Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
[BE171] Bureau fédéral du Plan - Federaal Planbureau - Federal Planning Bureau
1.2. Contact organisation unit
Input-output analysis and environmental accounts
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Belliardstraat 14-18 1040 Brussel Belgium
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
14 January 2026
2.2. Metadata last posted
14 January 2026
2.3. Metadata last update
14 January 2026
3.1. Data description
Environmental protection expenditure accounts (EPEA) describe transactions related to preventing, reducing and eliminating pollution and any other degradation of the environment. The main aggregate resulting from EPEA is national expenditure on environmental protection (NEEP), which measures the resources dedicated by resident businesses, households and government to protecting the natural environment. This aggregate covers uses of environmental protection services, investment (gross fixed capital formation) for environmental protection activities, and net transfers to the rest of the world for environmental protection. Countries are required to report on: output, consumption, imports and exports of environmental protection services, investment (gross fixed capital formation and acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets) for the production of EP services, transfers for environmental protection.
3.2. Classification system
The scope of environmental protection is defined according to the classification of environmental purposes (CEP). The mandatory reporting is defined by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1131 of 26 March 2025 amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011.
For EPEA data reporting in CEP, Eurostat has introduced an ad hoc breakdown of Cross-cutting and other environmental purposes (CEP 08), i.e. the share “of which for environmental protection” (CEP 08 EP) for voluntary reporting to ensure the reconciliation with previous classification (CEPA) and allow the calculation of total environmental protection aggregates including administration, management as well as education, training and information (cross-cutting activities) related to environmental protection.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Data should be reported by institutional sector: general government, corporations, households and the rest of the world. NPISH (non-profit institutions serving households) are not separately identified and are included under general government. The corporations sector is divided between: "corporations as specialist and secondary producers of market EP services" and "corporations other, including corporations as producers of ancillary EP output"; productive activities of households are included under corporations as market producers.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
The construction of the EPEA closely follows the concepts, definitions and accounting rules of the core national accounts. The SEEA-CF 2012 (section 4.2) identifies environmental protection activities as those activities whose primary purpose is the prevention, reduction and elimination of pollution and other forms of degradation of the environment. These activities include, but are not limited to, the prevention, reduction or treatment of waste and wastewater; the prevention, reduction or elimination of air emissions; the treatment and disposal of contaminated soil and groundwater; the prevention or reduction of noise and vibration levels; the protection of biodiversity and landscapes, including of their ecological functions; monitoring of the quality of the natural environment (air, water, soil and groundwater); research and development on environmental protection; and the general administration, training and teaching activities oriented towards environmental protection.
3.5. Statistical unit
Environmental protection expenditure accounts present data, in a way that is compatible with the data reported under ESA, on the expenditure for environmental protection, i.e. the economic resources devoted by resident units to environmental protection. EPEA use statistical units from national accounts. National accounts define and use various statistical units and groupings of units that interact economically (see ESA 2010, §§ 1.54-1.56, 2.01-2.03).
3.6. Statistical population
The statistical population is the national economy as defined in SEEA CF 2012 and the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). It includes all economic activities undertaken by resident units to produce environmental protection specific services. While some economic activities may be undertaken only for a single purpose, many activities are undertaken for a variety of purposes. Following general principles of classification, activities are deemed to be environmental activities only if the primary purpose of the activity is consistent with the definitions of the environmental protection.
3.7. Reference area
The reference area of the statistics is Belgium. The reference area is the economic territory as defined in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). A unit is said to be a resident unit of a country when it has its centre of economic interest in the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (1 year or more) in economic activities in that territory.
3.8. Coverage - Time
2014-2023
No preliminary data are available at the national level.
No data prior to 2014 are available according to the CEP.
3.9. Base period
Not requested for this metadata collection.
Macro economic variables (output, intermediate consumption, investment etc.) are measured in million units of national currency.
The reference period for EPEA data is the calendar year.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
EPEA accounts are compiled and reported in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts (EEEA) and subsequent amendments. EPEA follow internationally agreed concepts and definitions set out in the SEEA Central Framework (2012), the international statistical standard adopted by the UN Statistical Commission. They present data in a way that is compatible with National Accounts (ESA, 2010).
