To create a comparative index of national-level environmental sustainability and to provide a mechanism for making environmental management more quantitative, empirically grounded and systematic.

To provide insights into the processes that can negatively influence the sustainable development of countries, with particular reference to vulnerability to natural hazards.

To provide a comparative index of national-level environmental sustainability covering a number of sustainability dimensions.

To provide data that address the key issues of sustainability by combining indicators of human wellbeing with those of environmental sustainability to generate a more comprehensive picture of the state of the world.