Measuring Sustainable Development - UNECE

1 UNITED NATIONSC onference of European Statisticians Recommendations onMeasuring Sustainable DevelopmentConference of European Statisticians Recommendations onMeasuring Sustainable DevelopmentUNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPEUNECE UNITED NATIONS Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations on Measuring Sustainable DevelopmentThe last two decades have seen a proliferation of methods and indicators to measure Sustainable Development . Many countries and organizations have adopted Sustainable Development indicator sets to track progress towards a Sustainable society. However, the differences between the approaches remain large. Therefore, the Conference of European Statisticians (CES) set up in 2009 a joint UNECE /Eurostat/OECD Task Force to develop recommendations to harmonise the different ways in which Sustainable Development is being measured. The current publication presents the CES recommendations on Measuring Sustainable Development .

2 It includes a measurement framework and suggests indicators that can be used for international comparison. The publication takes into account existing approaches and the initiatives undertaken by the United Nations, Eurostat, OECD and individual proposed framework takes as a starting point the definition in the Brundtland Report (1987): Sustainable Development is a Development which meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs . The framework builds on three dimensions of human well-being:lhuman well-being of the present generation in one particular country ( here and now ). Human well-being should be defined according to what people regard as most important in their of future generations ( later ). The well-being of future generations depends on the resources the current generation leaves behind. These assets fall under four main types of capital: economic, natural, human and social capital.

3 Lwell-being of people living in other countries ( elsewhere ). This dimension captures the ways in which countries affect the human well-being of the rest of the world, for example, through international trade, financial transfers, migration, themes of Sustainable Development that should be measured are also identified, covering its environmental, social and economic aspects: subjective well-being, consumption and income, nutrition, health, housing, education, leisure, physical safety, trust, institutions, energy resources, mineral resources, land and ecosystems, water, air quality, climate, labour, physical capital, knowledge capital, and financial capital. Population is added as a context indicator. The publication proposes 90 indicators that can be compiled into different sets, based on the dimensions here and now , later and elsewhere , the specific themes of Sustainable Development , or suitability for international comparison.

4 The framework does not propose a one-size-fits-all approach but presents a flexible tool that can respond to a variety of Sustainable Development -English16 December 2013 10:53:46 UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPECONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN STATISTICIANS RECOMMENDATIONS ON Measuring Sustainable Development Prepared in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat)UNITED NATIONSNew York and Geneva, 2014 NOTEThe designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontier or Recommendations on Measuring Sustainable developmentPREFACEThe last two decades have seen a proliferation of methods and indicators to measure Sustainable Development .

5 A number of composite indicators have been proposed in the academic literature, and many national statistical offices have adopted sets of Sustainable Development indicators to track progress towards a Sustainable society. While these initiatives have helped to put Sustainable Development on the agenda of national and international institutions, the differences between the approaches remain large. Therefore, the Conference of European Statisticians (CES) set up in 2009 a joint United Nations Economic Commission for Europe ( UNECE ), European Commission (Eurostat) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Task Force to develop recommendations aiming to harmonize the different ways in which Sustainable Development is being measured. The Task Force followed up on the work of a previous UNECE /Eurostat/OECD Working Group on this topic which produced a publication Measuring Sustainable Development in current publication presents recommendations to assist countries in Measuring Sustainable Development .

6 It includes a measurement framework and suggests sets of indicators, including a small set that can be used for international comparison. The proposed framework is flexible and allows indicators to be presented in different ways. The Recommendations are a step towards harmonising the approaches and indicators already used by countries and international organizations. It takes into account existing approaches and the initiatives undertaken by the United Nations, Eurostat, OECD and individual Main messages in the publication summarize on a few pages the reasons why this work was undertaken, its theoretical basis and main conclusions. The Short Narrative provides an executive summary of the publication. Reading this part may be sufficient for those who would like to get quick information on the main outcomes of the main body of the publication, entitled Recommendations on Measuring Sustainable Development , describes in detail the measurement framework and proposed sets of indicators.

