A new tool to facilitate quantitative assessment of green activities - A trial application for Rio de Janeiro

A multi-criteria methodology for assessing the Rio de Janeiro State's green economy level, considering the most representative activity sectors, is proposed. Representative partial indicators on economic, social and environmental aspects are identified, leading to the multidimensional performance of each activity sector. The calculation of a single green economy index was avoided. Instead, a performance classification of the activity sectors is obtained. For each partial indicator, thresholds were chosen in order to define the classification ranges. The aggregation among the dimensions, looking for a global classification of the activity sectors, is done utilizing an interactive non-compensatory approach, i.e., an extension of the conjunctive method. A dashboard was built hence enabling a simple and interactive sensitivity analysis. The system proposed here is a user-oriented tool, very simple, in both conceptual and operational terms and supported by graphical representations with great flexibility. For instance, interactive sensitivity analysis experiences to adjust thresholds, i.e., the range of the classes concerning each partial indicator, can be done directly on the screen by using a mouse. In this paper, after outlining the used package, we present and discuss a case study regarding the evaluation of green economy level in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Some final considerations and future trends are sketched.