The Federal Planning Bureau of Belgium has been entrusted with the analysis of sustainable development policies and the construction of satellite accounts to the national accounts by the Belgian government, by means of the law of 21 December 1994 on social and diverse provisions.
A cell is considered non confidential if its value is based on at least 3 entities, and none of these 3 entities counts for 80% or more of the value.
8.1. Release calendar
The EPEA dataset is part of the data published by the Institute for National Accounts. The publication dates are laid down each year in a publication calendar publicly available on the INA website.
EPEA data are publicly available on the website of the Federal Planning Bureau. An X message announces the publication.
The EPEA are disseminated yearly.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Non-existent
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Federal Planning Bureau, Institute for National Accounts, Environmental Protection Expenditure Accounts 2014-2023, January 2026 (available in French and Dutch).
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
Less detailed than Eurostat questionnaire.
10.3.1. Data tables - consultations
Not requested for this metadata collection.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Not applicable.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
The EPEA data are also disseminated by Eurostat by means of the Eurobase website.
10.5.1. Metadata - consultations
Not requested for this metadata collection.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
An unpublished methodological paper is available. It has not yet been adapted to the new CEP. Guy Vandille, Environmental Protection Expenditure Accounts - Belgian methodology, December 2023, 32pp.
10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate
Not requested for this metadata collection.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
There is no document describing the measures to assure the quality of the EPEA data apart from the Eurostat quality report.
11.1. Quality assurance
A comparison is made with the results of the previous year in order to check plausibility. The EPEA standard tables also contain in-built checks. The data are validated by the scientific committee of the Institute for National Accounts. The Eurostat validation procedure provides a further check on the data.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
A lot of the data used are national accounts data, which we can assume to be of good quality. However, the fact that for S13 the calculation forces the values to fall together with COFOG 05 values (across all CEPs), implies that we lose information, because environmental expenditure by the public administrations is also identified for other COFOGs. Data on ancillary output and environmental protection investment are survey based. The degree of accuracy of this survey is satisfactory overall, but less so as concerns the allocation across industries. Furthermore, the survey pertains to 2016 data, which are extrapollated for years prior to and later than 2016. The survey also used the CEPA and CReMA classifications, which implies among others that it contains no data for the split-up of CEP division 01 in CEP groups 0101 and 0102. Final consumption (P3) by households for all CEP groups but 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501, is a minimum value, based on data on transfers, supposed to cover the extra cost. A separate household EPEA survey would be necessary to obtain more complete data. The higher value for P3 of S14 with respect to CEP 0201 is the result of the supply-use balancing procedure.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
EPEA data have recently been sollicited in the context of the Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER) for the submission of expenditure data to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
No view on user satisfaction yet.
12.3. Completeness
All the obligatory data are provided, as well as a lot of the voluntary variables.
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
As far as possible, National Accounts data are used. However, only a small set of environmental services and goods or industries can be identified in those accounts (supply and use tables, national accounts by industry). Furthermore, there is no simple one to one relationship between government COFOG-functions and environmental domains. This implies a lot of allocation keys need to be used. Data on ancillary output and environmental protection investment are survey based. The degree of accuracy of this survey is satisfactory overall, but less so as concerns the allocation across industries. The same is true for intermediary consumption of environmental services other than those belonging to CEPs 0301, 0401 and 0501 and for the intermediary consumption of resource management services and goods other than those belonging to CEP 0402. Expenditure by households for all CEPs but 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501 is a minimum, based on data on transfers, which are assumed to cover the extra cost of environmentally friendly alternatives.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3. Non-sampling error
The parts based on the EPEA survey (performed by STATBEL) are less reliable, since the response rate was only 15%. When the precision of the estimates is based on the coefficient of variation, the results look bad. However, one needs to ask the question whether one can expect companies in general or of a particular size to have a comparable environmental protection expenditure profile. This will certainly depend to a high degree on the type of activity they perform and for investment values vary strongly from year to year, as investment tends to do. Consequently, we believe the assessment of the precision of a survey about such specific and detailed part of economic actors' use/consumption/investment to be far less than straightforward.
13.3.1. Coverage error
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.2. Measurement error
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.3. Non response error
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.4. Processing error
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.5. Model assumption error
Not requested for this metadata collection.
