Indicator Report '
1. Indicators for sustainable development
| 1.1 | Indicators |
| 1.2 | Indicators at international, regional, and local levels |
| 1.3 | How are the indicators linked to the strategy? |
This is the first indicator report which elucidates and illustrates progress in achieving sustainable development. The indicators have been chosen on the basis of objectives and activities in the National Strategy for Sustainable Development "A shared future - balanced development", and on the basis of proposals and views expressed in the public debate concerning sustainable development.
The indicators in this publication and the indicators to be developed in future will constitute an important element in ongoing reporting of developments and results in connection with objectives and activities in Denmark's National Strategy for Sustainable Development. The indicators will be part of the basis for assessment in the regular adjustments of objectives and activities. The indicators show developments within the various action areas of the strategy.
The target group for the Danish set of indicators for sustainable development is wide and varied. Effort has been made to present the indicators in a manner which is professional, yet accessible.We hope that the indicators can be used by politicians, trade organisations, business organisations, scientists, green organisations, and interested citizens alike.
1.1 Indicators
Indicators are a valuable tool for elucidating developments, identifying challenges and monitoring implementation and results, but they do not bring any changes in and of themselves.
Definition: An indicator can be defined as a parameter which illustrates developments of a condition or a context in relation to realising important objectives or initiatives.
Indicators contain information in a less detailed and often more aggregate form than data and statistics.
Known examples of indicators which are often used to describe developments in society would be the gross national product and the unemployment rate, which can be used to describe a country's economy and labour market. As regards the environment, one indicator would be the application frequency, which can be used to describe the impact of pesticides on the environment. Indicators for sustainable development are wider in scope than the traditional economic indicators or environmental indicators, because they also focus on issues such as consumption, resources, Genuine Savings, and a decoupling of the correlation between economic growth and environmental impacts.
1.2 Indicators at international, regional, and local levels
Indicators are increasingly being developed and applied as tools for decision makers and the general public. Development of environmental indicators, sector indicators, and indicators for sustainable development is carried out internationally as well as in local and regional forums. Some of the most important players at the international level are: the OECD, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), and the European Commission (Eurostat and the European Environment Agency). Other important players in the development of indicators for sustainable development include the World Bank, the World Resources Institute, the Worldwatch Institute, Baltic 21, the Nordic Council of Ministers, and a range of NGOs.
Development and use of indicators for sustainable development in the EU is carried out in accordance with the Sixth Environment Action Programme, the Cardiff Process on integrating environmental considerations in EC policies and activities, and the EU strategy for sustainable development.
A common feature of the development and application of indicators in the EU is that the indicators should provide information about economic, social, and environmental development as a basis for political decisions. The implementation of the EU targets for sustainable development must be monitored by means of a wider set of indicators.
The Commission's memorandum for the European Council meeting in Gothenburg firmly established that at present, we do not have a set of indicators which matches the objectives in the EU strategy for sustainable development. As a result, focus is placed on developing indicators for sustainable development. In its annual reports, the Commission must evaluate the implementation of the strategy for sustainable development on the basis of a number of socalled headline indicators. This first took place at the Council's meeting in Barcelona in March 2002.
The UN's work with indicators (CSD) as a followup to Agenda 21 has, among other things, resulted in a list of 58 indicators for sustainable development which cover the chapters in Agenda 21. This is to say that the CSD indicators cover the environment, social issues, economics, and institutional issues. In 2001, Eurostat tested the UN's set of indicators for sustainable development for the EU Member States. This test showed that approximately half the indicators were deemed to be directly relevant to the EU.
At the Ministerial Council Meeting on sustainable development held in May 2001, the OECD ministers for finance, economic affairs, and the environment decided that the OECD should develop and reach agreement on indicators for sustainable development and decoupling. The indicators must be integrated in the OECD's assessment of the Member States' environmental and economic policies. The OECD will present its report about the progress made at the World Summit in Johannesburg.
The Danish set of indicators is based on inspiration from international sets of indicators, so it is possible to make comparisons with developments in other countries within areas where this is relevant. The international development of indicators will continue to influence the Danish sets of indicators in future. Consequently, work will be carried out regularly to incorporate indicators developed at international levels where this is relevant. Denmark will work to ensure that the international indicators are meaningful when seen with Danish eyes. The Government does, however, regard it as important that Denmark has its own set of indicators linked to the Danish National Strategy for Sustainable Development.
In Denmark, a number of counties and local authorities are establishing indicators for sustainable development as part of their local Agenda 21 work. The national set of indicators can be used for inspiration for regional and local work. This increases the opportunities for comparing developments at local and national levels.
1.3 How are the indicators linked to the strategy?
Denmark's National Strategy for Sustainable Development contains overall objectives for achieving sustainable development. It also contains objectives and activities for selected, specific action areas that are central to achieving sustainable development. The indicators have been chosen to facilitate elucidation and illustration of developments in relation to important objectives or initiatives in the National Strategy for Sustainable Development.
The Indicator Report comprises two parts:
 | An overall set of indicators (headline indicators) which describe developments and results in relation to the general Strategy objectives for sustainable development. This set comprises 14 indicators, and the set will be updated every year. |
| A detailed, specific set of indicators which addresses individual action areas, describing developments and results in relation to some of the Strategy objectives and activities. This set of indicators will also be updated every year. |
The indicators are based on solid specialist knowledge with documented preconditions and methods applying to all indicators. The data basis of the indicators is also available. The data will be corrected in accordance with recognised practices. For example, a number of indicators will be normalised on the basis of weather indices. This first set of indicators has been established on the basis of what is feasible in the short and semi-short term. It is expected that the set of indicators will be developed further as better data become available, or as new objectives and activities become significant for achieving sustainable development.