DANE AND THE PRODUCTION OF
ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICAL INFORMATION – THE
CASE OF ENVIRONMENT AND INDUSTRY MODULE
Mónica Rodríguez Díaz, mrodriguezd@dane.gov.co Departamento
Administrativo Nacional de Estadística - DANE
ABSTRACT
Starting with 1994, as part of the production of environmental statistics, DANE, ,
implemented the Industrial Environmental Module (MAI) as a tool for obtaining statistical
information related to environmental management, use of natural resources and raw materials
and waste generation by the Colombian industry. This initiative has been consolidated as an
environmental survey aimed at industrial establishments belonging to branches of economic
activity sector interest, which constitute its domain of study. Also served as a starting point
for researches aimed at producing strategic statistical environmental information in specific
fields of economic activities.
The MAI provides the data necessary for the preparation of the accounts of expenditure on
environmental protection of the Environment Satellite Account.Annual Manufacturing Survey
(EAM) is the primary means of collecting statistical data on the structure, characteristics and
evolution of industry in Colombia. Both the MAI, as the EAM, have identified links between
the economy and the environment through the generation of sectoral indicators and
environmental competitiveness; likewise provided inputs for the development and
dissemination of statistics derived feed simulation models, which respond to information
needs in the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of environmental and sector policies.
Additionally, these instruments have led to the development of mechanisms for validating the
quality of information and expanding the domain of environmental questionnaire survey. In
prospect is expected to strengthen the validation and compilation of data from both surveys,
as well as the unification of the collection channel, leading to greater efficiency and
effectiveness in delivering information.
Key words: “environmental information, expenditure, investment, environmental survey,
development, competitiveness, industry, indicators.”
1. THE INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENTAL MODULE
The experience of the National Statistics Department (DANE, Spanish acronym) in
connection with the production of environmental statistics information began in the early
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1990’s as a result of the need to have a registry that would show both
investments and expenditures made by industrial establishments for purposes of
preventing, reducing and mitigating environmental degradation. The
information gathered served as a basis for building an environmental-protection expenditure
account whose structure was defined under the Integrated Economic-Environmental
Accounting Pilot Project for Colombia (COLSCEA, Spanish acronym), which was jointly
developed by the Colombian Inter-Institutional Environmental Accounts Committee (CICA,
Spanish acronym), and led by the DANE and the United Nations Statistical Division
(UNSTAT).
The tool chosen for gathering information on environmental expenditure and investment was
the Industrial Environmental Module (MAI, Spanish acronym). The original version of the
MAI was implemented in 1994 and its structure comprised three components, the first of
which involved the identification and recordation of investments in fixed assets, which were
represented by tools and equipment, construction and infrastructure and a number of further
investments designed to ensure environmental prevention, recovery and preservation. The
second component involved costs and expenses incurred in environmental protection
activities such as staff wages and salaries, contracting of specialized labor, product and supply
costs, electrical power consumption costs, education, training, dissemination and advertising
costs and further contributions to environmental programs. Finally, the third component
involved the acquisition of clean technologies and research costs associated with the
implementation thereof. A cross-cutting matrix arranged according to environmental purpose
that would also make it possible to establish links between resources such as water, air, soil
and noise was prepared.
Based on the study titled “Diagnosis and Control of Environmental Pollution in Colombia”,
which was conducted by the National Planning Department with the support of the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP), the most highly polluting economic activities that
take place in Colombia were selected. Thirty-five such activities were identified as a result of
this selection and the appropriate industrial establishment directory was compiled based on
the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC), thereby
defining the scope of the study conducted by the MAI. This cope was subsequently adjusted
through the characterization of six industrial corridors where the country’s industrial
production is concentrated.
The purpose of environmental protection expenditure and investment has been classified on
the basis of the structure of the Classification of Environmental Protection Activities and
Expenditure (CEPA). Adapting this classification to the MAI required six basic categories
according to their relevance, air and climate protection, wastewater management, waste
management, soil protection, underground and surface water, noise reduction, biodiversity
and landscape protection and further environmental protection activities.
From 1994 through 2006 the MAI was used as an environmental information gathering
module attached to the Annual Manufacturing Survey (EAM, Spanish acronym). This
economic industrial survey is the country’s main statistical tool for obtaining information
enabling to establish both the characteristics and the evolution of Colombia’s industrial
manufacturing sector. The EAM comprises industrial establishments from the various activity
branches according to the ISIC codes of every economic activity1. Because of the differences
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The DANE prepared the CIIU, Rev. 3.1 A.C., which is an adaptation in Spanish of the ISIC for Colombia.
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in the technical profiles of survey respondents and the MAI’S response indexes
in respect of the industrial survey, it was decided that starting in 2007 the MAI
would be applied as a separate survey.
