Indicators

In order to bring about more sustainable development whilst safeguarding the environment, it is important to know how well a nation is achieving this objective. Agenda 21 encourages the use of indicators of sustainable development which describe the current state of the economy, environment and society. Indicators can help to monitor progress towards sustainable development, and identify where improvements need to be made.

Sustainability indicators summarise the characteristics of a particular system. For example greenhouse gas emissions and global temperature are indicators of climate change. Designing good sustainability indicators however, is not easy. There may be many potential indicators, but not all are suitable. The usefulness of indicators depends on their relevance, and by and large different sets of indicators are required for different places. For example, butterfly distribution may be a good indicator of biodiversity for Northern Europe, but not so good for the Arctic.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has established several sets of indicators each responding to a specific purpose. These form a core set that covers the main environmental concerns in most countries. Generally, these indicators can be divided into two groups, environmental indicators and socio-economic indicators.

In the UK, the Government uses information on 21 groups of issues to review whether the nation is becoming more sustainable. The range of topics shows that achieving a sustainable level of development in the context of society and environmental protection will need action in all aspects of life.