Despite South Africa’s efforts in transitioning to a green economy, measuring the success of the transition is hampered by lack of available indicators. While measuring the progress of green growth is not only an issue faced by South Africa, but globally, it is a critically important to enable an assessment of the impact of green policies. The transition towards a green economy is likely to provide growth opportunities, however, there may be trade-offs in terms of realising socio-economic priorities. Clear definitions, robust performance metrics, and adequate data to enable performance measurement are crucial for providing evidence of whether policies have been successful. This is particularly important for South Africa which continues to try and combat unemployment, poverty and equality while simultaneously trying to strive towards environmental sustainability.