The INPRO Methodology covers the six topical areas, that were listed in the UN Brundtland Commission Report and relevant to the assessment of long-term nuclear energy system sustainability: environmental impacts (resource depletion and stressors), safety (reactors and fuel cycle), proliferation resistance, waste management, infrastructure (including physical protection), and economics.
The ultimate goal of the application of the INPRO methodology is to check whether the nuclear energy system assessed fulfils all the criteria and hence the user requirements and basic principles and therefore represents a long term sustainable system for a Member State (or group of Member States). One possible output from an assessment is the identification of areas where a given nuclear energy system needs to be improved. Given the comprehensive nature of an assessment using the INPRO methodology, such an assessment would be expected to indicate clearly the specific attributes of an nuclear energy system that need to be improved.