Sustainable development on a National Level – the Finnish Approach

1. Sustainable development on a National Level – the Finnish Approach Lea Kauppi, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE)

2. Several people have contributed to this presentation • My special thanks to the secretariat of the Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development as well as to Aino Inkinen, Matti Melanen, Per Mickwitz and Jyri Seppälä from SYKE

3. Contents of the presentation • Strategic framework • Institutional framework • Assessment framework • ECOREG – assessing regional sustainability • ENVIMAT - an extended input-output model as a sustainability assessment tool

4. Finnish model of Sustainable Development • Continuity on the political agenda (since 1987) • Continuous vertical and horizontal coordination – National SD commission as the main facilitator since 1993 • Leadership on a high political level (Government) • Broad-based political dialogue between the government and the stakeholders • Policy coherence • Transparency and stakeholder cooperation during the whole life-span of SD strategy processes • Towards Sustainability Governance

5. Long history of strategies and programmes for sustainable development in Finland • 1990: Sustainable development in Finland • 1995: Finnish Action for Sustainable Development • 1998: Finnish Government Programme for Sustainable Development • 2000: Signs of Sustainability: Finland’s indicators for SD • 2003: Evaluation of sustainable development in Finland • 2006: National Strategy for Sustainable Development: Towards Sustainable Choices – A nationally and globally sustainable Finland • Dec. 2009: Evaluation report: State of Sustainable Development in Finland

6. National SD Strategy 2006 (NSDS)

7. Strategy framework Vision: to assure well-being within the limits of the carrying capacity of nature nationally and globally Objective: to create sustainable well-being in a safe and pluralistic society that promotes participation, and in which all people bear responsibility for the environment Starting point: the key guidelines of the Strategy help form foundation for drafting Government and policy programmes and help various actors select solutions that observe the principles of sustainable development. Timeline for the targets is beyond the current generation, extending until about 2030

8. Key challenges: Globally: climate change global poverty and inequality population growth Nationally: climate change adaptation to rapid global economic changes demographic changes

9. Main themes of the NSDS Sustainable communities in a sustainable regional structure Balance between the use and protection of natural resources Well-being throughout the life-span The economy as a safeguard for sustainable development Finland as a responsible global actor Supporting sustainable choices

10. Finnish National Commission on SD (FNCSD) Government re-appointed the National Commission on SD in February 2008 Main objective: promote the inclusion of the strategic goals of SD in national policies and administrative practices Main task: promote, evaluate and monitor the implementation of the National Strategy for SD; and ensure that all societal actors advance the proposals set out in the strategy Work Programme and Communication Plan for 2008-2012 adopted in June 2008

11. Chair: Minister of Labour and Industry Vice-chair: Minister of the Environment 43 members and deputies meetings 4-5 times a year + seminars 1-2 times a year Subcommittee on locally and regionally sustainable development, term 2007-2012 4 Sector Ministers Ministries and gov’t agencies The Parliament Local government Academic sector Business and Industry Interest groups Non-governmental organisations The indigenous Sámi-people Two churches Culture and Arts Composition of the FNCSD

12. Organization of the work within the FNCSD • Inter-Ministerial Network Secretariat (sectoral SD contact points) • prepares the meetings and the work programme of the Commission • appr. 20 active civil servants from various ministries • Operational Secretariat General within the MoE • 4 civil servants • development, preparation, coordination and management of the Finnish SD policy and the meetings of the FNCSD and its Secretariat

14. Sustainable development policy cycle Identification of key challenges and strategic goals NSDS 2006 Government commitment to implement the goals Decision-in-Principle 2006 Government Programme 2007 Implementation of the Strategy goals (ongoing) Follow-up of the implementation by SD indicators Indicator report in 2007 ongoing updating of data Evaluation of progress and assessment of impacts first progress report by sector Ministries in 2007 Evaluation process in 2009 concluding with an overall report

15. Facilitation of the implementation and evaluation of the strategy by the FNCSD Political level Support to the sector ministries to mainstream SD into their sector policies & programmes Permanent Secretary engagement Operational level Support to the sector ministries to draw uptheir own SD action plans with practical measures Methodological level Methodological development and process design helping the sectors to assess the impacts of NSDS

