From indicators to composite indexes: an application of the Multi-Attribute Value Theory for assessing sustainability

The paper investigates the use of indicators in sustainability assessment of projects, plans and programmes and proposes an application of the Multi Attribute Value Theory (MAVT) for the definition of synthetic indexes of evaluation. With the aim of highlighting potentialities and limits of the proposed approach, the methodology is applied to a real case concerning a set of well-being indicators. The results of the study show that MAVT is suitable for dealing with the aggregation of indicators systems.