Measuring Sustainable Development: Canadian Experience

1. Measuring Sustainable Development: Canadian Experience Rowena Orok Environment Accounts and Statistics Division First Meeting of the Joint UNECE/OECD/Eurostat Task Force for Measuring Sustainable Development September 23, 2009

2. Introduction • Overview of the Canadian Context • Capital-Based Accounting in Canada • Examples of National Indicators • Strengths and Weaknesses of the Current System • Future Directions Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

3. Canadian Context • Development of a capital-based conceptual framework began in the 1990s • Indicator sets based on the natural capital framework were articulated in 2001 (Smith, Simard and Sharpe) • Sustainable development indicators in Canada: highly fragmented, largely policy-driven • 2009: a period of transition for Canada with respect to measuring sustainable development Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

4. Capital-Based Accounting (1) • Environmental Accounting Program* • Natural Resource Stock Accounts • Sub-soil Assets, Timber, Land, Water • Material and Energy Flow Accounts • Energy flow accounts • Greenhouse gas emission accounts • Environmental Protection Accounts • Environmental protection expenditures • Supply of environmental goods and services *Canadian System of Environmental and Resource Accounts. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

5. Capital-Based Accounting (2) • Research efforts to construct a measure of human capital for Canada • Aggregate human capital rose at an annual rate of 1.7% between 1970 and 2007 • Impacts of aging Canadian population and higher educational levels on the growth of human capital • Comparing the value of human capital vs produced capital and natural capital Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

6. Broader Measure of National Wealth Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

7. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Indicator Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

8. Air Quality Indicator Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

9. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

10. Strengths of the Current System • Robust conceptual foundation to guide the measurement and statistical frameworks • Demonstrates the role of the central statistical agency in ensuring rigour in the development and implementation of the statistical framework • Natural capital approach has been used to elaborate the six SD indicators resulting from an extensive round of national consultations held by the federal government in 2003 Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

11. Weaknesses of the Current System • Application of the capital approach has been fragmented: fairly significant work on produced capital and some forms of natural capital; some work on human capital; none on social capital • Progress is somewhat dependent on the uptake by policy departments: work on SD indicators in Canada is highly decentralized and largely policy driven • Major challenge: data gaps and limitations Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

12. Future Directions • Key drivers to progress: • Framework for Developing Environmental Statistics • Canada’s new Federal Sustainable Act and Federal Sustainable Development Strategy • Increased focus on accountability and performance measures • Further efforts on the measurement of human capital • Social capital: conceptual ambiguities and measurement difficulties Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

13. Thank You! Rowena Orok Acting Director Environment Accounts and Statistics Division 7-E RH Coats Building Tunney’s Pasture, Ottawa, ON K1A 0T6 613-951-4341 rowena.orok@statcan.gc.ca Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada