A New Approach to
Measuring Societal
Progress
Presented by:
Alexis Morgan, Pembina Institute
Presented to:
CSIN Learning Event
Date: February 16th, 2010
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Outline
 What is Wellbeing?
 What is the Canadian Index of Wellbeing?
 Why a New Measure of Wellbeing?
 The Environment Domain
 Questions
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How are we doing as Canadians?
“IS THIS WELLBEING?”
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•
“Around the world, a consensus is growing about the need for a
more holistic and transparent way to measure societal progress –
one that accounts for more than just economic indicators such as
the Gross Domestic Product and takes into account the full range of
social, health, environmental and economic concerns of citizens.
”
—The Honourable Roy J. Romanow
Chair, Institute of Wellbeing Advisory Board
•
•
“What we measure affects what we do,and if our measurements
are flawed, decisions may be distorted…what we measure shapes
what we collectively strive to pursue – and what we pursue
determines what we measure.
”
— Report by the Commission on the Measurement of
Economic Performance and Social Progress
Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi, September 2009
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What is the Canadian Index of Wellbeing?
A national index that will report regularly on the
wellbeing of Canadians in eight areas or domains:

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Healthy populations
Living standards
Community vitality
Democratic engagement
Time use
Arts, culture and recreation
Education
Environment
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Why a Canadian Index of Wellbeing?
Indicators
are
powerful
 What we count and measure influences how we
make policy decisions
If we don’t measure wellbeing, in all of its
dimensions, it doesn’t count…leaving Canadians to:
 Gauge wellbeing using a narrow set of economic
indicators
 Misinterpret wellbeing or use surrogate measures
 Ignore policy options that will fundamentally
improve wellbeing
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Institute of Wellbeing – Vision
• To enable all Canadians to share in the
highest wellbeing status by identifying,
developing and publicizing statistical
measures that offer clear, valid and regular
reporting on progress toward wellbeing
outcomes Canadians seek as a nation
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Institute of Wellbeing - Goals
 Promote a shared vision of what really constitutes sustainable
wellbeing and the elements that contribute to or detract from it;
 Measure national progress toward (or away from) achieving that
vision;
 Understand and promote awareness of why society is moving
in the direction it is moving;
 Stimulate discussion about the types of policies, programs and
activities that would move us closer and faster toward achieving
wellbeing;
 Give Canadians tools to promote wellbeing with policy
shapers and decision makers so as to account for why things are
getting better or worse; and
 Add momentum to the global movement for a more holistic
way of measuring societal progress.
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Criteria for Indicator Selection
1.
Relevant to Canadians
2.
Easy to understand
3.
Reliable, scientifically robust
and valid
4.
Politically unbiased
5.
Timely, easy to obtain
and periodically update
6.
Comparable across
jurisdictions and groups
7.
Objective or subjective
8.
Positive or negative
9.
A constituent or determinant
of wellbeing, or both
10. Attributable to individuals or
groups
11. Obtained through an open,
transparent and democratic
consultative review process
12. Going to contribute to a
coherent, comprehensive view
of the wellbeing of Canadians
13. ENV DOMAIN: Built upon a
stock-flow model
14. ENV DOMAIN: Ties into
existing national/global reporting
(CESI, MDG, CBD, etc.)
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Research & Validation Process
1. Expert literature reviews and/or
environmental scans
2. Domain reports listing indicators
including eight-ten headliners for the
composite
3. Project management and Canadian
Research Advisory Group (CRAG)
reviews
4. Roundtable reviews
5. External peer reviews
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CRAG – Environment Domain
• Mark Anielski, Economist, Author, and President of Anielski Management Inc., Edmonton
• Noel Keough, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Design, Faculty of Environmental Design,
University of Calgary
• Hans Messinger, Senior Advisor and former Director of Industry Measures & Analysis,
Statistics Canada
• Alex Michalos, CIW Director of Research; Director, Institute for Social Research and
Evaluation, Professor Emeritus, Political Science, and Chancellor, University of Northern
British Columbia
• László Pintér, Director, Measurement and Assessment Program, International Institute for
Sustainable Development, Winnipeg
• Robert Smith, Director of Environment Accounts and Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
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Environment Domain – Process
• Work is being built upon an earlier version of the Environment Domain
& learning experiences from other GPI efforts (both Cdn & Int’l)
• Work compared potential frameworks & indicators against:
– International frameworks & indicators/data (e.g. OECD, CBD, EPI, etc.)
– Available national and local data (e.g. CESI, Statistics Canada, etc.)
• Various frameworks were explored:
– Ecosystem services (MEA, etc.)
– State-Pressure-Response (DPSIR)
– Reed Noss’s biodiversity indicator framework
– HIPPO, I=PCT, Industrial ecology ‘rules’, biomimicry ‘life rules’ etc.