16. Assessment Framework • Progress reporting by ministries and other stakeholders represented in the FNCSD • Regular monitoring using the headline indicators • Self-assessment with the help of CAF annex on sustainable development • Setting criteria for impact assessment of the strategy • Developing a toolbox for ministries in order to observe the SD aspects in policy-planning • Present the state of SD in Finland and key challenges and trends for the future • EVALUATION REPORT IN DECEMBER 2009

17. Monitoring Regional Sustainability – Indicators Developed and Used in the Finnish Kymenlaakso Region

18. ECOREG 2002–2004 www.environment.fi/syke/ecoreg The aim: To demonstrate the concept and evaluation of eco-efficiency at a regional scale

19. Kymenlaakso Region, Finland Myllykoski Paper, Anjalankoski. Photo: Myllykoski Paper Oy

20. The working process – based on multistakeholder involvement and empowerment

21. The system boundaries of the ECOREG analysis

22. Simultaneous monitoring of eco-efficiency and socio-cultural development > Monitoring of sustainability

23. The indicators based on economic and material flow analysis A ”top-down approach” (Input-Output Analysis, I-O)

25. National-economy-wide material flow balance

27. The indicators based on environmental analysis A ”bottom-up approach” (Life Cycle Assessment, LCA)

28. Boundaries of the environmental analysis (”cradle-to-gate”) Kymenlaakso region Upstream Downstream Chemicals Wood Heat Wood Activity sectors Chemicals Final products Fuels Raw materials Water Electricity Gravel, crushed rock Other raw materials Other raw materials Transports

29. Impact values calculated for the activity sectors (the sum of the values equals 10 000)

30. Social and cultural indicators supporting the measurement of eco-efficiency

31. POPULATION CHANGE SAFETY EDUCATION CULTURE HEALTH SOCIAL EXCLUSION EMPLOYMENT LOCAL IDENTITY

32. POPULATION CHANGE

33. Application of the indicators in Kymenlaakso: the 1st eco-efficiency follow-up report (2000-2004)

34. Volume growth of value added in Kymenlaakso and in Finland T1 Source: Statistics Finland, regional accounts 19 Apr 2005

35. Application of the indicators in Kymenlaakso:use in the regional planning The concept of eco-efficiency has found its way to Kymenlaakso's Regional Strategic Plan 2005-2015 The following visionis formulated for the future Kymenlaakso: "An attractive and eco-efficient, internationally interactive region.” Eco-efficiency will also have a central role in Kymenlaakso's Regional Development Programme 2007-2010 which implements the Strategic Plan. Relevant ECOREG indicators will be used for monitoring the Programme's success.

36. The ”ECOREG tools” • Indicators for regional eco-efficiency • Working processes and methods for constructing • these indicators • Mechanism for monitoring eco-efficiency and social development, i.e. sustainability

37. Utilisation possibilities of the data produced by the ECOREG mechanism • Regional-level planning: • Land use: • Regional land use plans • Action planning: • Regional strategies, plans and programmes • Sectoral plans: • Environmental health programmes • Planning traffic systems • Waste management, water supply and water protection plans • Fire safety and rescue plans Municipal level: -SD action programmes (Agenda 21 work) Corporate level: -Environmental reporting -Social responsibility reporting

38. Concluding remarks about ECOREG The ”ECOREG tools”: 1) The project’s overall concepts, approaches and methods for developing and applying regional eco-efficiency / sustainability indicators, are applicable throughout Europe. 2) However, a suitable local process is needed, whereby the mechanism is adapted to fit the specific local circumstances and objectives. In general: 3) Measuring (the progress made in) regional eco-efficiency / sustainability is possible and meaningful. 4) Indicators based on life cycle thinking can be developed. Appropriate system boundaries are a major challenge!