14.1. Timeliness
23.5 months.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
First EPEA results are normally published at t+23.5 months. For the EPEA 2025 this will be t+25 months, as the FPB incurred a delay due to a workload-resources mismatch.
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
There is no difference between first results and final results.
There is only 1 publication date, normally at t+23.5 months.
14.2. Punctuality
The data were delivered to Eurostat on 19 December 2025. The reporting deadline for EPEA to Eurostat is 31 December.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
Not requested for this metadata collection.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
EPEA accounts are compiled according to harmonised guidelines provided by Eurostat and hence comparable across European countries reporting EPEA accounts to Eurostat.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not requested for this metadata collection.
15.2. Comparability - over time
The entire time series is recalculated each year according to a common methodology. However, with the introduction of the CEP in the 2025 EPEA, a break in the time series for S13 has been introduced in the EPEA dataset. The introduction of the new classification of the environmental domains was perceived as an opportunity to try and allocate environmental expenditure at the most detailed 6-digit CEP class level. The allocation to the 78 CEP classes requires the study of much more detailed information with respect to the government budgets as was the case when environmental expenditure was allocated to the 18 CEPAs and CReMAs. This is a very labour intensive job, as a consequence of which we were only able to achieve this for 2022 and 2023. The 2014-2021 time series was also allocated to the 78 CEP classes, but this was done in a purely mechanical way by means of a conversion table. Obviously, this allocation is much less precise than the one for the years 2022-2023. For the other institutional sectors this kind of methodological break does not occur, except for all variables with respect to transfers. These are also based on the analysis of the government budgets.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
Not requested for this metadata collection.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
In contrast to the EGSS, we do take NACE industries 45-47 (trade) into account in calculating market output of the enterprises for the environmental domains other than CEPs 0301, 0401 and 0501 (which are based on the supply table instead of on the EGSS). This is done because the use of environmental services by enterprises for these environmental domains is based on a survey and thus can be supposed to include purchases from NACEs 45-47.
Ancillary output, calculated for EPEA, is used in the EGSS. However, as the EGSS has to be delivered 2 months earlier than the EPEA, ancillary output for the reference year in the EGSS does not correspond to ancillary output in the EPEA for the same reference year.
In EPEA, variables for S13 are rescaled after initial calculations on the basis of the government budgets, as to obtain the COFOG 05 values. This is not the case in the ESST, because environmental transfers have also been identified for other COFOGs. As a consequence, data on transfers differ between EPEA and ESST.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Not requested for this metadata collection.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
For CEPs 0301, 0401 and 0501 supply and use are based on the national accounts SUT for 2015. Several variables are used to extrapollate to other years. The SUT are based on detailed data only every 5 years. At a detailed product level (which we need) the balancing procedure on the basis of data with respect to totals for industries and products can lead to unjustified jumps in the years in between the quinquennial production on the basis of the detailed data. For that reason we prefer the extrapollation method. It is rather unfortunate of course that the next available SUT based on detailed data after those for 2015 are the ones for Covid-year 2020, which render these SUT unfit for extrapollation purposes. As of the EPEA 2023 the COFOG 05 values were distributed across CEPA and CReMA domains, instead of solely CEPA domains. Not all CReMA domains were incorporated in the EPEA, however. As a consequence, the COFOG totals could no longer be reconstructed on the basis of the values in EPEA. The same is true after the replacement of the CEPA and CReMA by the CEP. EPEA does not include all CEP classes, while the COFOG 05 values are attributed to all CEP classes during the calculations in the context of EPEA..
15.4. Coherence - internal
Supply and use of environmental services are balanced. For most environmental domains calculated supply is higher than calculated use. The excess supply is allocated to different types of use (P2_EPS_EXT or P3).
In 2025 0.25 FTEs were spent on the production of the EPEA.