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Environment Domain –
Draft Framework
Sub-Domain
STOCK
FLOW
AIR
WATER
MINERALS
ENERGY
FROM VICTOR ET AL., 2008
SPACE
GENETIC MATERIALS
Sub-Domain
STOCK
FLOW
ATMOSPHERE (AIR)
FRESHWATER (WATER)
MINERALS/METALS & ENERGY (EARTH)
SPACE & BIODIVERSITY (LIFE)
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Wellbeing Indicator
Stock Indicator
Primary Flow Indicator
Stock Variable
(SVt)
SVt impact from Primary
Natural Resource Sector
consumption as a Factor of
Production (+/-)
Ecosystem Services
Environmental Health
Human (physical &
mental) health
effects (+/-)
Socio-economic Health
Economic effects
(+/-)
SVt impact from household
consumption (+/-)
Change in SVt from Rural and
Urban development (-)
Change in SVt from annual
Improvements via mitigation
and restoration (+)
“Raw
materials”
SVt impact / per
unit of production
“Finished
goods”
SVt impact /
household basket
of products
“Changing
land use”
Decrease in SVt
“Restoring
land use”
Increase in SVt
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Environment Domain – Draft
Framework & Indicators
Sub-Domain STOCK
FLOW
AIR
NPRI releases of Criteria Air Contaminants
Ground-level ozone/Air Quality Health Index
Cumulative GHG emissions (total since 1960) Annual GHG emissions (absolute & intensity)
$ spent on energy efficiency measures
Proposed headline indicator
• Rationale:
• Air quality is valued by Canadians & nationally recorded
• Climate change & GHGs are relevant to Canadians
• NPRI is the only nationally consistent emissions data
• Government approach to GHGs has been to invest in efficiency
• Other potential indicators:
• Percentage of people commuting by walking / biking / public
transit / carpool / single-person vehicle?
• Survey of money spent on adaptation?
• Number of green buildings?
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Environment Domain – Draft
Framework & Indicators
Sub-Domain
STOCK
FLOW
FRESHWATER
Water Quality Index
NPRI OR Ag Census: N & P loadings (water)
Water Quantity (annual flows + ice/groundwater)
Water consumption / footprint
% exploited / available by watershed
Proposed headline indicator
• Rationale:
• Water quality and quantity are also valued by Canadians and
nationally recorded
• Nitrogen and phosphorus have significant impacts on water quality
• Water consumption (especially in water-poor watersheds) is of
increasing relevance and importance to Canadians
• Other potential indicators:
• Clean water technology expenditures (annual amount per capita)
OR Defensive water quality/quantity expenditures (annual amount
per capita)?
• NPRI emissions? Number of urban pesticide bans? Agricultural
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pesticide use?
Environment Domain – Draft
Framework & Indicators
Sub-Domain
STOCK
FLOW
MINERALS/METALS & ENERGY (EARTH)
Non-renewable energy reserves (mT)
Energy production (by type)
Mineral & Metal reserves (mT)
Energy use (per capita)
Metabolic rate (tonnes/capita/yr)
Municipal recycling & waste disposal rates
Proposed headline indicator
• Rationale:
• Reserves are part of StatCan’s national accounts
• Energy production and use are key metrics of sustainability as
Canadians are amongst the most energy-hungry people on Earth
• Recycling, waste and the societal “metabolism” are recognizable
• Other potential indicators:
• Total volume of converted reserves (partially captured in
metabolic rate)
• GHG intensity/joule of energy consumption (GHG/J)
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Environment Domain – Draft
Framework & Indicators
Sub-Domain
STOCK
FLOW
SPACE & BIODIVERSITY (LIFE)
(Forest) Habitat cover
Protected areas (by IUCN class)
Net Biome Productivity
Land conversion (ha/year/type)
Species Abundance Index
Land reclamation (ha/year/type)
% of under & moderately exploited marine species Urban density (people/ha)
COSEWIC / Red List index
Proposed headline indicator
• Rationale:
• Forest habitat is nationally measured and internationally reported
• NBP provides a measure of ecosystem change, along with land cover change
• Species are iconic as measures of biodiversity; especially endangered spp.
• Genetic data are not readily available
• Other potential indicators:
• Expenditures on protected area management (dollars/capita); Access to parks
• Kms of road / number of dams built / number of oil wells (driver of fragmentation)
• Regulatory enforcement? Invasive species?
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Putting it all together…
• Indicators will be reported independently and as an index
• 10 indicators will be selected as “headline indicators”
• Visual presentation will be used where possible
• Wellbeing “linkage” indicators are still being determined
• Planned release date: November 2010
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Thoughts/Questions?
• Aspects of framework that could/should be modified?
• Indicators that should be included/removed?
• Data sets that are available?
• Other thoughts/input?
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Questions welcome
For more information:
Check the CIW website at www.ciw.ca
or contact
Alexis Morgan
alexism@pembina.org
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