This is a guest post by Eliot Allen, Curator at Transformative Tools.

In steering communities toward greater sustainability, one of the biggest challenges facing local government decision-makers is how to objectively gauge the sustainability impacts of proposed actions, as well as measure long-term progress toward goals. Compounding the challenge are the many moving parts of a city, from planning to public works to parks, and the need for different kinds of sustainability rating tools depending on what’s being rated, who’s doing the rating, and how and by whom will the rating be used.

A new global registry, Transformative Tools, is helping communities sort through these questions to find best-fit tool selections aligned with local goals and resources. A first of its kind, the registry contains 62 rating tools from 23 countries that meet the criteria for inclusion:

• Urban. A tool must assess one or more parts of the built environment beyond individual buildings.
• Sustainability. It must evaluate one or more aspects of well-being within the biosphere’s capacity to sustain future generations.
• Rating. The assessment must include a quantitative element.
• Tool. It must be a stand-alone procedure offered publicly to national or international markets.

Tools are organized in the registry according to the scale of built environment being rated, from neighborhood increments up to entire cities, and whether the sustainability scope is holistic or a single aspect. Tools range from web-served self-assessments that can be accomplished in minutes, like the H+T Affordability Index, project-level certification processes taking months, like SITES and the Living Community Challenge, and jurisdiction-wide programs extending for years, such as STAR Community.

To help communities sort through these choices, the registry offers tips and technical assistance in selecting the best-fit tool based on:

• Local decision-making context. 
• Suitability for intended users.
• Comprehensive versus single-purpose rating.
• Timeframe and costs to use.
• Local adaptability of rating criteria.
• Conformity with international standards.
• Tool provider background and user support.

Transformative Tools also provides news and events, a technical literature bibliography, links to sustainability appraisal knowledge hubs, including the Smart & Sustainable Cities Network, EcoDistricts, and the Community Indicators Consortium, and technical assistance for communities selecting tools.

The record-setting temperatures of 2014 make it abundantly clear that we must do more to shape climate positive and resilient communities. Getting these rating tools into more decision-making hands will help move the needle in that direction. Thus, the registry’s name is purposeful: these tools can literally help transform our communities and our collective future.

Please submit new tools, comments, events, and news to the Transformative Tools Curator.
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Guest Blogger: Eliot Allen, eliot@transformativetools.org