projections (i.e. change in weather events and possibility of floods,

1. Systems thinking not just technologies—as alluded to earlier, we

These three principles were identified in interviews with data scientists,

Classifications of Analytical Tools

• Lack of sustainability data/disclosures—entities choosing not to fully

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 7

With the advancement of technologies, data accessibility will improve

• Frameworks—a set of guiding principles and prescriptive sustain-

Note that there may be occasional overlaps between frameworks and

DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) Framework

Fig. 2.1 Three main classifications of sustainability analytical tools

The Principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)

• Principle 1: Companies should support and respect the protection of

State Health, ecosystem

Air and water quality

Fig. 2.2 DPSIR framework (Source Kristensen, 2004)

• Principle 3: Companies should uphold the freedom of association

• Principle 7: Companies should support a precautionary approach to

• Principle 10: Companies should work together against corruption in

Broad Principle-Based Frameworks

The underlying principles behind these frameworks, and which stake-

Table 2.1 Summary of sustainability frameworks

Principle-based Principles Who is this for?

Natural step • Applies scientific • Companies

Project Sustainability Maturity Level (PSML)

i. Integration of economic, environmental and social aspects in the