EU SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

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• EU SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
• Workshop arranged by Statistics Sweden in
  cooperation with EurostatStockholm, 9-11
  February 2004

Economic development an additional item in the
set of themes considered for sustainable
development indicators
Cesare Costantino
Istat
Central Direction of National Accounts,
Environmental Accounting Unit
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The EU political basis and the Eurostat framework
for SDI
For the ESS Task Force on Sustainable Development
Indicators, considering the political basis has
been the starting point for identifying the best
needed indicators
Sustainable Development
environmental
economic
social
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The political basis and the framework for SDI in
Italy

• The current political basis in Italy is given by
  the
• Environmental Strategy Action Plan for
  Sustainable Development in Italy
• (ESAPSD, approved in 2002 by the Committee on
  Economic Planning)

SD
ESAPSD
environmental
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Some important statements in the Italian strategy
Sustainable development cannot be based on a
mere environmental action

• not only environmental protection

shown in the Eurostat Preliminary list of SDI rev
2 (at level III)

• social cohesion

• economic sustainability goals in the field of

employment
inflation
international trade stability
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The framework for SDI in the Italian strategy
ESAPSD
SD
Four broad priority subject matters, the same
stated by the EUs VI Environmental Action
Programme
No economic theme is defined
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The list of SDI in the Italian strategy
Indicators (from environmental statistics and
accounts) are included among environmental action
tools

• No macro-economic aggregate is included

Does this mean that macro-economic goals are
neglegible as compared to environmental goals?
Is macro-economic information to be overlooked
because one can assume that it is automatically
considered in the debate on SD?
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Economic aspects in the Eurostat list of SDI

• about the set of indicators

apart from the indicators identified for the
theme Economic development, economic aspects
are (might/should be) touched by indicators
located anywhere in the whole set of SDI

• about the framework

economic sub-themes can be found under the
themes Economic development and Ageing
society
under the theme Production and consumption
patterns economic-environmental sub-themes can
be found
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Few comments on the indicators for the theme
Economic development
In general, the intention to reflect
sustainability issues from an economic point of
view is clear and seems to be appropriate
As far as inflation is concerned, it is not very
much clear if its importance as a crucial factor
in determining economic development is adequately
reflected in the chosen mix of indicators
Some indicators need some clarification (e.g.
Change in consumption as of GDP, Unit labour
cost growth). In general, indicators
denominations need to be defined in an
operational way
The integration of the different dimensions of
sustainable development can be ensured at the
level of the whole set of SDI, more by using
common definitions anf classifications than by
introducing perhaps not sistematically indicators
centred on other issues than those crucial for
economic development
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Framework issues
The presence of the theme Economic development
in the Eurostat framework has been questioned,
arguing that the same theme is not clearly
related to SD political commitments
One proposal would be to suppress the theme, to
deal with the theme Production and consumption
patterns as an overarching or cross-sectoral
theme and to reallocate under the latter theme
the indicators defined under Economic
development
Another proposal would suggest to suppress the
theme and reallocate the indicators under the
other themes of the framework
Another suggestion would be to merge the themes
on Economic development and Production and
consumption patterns
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A proposed sequence of questions
Economic, social and environmental aspects need
to be integrated in a sustainable development
perspective. That being clear

• are there, according to the concept of economic
  development, some macro-economic goals that can
  be identified as such (similarly to environmental
  and social goals) with a view to sustainability?

In the political basis given by the EU
strategic commitments taken with a view to
sustainability, such macro-economic goals may or
may not be explicit

• would it be preferable to neglect them in the
  Eurostat framework for SDI, or, on the contrary,
  it would be preferable to make them explicit so
  that their presence in the framework contribute
  to awareness and transparency? Is the value added
  of such a result worthwhile?

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A proposed sequence of questions
The Eurostat concept of economic development has
to do with the economic goals of the EU, while
the concept of production and consumption
patterns in the EU political basis is focussed
on the ways to achieve the same goals ensuring
compatibility with the EU environmental (and
social) goals...

• Would it be good to assimilate the two concepts
  or would it be useful to maintain the
  distinction, while ensuring integration by means
  of common definitions and classifications
  provided by official statistics?

Dissolving the concept proposed by Eurostat for
the theme Economic development e.g. within the
concept underlying the theme Production and
consumption patterns would mean that the
economic dimension of sustainable development
would not have a value per se, thus not being on
a pair with the other fundamental dimensions...

• Would that be recommendable?