Towards sustainability assessment follow-up

•We explore sustainability follow-up for three different sustainability models.•Long-time frames require adaptive follow-up and are a key follow-up challenge.•Other key challenges include interdisciplinarity, and trade-offs.•Sustainability follow-up should be a direction of travel and not an outcome.•Only the follow-up for contribution to sustainability model addresses sustainability challenges sufficiently.

This paper conceptualises what sustainability assessment follow-up might entail for three models of sustainability assessment: EIA-driven integrated assessment, objectives-led integrated assessment and the contribution to sustainability model. The first two are characterised by proponent monitoring and evaluation of individual impacts and indicators while the latter takes a holistic view based around focused sustainability criteria relevant to the context. The implications of three sustainability challenges on follow-up are also examined: contested time horizons and value changes, trade-offs, and interdisciplinarity. We conclude that in order to meet these challenges some form of adaptive follow-up is necessary and that the contribution to sustainability approach is the best approach.