17.1. Data revision - policy
The introduction of a new classification for the environmental domains, the CEP, has led to a revision of different elements in the EPEA 2025. Normally, revisions are applied to the entire time series. Due to the labour intensive nature of the 2025 revision this was unfortunately not feasible.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Revisions with respect to the EPEA 2024 are due to:
revised COFOG tables (impact on S13).
revised national accounts by industry (impact on S11_S12).
revised EGSS: the introduction of the CEP has been used to review the database of individual organisations (impact on S11_S12). This has reduced the calculated output.
revision of allocation to environmental domains of the government budgets in 2022, as a consequence of the introduction of the CEP (impact on S13 and all variables related to transfers).
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Not requested for this metadata collection.
18.1. Source data
All tables, data with respect to transfers: ESST (all CEPs) rescaled on the basis of NA COFOG 05 (all CEPs) ; ETEA (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0501)
Source data - detailed - General government and NPISH
NA COFOG 05 (all CEPs) ; government budget analysis for the federal and three regional governments (all CEPs); NA by industry (all CEPs) ; NA supply and use tables (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501) ; NA detailed government accounts (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501) ; NA detailed annual sector accounts (all CEPs) ; EGSS data (all CEPs); separate study on investment by S15 using data from the Central Balance Sheet Office, the VAT database and the Structural Business Survey (all CEPs).
Source data - detailed – Corporations (specialist and ancillary)
NA by industry (all CEPs) ; NA supply and use tables (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501; CEP 0401 for RNO only) ; EGSS data (all CEPs) ; specific EPEA survey (at NACE 2 digit level; all CEPs, based on automatic conversion of CEPAs + CReMAs); labour market database (all CEPs)
Source data - detailed - Household
NA use table (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501); NA detailed annual sector accounts (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501); ESST (all CEPs)
Source data - detailed - other macro-economic data (import, export, VAT etc.)
EGSS data (all CEPs) ; NA supply table (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501) ; Balance of Payments (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501)
Source data - detailed - national expenditure on environmental protection NEEP
The NEEP is calculated automatically in the EPEA questionnaire.
Source data - detailed – other information
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Most of the source data are available annually, except for: SUTs built on the basis of detailed input and output data: quinquennially EPEA survey: planned to be quinquennially, but resource constraints have made any update since the initial survey in 2018 impossible.
18.3. Data collection
The specific 2018 EPEA survey was done by STATBEL. Companies received an individual code, giving them access to an on-line version of the survey. The questionnaire itself was designed by the Federal Planning Bureau.
18.4. Data validation
Most of the data are NA data. We have to assume the quality of these data are OK. As concerns the specific EPEA survey, Statistics Belgium provided an analysis of the degree of precision. We check the plausibility of the NEEP by comparing it to gdp. A comparison is made with the previous year's EPEA version. The replacement of the CEPA and CReMA by the CEP has made this comparison less obvious in 2025.
18.5. Data compilation
Not applicable
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
Not requested for this metadata collection.
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
Not requested for this metadata collection.
No further comments.
Environmental protection expenditure accounts (EPEA) describe transactions related to preventing, reducing and eliminating pollution and any other degradation of the environment. The main aggregate resulting from EPEA is national expenditure on environmental protection (NEEP), which measures the resources dedicated by resident businesses, households and government to protecting the natural environment. This aggregate covers uses of environmental protection services, investment (gross fixed capital formation) for environmental protection activities, and net transfers to the rest of the world for environmental protection. Countries are required to report on: output, consumption, imports and exports of environmental protection services, investment (gross fixed capital formation and acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets) for the production of EP services, transfers for environmental protection.
14 January 2026
The construction of the EPEA closely follows the concepts, definitions and accounting rules of the core national accounts. The SEEA-CF 2012 (section 4.2) identifies environmental protection activities as those activities whose primary purpose is the prevention, reduction and elimination of pollution and other forms of degradation of the environment. These activities include, but are not limited to, the prevention, reduction or treatment of waste and wastewater; the prevention, reduction or elimination of air emissions; the treatment and disposal of contaminated soil and groundwater; the prevention or reduction of noise and vibration levels; the protection of biodiversity and landscapes, including of their ecological functions; monitoring of the quality of the natural environment (air, water, soil and groundwater); research and development on environmental protection; and the general administration, training and teaching activities oriented towards environmental protection.