39. An extended input-output model as a sustainability assessment toolENVIMAT • Overview of the extended input-output (ENVIMAT) model • Key SD indicators and ENVIMAT • Examples of results of ENVIMAT

40. Overview of the ENVIMAT model • an environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) model on the macro-economic level in Finland • LCA approach to the environmental and socio-economic impacts of consumption and production in Finland • provides also information on environmental impacts of the Finnish economy abroad through imports and on the role of exports in the domestic impacts

41. The ENVIMAT model • consists of 151 industries with their 918 domestic products • describes the interactions of monetary and physical flows between industries • includes data on emissions (appr. 80), natural resources (appr. 25), land use, wastes, energy within industries • is able to link information on 772 imported products • includes data on 2002 and 2005 (at present)

42. The structure of the ENVIMAT model

43. Current indicators of the ENVIMAT model • material flow account indicators: total material requirement (TMR), direct material inputs (DMI), domestic material consumption (DMC), total material consumption (TMC) • domestic value added and employment • environmental impacts: climate change, stratospehric ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication, tropospheric ozone formation, ecotoxicity, human toxicity, biodiversity, depletion of natural resources • total environmental impacts (=eco-index) • wastes, land use, ecological footprint

44. How well can the key indicators of the Finnish SD strategy be assessed by the ENVIMAT model ? I . GOOD LIFE IN A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY24/10 1. Balance between the use and protection of natural resources 9/9 2. Sustainable communities in a sustainable regional structure 5/1 3. Citizens – well-being throughout the entire life cycle 10/0 II. THE ECONOMY AS A SAFEGUARD FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT5/3 III. FINLAND AS A GLOBAL ACTOR AND BEARER OF RESPONSIBILITY2/0 IV. SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE CHOICES1/0 X/ N = Number of key indicators/ Number that ENVIMAT is capable to describe

45. Assessment of changes in key indicators • OFFICIAL EVALUATION in 2007: - ORANGE = PROGRESS MAINLY NEGATIVE - GREEN = PROGRESS MAINLY POSITIVE • CRITICAL = development has been insufficient regarding climate change mitigation and/or international commitments/targets • ? = maybe critical or progress has been environmentally negative • ENV = the ENVIMAT model provides information for the indicator

46. Challenges of SD in Finland on the basis of key indicatorsI . GOOD LIFE IN A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETYI.1.Balance between use and protection of natural resources • Greenhouse gas emissions CRITICAL ENV • Total energy consumption CRITICAL ENV • Use of renewable energy sources CRITICAL ENV • Endangered species CRITICAL ENV • Energy and natural resource consumption in relation to economic growth? ENV • Environmental loading in relation to economic growth? ENV • Development of total material requirementCRITICAL ENV • Proportion of household expenditures on services? ENV • Eutrophicating discharges into Baltic Sea ? ENV • OFFICIAL EVALUATION in 2007: • - ORANGE = PROGRESS MAINLY NEGATIVE • GREEN = PROGRESS MAINLY POSITIVE

47. I.2.Sustainable communities in a sustainable regional structure • Relative change in population in different regions ! • Distance of certain services from homes ! • Economic dependency ratio by province ! • Service satisfaction of citizens • Development of public and passenger car transport CRITICAL ENV ! : the first three indicators  increased regional differencesinside Finland OFFICIAL EVALUATION in 2007: - ORANGE = PROGRESS MAINLY NEGATIVE - GREEN = PROGRESS MAINLY POSITIVE

48. I.3. Citizens – well-being throughout the entire life cycle • Life expectancy at birth • Expected retirement age • Occupational diseases and accidents • Population development by age group ! • People with low employment potential • Immediate placement of 9th grade students in further studies • Per capita alcohol consumption and deaths attributable to alcohol • Employment rate for immigrants and number of non-Finnish speaking schoolchildren • Participation of 14-year olds in social organisational work • Voting activity ! : Problems in pension payments in the future

49. II. The economy as a safeguard for sustainable development • GDP per inhabitantENV • Economic dependency ratio • Public debt in relation to GDP divided into state and municipal shares of debt • Number of employed and unemployment rateENV • Finland's competitiveness in relation to other OECD countries assessed in terms of relative cost of work unitENV ! : Problems in pension payments in the future

50. III. Finland as a global actor • Official Development Aid • Direct investments from Finland in other countries IV. Supporting sustainable choices • Research and development expenditure and patenting