Economic Development Now

Sustainable economic development (SED) is a growing concept in policy circles that explores the intersection between environmental stewardship and economic growth. And like all good public policy, local governments are seeking ways to measure performance. “Green Metrics” (PDF) is a joint report between IEDC and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network that summarizes popular performance indicators used by governments to monitor and evaluate their SED goals.

It's a common misconception that sustainability relates only to the natural environment. Just as easily, sustainability can suffer from imprecision when working under an overly broad definition. That’s why at IEDC’s 2016 Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, our Sustainability Advisory Committee and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network held a joint convening of economic development and sustainability directors. One outcome of that meeting was agreement on the following definition of sustainable economic development:

"The investment in business, social, built, and natural environments that creates increasing prosperity for all, now and into the future."

As performance metrics are a hallmark of any high-performing economic development organization, this paper attempts to bring similar rigor to the concept of sustainable economic development. The report offers a compilation of the performance metrics or indicators most commonly found during a review of sustainability and economic development metrics used by 10 North American communities. Many (but not all) of these communities use the STAR Communities framework, which includes 500-plus measurable indicators to certify sustainable cities. Some communities organize their metrics into online data portals, while others communicate progress in annual or semi-regular reports. Many also track certain indictors across peer cities in order to benchmark performance. The communities included in this paper represent diverse population sizes and geographic regions, and include:

This report focuses primarily on metrics that communities of any size or budget can use. As well, most of the metrics can be used both by communities that have been engaged in sustainability efforts for a long time and those that are just getting started. Wherever possible, links are provided to sources where these data can be collected. Many are free and many come from federal databases, including the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The metrics are organized into eight categories:

• Local Economic Growth
• Local and Small Business Growth
• Greening Real Estate and the Built Environment
• Sustainable Workforce
• Transportation
• Equitable Growth
• Quality of Life
• Green Economy

A number of the metrics could easily fall into more than one category; in adapting them locally, users are encouraged to choose those that are most applicable and to organize them in the way that best reflects their community’s priorities and circumstances. Further, a list of “advanced metrics” is included toward the end of this document. Advanced metrics include those that are more difficult to collect or may require extra capacity from a community. All 59 metrics are listed in the chart below.

An additional goal of this paper is to demonstrate that an investment in sustainability can result in positive economic development outcomes, and vice versa. It is hoped that this paper will help strengthen the dialogue between economic developers and sustainability directors by showing both parties the many areas in which their interests coincide.