Both the dynamics and the themes associated with environmental management, along with
environmental accounting and the evolution of Colombia’s industry sector itself have led to
the establishment of a new version of the MAI. The re-design of this version involved the
expansion of information coverage and themes, thereby enabling the inclusion of aspects such
as waste recycling and disposal amongst other factors The DANE’s technical team reviews
pollution studies that are available in-country, as well as environmental rules and regulations
on a periodical basis. Furthermore, further research studies conducted by the DANE, as those
revolving around technology development and innovation, are used to verify the information
recorded in terms of environmental management investment. This contextual information
enables to conduct a review of appropriate criteria for purposes of including new economic
activities intended to be studied.
The MAI’S re-design was carried out in 2007 and included a number of adjustments in the
method for requesting information from the sources in accordance to industry records.
Aspects relating to hazardous, harmful waste, water resources and overall environmental
management were also incorporated.
While the MAI’S current structure still has the investment and expenditure component
according to environmental category, there are several further costs and expenditures that are
expressly identified, but still cannot be classified according to a specific environmental
category as they relate to payments made in respect of environmental licenses, permits, rates,
and fines. Information on environmental training and education, expenses relating to
environmental management, research and development, as well as other environmental
contributions are also recorded.
As far as the solid waste generation component is concerned, inquiries are made concerning
organic, plastic, paper and cardboard, rubber, textile, wood, glass and metal waste and the
appropriate quantities thereof, as well the waste percentage that was used by each
establishment, the percentage that was marketed, and the final disposal thereof. One further
request has to do with using the attached listing to identify hazardous waste with identifying
hazardous waste produced and that same variables are recorded.
As for water resources management, the information requested has to do with the total volume
of used water stated in cubic meters according to collection method (aqueduct, deep well,
surface water), as well as with the total volume of wastewater whilst specifying the amount of
re-used, untreated spilled water, while requests designed to specify the treatment method of
treated water are also made.
Finally, the component related to environmental-management instruments is used to identify
the appropriate legal, regulatory, planning, technological, financial and/or administrative tools
designed to provide support to the various environmental protection activities.
2. USES AND PERSPECTIVES
Data on environmental protection expenditure and investment provided by the MAI have been
used within the framework of the Environmental Satellite Account as an input for calculating
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the production, income generation, and gross fixed capital formation accounts.
This account is disaggregated according to environmental purpose and
industrial corridor so as to enable the identification of the purpose of this
expenditure.
Complementarily, progress has been made towards designing and building environmental
indicators in the manufacturing-sector, for purposes of helping to identify sector trends and
patterns of environmental interest; as well as to establish relations between the production
sector and the environment in terms of consumption, waste generation and production
technologies; and following-up of regulatory, political and economic aspects. These indicators
help to enhance the understanding of the environmental dimension of the various economic
activities in terms of the use of natural resources as raw materials, water consumption, energy
intensity, pollution prevention methods, and capital and investment composition among
others. Economic and environmental information from industrial locals as a whole enables to
shed light on the relationships existing between the productive sectors and the environment.
The results of the Industrial Environmental Module prepared by the DANE have been
incorporated into national public policy-making efforts, particularly as regards
competitiveness policies. The information provided by the DANE made it possible to define
those environmental factors relating to the manufacturing industry that have an impact on the
country’s competitiveness and were used to prepare policy guidelines and the appropriate
action plan. In prospective terms, the environmental information on the manufacturing
industry, which was obtained from the MAI, has also been helpful in determining the short,
medium and long-term impact of public policy; as well as in shaping the impact of financial
and institutional mechanisms on the adaptability capacity of economic sectors to climate
change. A pilot project undertaken by Colombia’s National Planning Department in which the
DANE is involved seeks to quantify and analyze the economic changes brought about by
climate change through the use of analytical models that integrate statistical information on
various topics.
The implementation of the MAI relies on validation mechanisms that enable to verify
consistency, review the coherence of economic and environmental information, whilst
ensuring the quality thereof. To such end information collations between the economic survey
(EAM) and the environmental survey (MAI) are performed while taking into account the same
establishments. Eighteen different indicators are calculated in order to validate the
information reported by the environmental survey in terms of economic validation and
consistency criteria that are peculiar to the EAM. Some examples are the indicators relating to
investments in machinery and equipment for environmental protection and preservation
purposes/investments in industrial machinery and equipment data from the EAM. The same
applies to social security contributions by staff engaged in environmental protection
activities/total mandatory employer’s contributions, healtcare, pensions and social insurances
from the EAM.
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Source: DANE
Chart 1. Environmental protection of industry in Colombia: investments by environmental category,
2007, percentage of total
Source:
DANE
Chart 2. Environmental protection of industry in Colombia: current expenditures by environmental
category, 2007, percentage of total
References
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Monograph. OECD, Paris.
- Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (1998). Environmental
Indicators. Towards Sustainable Development, Paris.
- Quiroga, R. (2007). Indicadores ambientales y de desarrollo sostenible: avances y
perspectivas para América Latina y el Caribe (Environmental and Sustainable Development
indicators; Progress and Perspectives for Latin-America and the Caribbean). Serie Manuales
- (Handbook Series). Número 55 (Issue No. 55); Santiago de Chile, ECLAC.
United Nations (UN) (2007). Indicators of Sustainable Development: Guidelines and
Methodologies; Third Edition, New York.
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