7 In the course of the work, the Recommendations were consulted with the members of the Conference of European Statisticians and its Bureau and endorsed by the Conference in June 2013. The Recommendations are expected to contribute to the ongoing United Nations processes for setting up Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the related targets and indicators, and defining a post-2015 Development agenda. The publication is primarily aimed at statisticians but it may also be relevant for policymakers, as policy targets for Sustainable Development are being formulated at national and international levels. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSvCES Recommendations on Measuring Sustainable developmentACKNOWLEDGEMENTSUNECE is grateful to all the organizations and experts who were involved in the preparation of these Recommendations. The Task Force consisted of high-level experts selected from the statistical and academic communities with strong experience in the area.

8 Representatives from several international and supranational organizations (OECD, Eurostat, the World Bank, the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development (UNCSD) and UNECE ) participated in the work. The following members of the Task Force and other contributors attended at least one Task Force meeting, and/or contributed to the drafting of the issue papers (in brackets is given the country/organization where the person worked at the time of preparing the Recommendations): Pat Adams (Canada), Michael Bordt (Canada), Matthias Bruckner (UNCSD), Frode Brunvoll (Norway), Torstein Bye (Norway), Barbara Fraumeni (United States), Mads Greaker (Norway), Wulong Gu (Canada), Gemma Van Halderen (Australia), Stephen Hall (United Kingdom), Liisa-Maija Harju (UNCSD), Kazi Islam (Canada), Robert Kornfeld (United States), Glenn Marie Lange (World Bank), Graham Lock (Eurostat), Branko Milicevic (UNCSD), Rachael Milicich (New Zealand), Marco Mira d Ercole (OECD), Thorvald Moe (Norway), Andr de Montmollin (Switzerland), Frederic Nauroy (France), Francoise Nirascou (France), Claire Plateau (France), Jason Russo (Australia), Andrea Scheller (Eurostat), Joachim Thomas (Germany), Vincent Tronet (Eurostat), and Oliver Zwirner (European Commission).

9 Rutger Hoekstra and Jan Pieter Smits of Statistics Netherlands shared the position of Chair and Editor of the Task Force. Lidia Bratanova, Tiina Luige and Vania Etropolska of UNECE provided the secretariat. Lieneke Hoeksma of Statistics Netherlands provided language editing support. Olga Kharitonova of UNECE prepared the layout of the Recommendations on Measuring Sustainable developmentCONTENTSPREFACE iiiACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vLIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xiMAIN MESSAGES xiiiSHORT NARRATIVE xviiIntroduction xviiConceptual background (Part I of the publication) xviiDimensions and themes of Sustainable Development (Part II of the publication) xviiSustainable Development indicators (Part III of the publication) xixThe Way Forward (Part IV of the publication) xxviRECOMMENDATIONS ON Measuring Sustainable Development 1 PART I. CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND 3 CHAPTER 1. Basic concepts and definitions 5 CHAPTER 2. Perspectives on Sustainable Development A brief historical overview Measurement of the economy Pre-Brundtland period: economic composite indicators Post-Brundtland period: composite indicators and SDI sets Harmonization of the measurement of Sustainable Development Five key issues in the measurement of Sustainable Development Starting point for developing indicators to measure Sustainable Development Environmental or broad societal perspective Integrated or future-oriented view Monetization Composite indicators or SDI sets 17 CHAPTER 3.

10 Linking capital to human well-being Now versus later Here versus elsewhere 20 PART II. EXPLORING THE DIMENSIONS AND THEMESOF Sustainable Development 23 CHAPTER 4. Measuring human well-being Concepts and definitions Selection of themes 26 CES Recommendations on Measuring Sustainable developmentCONTENTS viiiCHAPTER 5. Measuring capital Concepts and definitions Economic capital Concepts and definitions The impact on human well-being Physical indicators and valuation Selection of themes Natural Capital Concepts and definitions The impact on human well-being Physical indicators and valuation Selection of themes Human capital Concepts and definitions The impact on human well-being Physical indicators and valuation Selection of themes Social capital Concepts and definitions The impact on human well-being Physical indicators and valuation Selection of themes The limits of monetization 49 CHAPTER 6.