Sustainable technology management indicators: Objectives matrix approach

Abstract

In this paper, the concept of sustainable development is viewed in the perspective of the relations, influences and interactions in the spheres of technology management and natural resource development. The managerial methods, techniques and tools strongly rely on the measurement capacities and on the support of sustainability performance indicators. This paper, hence, focuses on the identification of the set of sustainability indicators at the macro level of national economy. They have been identified according to their social, economic, industrial and ecological dimensions, the priorities set by their contribution to technological development. The elaborated set of sustainability indicators are at the base of the Objectives matrix model (OMM), additionally equipped with the borders and goals determined by ecological rationality and technological policy of sustainable development. The model is empirically tested with concrete data on air quality in Serbia, while the benchmark indicator values had been drawn from Denmark. The results obtained by implementing the OMM in Serbia represent a base for valuable conclusions. The cause-consequential interaction of technological development and natural resources shows the importance of an integral, holistic approach introducing a new concept of sustainable technology management.