PRESS RELEASE
19 July 2017
GAPFRAME REVEALS THE WORLD IS IN A CRITICAL STATE
As a measurement of global sustainability the GAPFRAME (www.gapframe.org) is unique. Never before has the state of the world been measured across four sustainability dimensions and against the ideal of a safe space. The news is not good, the world in a critical state. The task is clear: moving the world to a safe space requires improvements in every one of the 24 issues measured.
The GAPFRAME translates the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into 24 relevant issues and then measures each country and region across four sustainability dimensions: Planet, Economy, Society and Governance. It maps the results to a target safe space, highlighting the resulting gap. To ensure strong sustainability the GAPFRAME ranks countries over the score of their lowest dimension.
This first GAPFRAME Report covers 155 countries, 20 Geographical and 3 Geopolitical Regions. It is published today by GAPFRAME.ORG, a group of multi-stakeholder sustainability thought leaders, driven by the desire to make it easier to deliver on the SDGs. This coincides with today’s launch of the GAPFRAME by Katrin Muff, PhD, at the UNPRME Global Forum which takes place during the High Level Political Forum Exchange in New York.
Why is the World Doing So Badly?
With a GAPFRAME Score of 5.1 the world is in a critical state with all four of its dimensions measuring less than 6.3. No surprise! Major threats in issues of peace & cooperation, structural resilience, business integrity and transparency result in Governance being identified as the priority dimension. However burning issues such as waste treatment, social integration, clean energy, innovation, and land & forest, represent equal threats in the dimensions of Planet, Economy and Society. On a slightly more positive note: biodiversity, sustainable consumption, carbon quotient, clean air and living conditions are at a critical stage.
The Time for Deliberation is Over, On to Action!
The GAPFRAME clearly outlines the priority issues for each nation so that governments, business, community and education can start to act. It provides a concrete starting point for strategic discussions on sustainability and an effective decision making tool to help focus on activities that can produce the best outcomes in closing the gap and bringing the world to a safe space.
Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever said:
‘The SDG’s provide the world with a framework to secure a sustainable future that works for everyone. To succeed we must understand where the gaps are. As has rightly been said, you treasure what you measure. That is why I welcome the GAPFRAME, which can play a helpful role in identifying the sustainable development priorities for each country and region.’
Report Highlights
Top Five Countries in the GAPFRAME RANK
Bottom FIVE Countries in the GAPFRAME RANK
Key Findings
- There is evidence that the more developed a country is, the more advanced it is at improving all its issues towards a safe space, of course with exceptions – e.g. USA ranking at 89.
- Planet (the environment) is the most challenged dimension with only 1% of countries contributing to a safe space.
- Scandinavian countries emerge as best practice examples on the journey to safe space
Notes to Editors
- All data in the GAPFRAME comes from trustworthy and publicly available sources.
2. A comprehensive explanation of our methodology is available here.
3. The online tool, GAPFRAME.org, offers the ability to view the data in multiple ways; by country, by region, by dimensions and by issue.
More about the GAPFRAME
- Watch Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever, introduce the GAPFRAME at the UNPRME Global Forum (Video 2 mins)
- Short Animated Video about the GAPFRAME (1.3 mins)
- Watch Katrin Muff, PhD, explain how the GAPFRAME can be used to translate the SDG’s into business opportunities (mini-lecture 17 mins)
- Article published in The International Journal of Management Education – The Gap Frame – Enriching the SDG Compass by translating the SDGs into relevant national Grand Challenges for strategic business opportunities
- Read the article published by the Swiss Federal Office of the Environment & Nature – Step by step towards a sustainable world
- GAPFRAME Report – July 2017
Media Enquiries
For more information or to arrange an interview or demo of the GAPFRAME online tool, please contact:
Belinda Sadouk: +41 79 236 6307 or via email: belinda.sadouk@bsl-lausanne.ch