Environmental protection expenditure accounts present data, in a way that is compatible with the data reported under ESA, on the expenditure for environmental protection, i.e. the economic resources devoted by resident units to environmental protection. EPEA use statistical units from national accounts. National accounts define and use various statistical units and groupings of units that interact economically (see ESA 2010, §§ 1.54-1.56, 2.01-2.03).
The statistical population is the national economy as defined in SEEA CF 2012 and the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). It includes all economic activities undertaken by resident units to produce environmental protection specific services. While some economic activities may be undertaken only for a single purpose, many activities are undertaken for a variety of purposes. Following general principles of classification, activities are deemed to be environmental activities only if the primary purpose of the activity is consistent with the definitions of the environmental protection.
The reference area of the statistics is Belgium. The reference area is the economic territory as defined in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). A unit is said to be a resident unit of a country when it has its centre of economic interest in the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (1 year or more) in economic activities in that territory.
The reference period for EPEA data is the calendar year.
As far as possible, National Accounts data are used. However, only a small set of environmental services and goods or industries can be identified in those accounts (supply and use tables, national accounts by industry). Furthermore, there is no simple one to one relationship between government COFOG-functions and environmental domains. This implies a lot of allocation keys need to be used. Data on ancillary output and environmental protection investment are survey based. The degree of accuracy of this survey is satisfactory overall, but less so as concerns the allocation across industries. The same is true for intermediary consumption of environmental services other than those belonging to CEPs 0301, 0401 and 0501 and for the intermediary consumption of resource management services and goods other than those belonging to CEP 0402. Expenditure by households for all CEPs but 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501 is a minimum, based on data on transfers, which are assumed to cover the extra cost of environmentally friendly alternatives.
Macro economic variables (output, intermediate consumption, investment etc.) are measured in million units of national currency.
Not applicable
All tables, data with respect to transfers: ESST (all CEPs) rescaled on the basis of NA COFOG 05 (all CEPs) ; ETEA (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0501)
Source data - detailed - General government and NPISH
NA COFOG 05 (all CEPs) ; government budget analysis for the federal and three regional governments (all CEPs); NA by industry (all CEPs) ; NA supply and use tables (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501) ; NA detailed government accounts (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501) ; NA detailed annual sector accounts (all CEPs) ; EGSS data (all CEPs); separate study on investment by S15 using data from the Central Balance Sheet Office, the VAT database and the Structural Business Survey (all CEPs).
Source data - detailed – Corporations (specialist and ancillary)
NA by industry (all CEPs) ; NA supply and use tables (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501; CEP 0401 for RNO only) ; EGSS data (all CEPs) ; specific EPEA survey (at NACE 2 digit level; all CEPs, based on automatic conversion of CEPAs + CReMAs); labour market database (all CEPs)
Source data - detailed - Household
NA use table (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501); NA detailed annual sector accounts (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501); ESST (all CEPs)
Source data - detailed - other macro-economic data (import, export, VAT etc.)
EGSS data (all CEPs) ; NA supply table (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501) ; Balance of Payments (CEPs 0301, 0401, 0402 and 0501)
Source data - detailed - national expenditure on environmental protection NEEP
The NEEP is calculated automatically in the EPEA questionnaire.
Source data - detailed – other information
The EPEA are disseminated yearly.
23.5 months.
EPEA accounts are compiled according to harmonised guidelines provided by Eurostat and hence comparable across European countries reporting EPEA accounts to Eurostat.
The entire time series is recalculated each year according to a common methodology. However, with the introduction of the CEP in the 2025 EPEA, a break in the time series for S13 has been introduced in the EPEA dataset. The introduction of the new classification of the environmental domains was perceived as an opportunity to try and allocate environmental expenditure at the most detailed 6-digit CEP class level. The allocation to the 78 CEP classes requires the study of much more detailed information with respect to the government budgets as was the case when environmental expenditure was allocated to the 18 CEPAs and CReMAs. This is a very labour intensive job, as a consequence of which we were only able to achieve this for 2022 and 2023. The 2014-2021 time series was also allocated to the 78 CEP classes, but this was done in a purely mechanical way by means of a conversion table. Obviously, this allocation is much less precise than the one for the years 2022-2023. For the other institutional sectors this kind of methodological break does not occur, except for all variables with respect to transfers. These are also based on the analysis of the government budgets.
