Transcript Composite indicators of environmental sustainability Bedrich Moldan [email protected] Environmental sustainability  Environment is seen as one of the three pillars of sustainable development  A broader view does.

Composite indicators of
environmental sustainability
Bedrich Moldan
[email protected]
Environmental sustainability

Environment is seen as one of the three pillars of
sustainable development

A broader view does not restrain the distinct role of
the environment but points out its essential
interconnection with the other two pillars namely the
economic and social pillar

The term “environmental sustainability” stresses both
the specificity of the environment and its
fundamental anchoring within the sustainability
framework.
Demand for indicators of environmental
sustainability

There has been a need for indicators capturing the
linkages between the environmental and the other
two dimensions of sustainability (e.g. decoupling
indicators)

Such indicators cover well some of the essential
features of sustainable development but by no
means cover the issue of environmental
sustainability as such
Demand for a composite indicator

Decision-makers as well as the general
public would like to know at one glance what
is the environmental situation in a given
country - a clear request for developing a
single indicator that could serve as an overall
measure of environmental sustainability
Criteria for sound indicators

There are 3 essential criteria: salience, credibility
and legitimacy

Salience means that the indicator is interesting,
useful and relevant for the user. It must show
something “that really matters“ (a request for policy
relevance)

Among other things, the indicator should be able to
serve as a benchmarking instrument, to show trends
in time and set targets
Criteria for sound indicators – credibility
Credibility deals with the scientific validity of the
indicator:
 quality of data used for its construction
 methodology of indicators construction, aggregation
and other transformations
 adequacy of presentation
 and similar issues
Criteria for sound indicators - legitimacy

Legitimacy is the most difficult feature to define

It touches, e.g., the perception of the indicator, the
competence of the producer and his general
acceptability

Legitimacy is assessed from the point of view of a
wide range of potential users and stakeholders
whose interests, values, or beliefs might be affected
by the indicator (national governments, business
sector and civil society organizations).
Application of the criteria on
GDP and HDI
Salience
GDP
Low level of
arbitrariness
HDI
High level of
arbitrariness
Credibility
Legitimacy






Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)
It is a measure of the overall progress towards environmental
sustainability, developed for 142 countries.
Environmental Sustainability Index, 2002
80
70
60
Index
50
40
30
20
10
0
CAN
FRA
USA
GER
JAP
ITA
UKD
Dashboard of Sustainability (DS)
It is a software which allows presenting complex relationships
between economic, social and environmental issues. E.g it
calculates Sustainable Development Index (based on UNCSD
indicators)
Sustainable Development Index, 2000
800
700
600
Index
500
400
300
200
100
0
DEU
USA
CAN
FRA
JAP
UKD
ITA
Wellbeing index (WI)
It combines 36 indicators into the Human Wellbeing index, and 51
indicators into an Ecosystem Wellbeing index - combined into
the Wellbeing/Stress Index
Wellbeing of Nations, end of 90'ies
70
60
Index
50
40
30
20
10
0
CAN
DEU
JAP
USA
ITA
FRA
UKD
Ecological footprint (EF)
An index expressed as the area of ecologically productive land
needed to maintain its current consumption patterns and absorb its
wastes (carbon dioxide) with the prevailing technology.
Global ha per capita
Ecological Footprint, 2001
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
ITA
JAP
DEU
UKD
FRA
CAN
USA
Total energy footprint (Living Planet Report)
A country’s energy footprint is calculated as the area required to
provide, or absorb the waste from, fossil fuels (coal, oil,and
natural gas), fuelwood, nuclear energy,and hydropower.
Total Energy Footprint, 2001
7
Global ha per capita
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
ITA
JAP
DEU
CAN
UKD
FRA
USA
Direct Material Consumption (DMC)
DMC is a sum of all domestic extraction flows (extracted raw
material, harvested biomass, etc.) including imported and
excluding exported material flows
Domestic Material Consumption, 2002
40
35
t per capita
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
UKD
ITA
JAP
FRA
GER
USA
CAN
Does response matter?
ESI, DS, and WI
E-DS, EF, LPI, and DMC
Response element Included
 High correlation with GDP
 Some links among three pillars
of sustainability


Response element not included
 Low correlation with GDP
 Links between physical
anthropogenic activity affecting the
environmental parameters
Better suited for being
accepted as the indicators of
environmental sustainability
Geobiosphere Load Index (GBL)

It captures the most important factors of
environmental sustainability: energy, materials
and land

These sub-indexes can be regarded as the
essential components and prerequisites of
nature’s services

It focuses on pressures ( D-P-S-I-R
framework)
Geobiosphere Load Index (GBL)
Relative results expressed in the “per km2” and „per capita“
(the best results = the lowest GBL values)
Index
GeoBiosphere Load, end of 90'ies
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
GBL per km2
GBL per capita
CAN
USA
FRA
ITA
UK
DEU
JAP