ISO 37120 sustainable development indicators: Rio de Janeiro and the Latin American scenario

Abstract The socio-economic-environmental performance indicators have proved to be an important tool for monitoring and deciding in the management of cities, aiming at a more sustainable urban development. ISO 37120 represents a milestone in the standardization of sustainability indicators, enabling the comparison between different locations. The purpose of this study is to apply ISO 37120 to Rio de Janeiro and to analize both this process and the city’s performance in the Latin American scenario. There was an extensive documentary research to calculate the indicators of Rio de Janeiro. The comparison was made among Latin American cities that already had applied the standard and was based on standardized core indicators grouped according to sustainability axes. The application of the standard revealed weaknesses in obtaining data for Rio de Janeiro and managed to identify the city’s strengths and weaknesses in comparison with the others.