Sustainability Indicators to Assess Infrastructure Projects: Sector Disclosure to Interlock with the Global Reporting Initiative

Abstract

Infrastructure projects have great potential to impact the sustainability of cities due to typically being large-sized projects and having a high level of intervention. Thus, evaluating the sustainability of these projects through sustainability reports is highly relevant, mainly regarding their impacts on the environment, public health, and the local economy. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the most widespread and internationally accepted Sustainability report tool. However, the GRI does not have an infrastructure sector disclosure. This research addresses this gap by providing a sustainability assessment instrument for infrastructure projects that interlocks with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). An extensive and detailed literature review was conducted, identifying 97 potential indicators to measure the sustainability of infrastructure projects. These indicators were evaluated following a top-down approach, conducting a survey of professionals experienced in the relevant field using Lawshe's content validity ratio. The results showed that 42 indicators were validated as essential, with 21 of them, not specifically related to infrastructure projects, already covered by the standard disclosure of the GRI. This assessment enabled the proposal of a sector disclosure formed by 21 new indicators related to the environmental, economic, and social dimensions. This study closes a gap in the evaluation of the sustainability of infrastructure projects and contributes to the discussion about sustainability indicators in infrastructure projects.