UK 2005 Are We Measuring up to SD

Are We Measuring up to Sustainable Development?

​
Seminar
14 June 2005 

BACKGROUND

Scotland is developing a Scottish Sustainable Development Strategy, based on the UK Sustainable Development Framework. This seminar focused on what are the best ways for Scotland to measure and communicate overall progress on sustainable development. The results of the seminar serve as an input to the strategy development.

The seminar explored:

• the value of aggregate or high-level indicators
• the merits of different aggregate indicators to politicians, the public and policy-makers
• a process to determine the best set of aggregate indicators which will provide a rounded view of progress towards sustainable development in Scotland.
The following presentations were given:
• Measuring up to Sustainable Development: Nic Marks, Head of Well-being Research, nef (New Economics Foundation)
• Measuring Quality of Life: Emma Whittlesea, Director, SUSTAIN Consultancy and consultant to the Audit Commission
• Measuring Social Inclusion: Peter Kelly, Director, Poverty Alliance
• The Welsh ‘basket’ of high-level indicators: Simon Bilsborough, Countryside Commission for Wales and Welsh Assembly Government Sustainable Development Indicators Group
• Scottish Sustainable Development Strategy and indicators: Helen Mansbridge, Scottish Executive
This report provides a brief summary of the main issues presented and the key conclusions of the seminar. For a full set of the powerpoint presentations, please contact Nancy Nairn at WWF Scotland (nnairn@wwfscotland.org.uk) or download them from www.scotlandsfootprint.org.

KEY POINTS RAISED

• A set of aggregate indicators can help communicate overall progress towards sustainable development
• The Welsh Assembly Government set of 5 aggregate headline indicators offers a good model: Biodiversity, Ecological Footprint, Gross Domestic Product, a measure of “genuine economic progress (The Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare is being tracked), and a measure based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation
• This model could be supplemented with a measure for well-being
• Aggregate indicators should be supported by policy specific indicators
• As well as measuring progress, a set of aggregate indicators can help promote a change of culture – understanding progress in the round rather than just GDP
• Adopt what aggregate indicators work best and then develop and improve
• National sustainable development indicators should provide a framework for local indicators
• Ecological Footprint helps to fill gaps in current indicator sets by making the link between local and global, future generations and measuring sustainable consumption impacts
• Consult on indicator sets and end objectives with stakeholders
• Indicators can help make decisions but leadership is required at all levels to act on the evidence indicators provide 

첨부화일을 클릭하시면 자세한 내용을 보실 수 있습니다. [PDF화일]