Indicator Method as a Way of Analyzing the Level of Implementation of the Objectives of Sustainable Development

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to propose a combination of methods as part of the analysis of progress in the context of the achievement of one of the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 12: responsible consumption and production) by Poland and Slovakia using sustainable development indicators. The method used was diagnostic survey, comparative analysis, and within the framework of data collection, the techniques of content analysis and desk research, which were integrally combined in the research procedure. The implementation of the analysis indicated that surveillance using sustainable development indicators is associated with difficulties (for example, gaps in the availability of standardized data and difficult access to adequate data) and generalizations and subjectivity. This analysis showed that the countries are successively striving to meet the provisions that are related to Goal 12. Estimates of the degree of achievement of the goal are adequate for the duration of the goal. Priority activities of the countries should focus on increasing the level of development of ecological agriculture, striving to increase the efficiency of use of available resources, changing the approach to available resources (moving away from linear development), and changing consumption patterns (increased development of a closed-loop economy). Future research areas will focus on analyzing the level of implications of the goals of Agenda 2030 in Poland and Slovakia and developing developmental forecasts for both countries.