As a companion to the Pilot Global Commons Stewardship (GCS) Index, SDSN and its partners conducted a methodological review published as a Working Paper. This Working Paper provides additional transparency about the Pilot Index and discrete guidelines for improving further iterations. In particular, we address the categorization of the metrics, describe imputations and outliers, recommend the use of geometric means for aggregation, note areas needing greater data availability, and suggest new ways of interpreting this work in the narrative of the report.
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With pressures on Earth systems pushing them toward or beyond their tipping points, countries must act quickly. Biogeochemical processes provide stability and resilience for ecosystem services that serve the entire planet; therefore, multilateral efforts are necessary to protect and preserve these global commons. Good metrics serve as the foundation for such policies, but these data are currently missing or obscured in current policy discussions. The recent release of the Pilot Global Commons Stewardship Index at the Tokyo Forum in December 2020 provides critical support for a new era of sustainability efforts.