Sustainable development: the role of the public sector, concepts, best practice, experience, comunication and reporting

The concept of sustainable development (SD) is an important focal point for decision-makers both in the Private (Singh et al., 2011) and Public sectors (Agenda 2030, UN). This article aims to fill the void in the literature regarding SD in the Public Sector. The purpose of this research is to conduct a bibliometric literature review on the topic. This study investigates the influence of public policy-makers that enhance society through SD. To conduct this analysis, the author uses the open-source Bibliometrix R-package for performing a comprehensive science mapping analysis (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017). The database used is WOS (Web of Science) which analyses the evolution of the topic over the last 30 years. The study starts with a framework of the concept of SD, which summarises the main steps leading to the definition of the 2030 Agenda. Then, the author conducts a Bibliometric analysis, which is a quantitative way to map the structure of science on the issue. The bibliometric literature review is composed of five parts: 1. Study Design; 2. Data Collection; 3. Data analysis (source, author and document); 4. Data visualization (Conceptual Structure, Intellectual Structure, and Social Structure); and 5. Interpretation. In conclusion, the research observes how the importance of the topic has evolved together with the awareness of Governments and the role of influencers in Public Institutions.