National Statistical Institute

Environmental and Energy Accounts Department, Macroeconomic statistics Directorate

The environmental goods and services sector (EGSS) accounts report on an economic sector that generates goods and services produced for environmental protection or the management of natural resources.

Products for environmental protection prevent, reduce and eliminate pollution or any other degradation of the environment. Examples are electric vehicles, catalysts and filters to decrease pollutant emissions, wastewater and waste treatment services, noise insulation works or restoration of degraded habitats.

Products for resource management safeguard the stock of natural resources against depletion. Examples are renewable energy production, energy-efficient and passive buildings, seawater desalinization or rainwater recovery, and materials recovery.

EGSS accounts provide data on output and export of environmental goods and services and on the value added of and employment in the environmental goods and services sector.

EGSS data are compiled following the statistical concepts and definitions set out in the UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting 2012 – Central Framework.

Data are reported cross-classified by 1) the type of environmental protection or resource management activity and 2) economic activity. Environmental protection activities are classified by environmental domain as set out in the Classification of Environmental Protection Activities - CEPA. Resource management activities are classified as set out in the Classification of Resource Management Activities - CReMA. see the revised CEPA and CReMA explanatory notes for detail. Economic activity is classified according to the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community, Rev. 2 (2008).

EGSS comprises a sector of the economy that produces goods and services aimed at environmental protection and resource management (see SEEA CF 2012 chapter 4). Environmental goods and services either reduce environmental pressures or help maintaining the stock of natural resources or they are designed to be cleaner and more resource efficient than conventional products. Environmental goods and services can be produced by corporations, households, governments and non-profit institutions. The list of environmental activities and products has been set out in the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2174 ('the indicative compendium of environmental goods and services').

EGSS has the same system boundaries as the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) and consists of all environmental products within this production boundary. ESA defines production as the activity carried out under the control and responsibility of an institutional unit that uses input of labour, capital, goods and services to produce output of goods and services.

Only goods and services produced for environmental purposes are included in the scope of the environmental goods and services sector.

'Environmental purpose' means that a good or service helps either 1) preventing, reducing and eliminating pollution and any other degradation of the environment or 2) preserving and maintaining the stock of natural resources and hence safeguarding against depletion.

The EGSS statistics aim at compiling data for the following economic variables:

Output: consists of products that become available for use outside of the producer unit, any goods and services produced for own final use and goods that remain in the inventories at the end of the period in which they are produced. Apart from market output, output for own final use and non-market output, EGSS statistics also include ancillary output, comprising output intended for use within an enterprise.

Market output is to be valued at basic prices, that is, the prices receivable by the producer from the purchaser minus taxes and plus subsidies on products.
Output for own final use is to be valued at basic prices of similar products sold on the market or by the total costs of production.
Non-market output is to be estimated by the total costs of production.
Ancillary output is measured as a total of recurrent production costs (such as intermediate consumption, compensation of employees and consumption of fixed capital) incurred by enterprises to: 1) reduce environmental pressures arising from their production process or 2) produce environmental goods or services not intended for use outside the enterprise, but instead supporting other (non-environmental) activities undertaken within the enterprise (e.g. waste management services carried out in-house). For market producers, a mark-up for net operating surplus is added to the value of the EGSS ancillary output.
Gross Value Added: represents the contribution made by the production of environmental goods and services to GDP. It is the difference between the value of the output and intermediate consumption.

Employment: is measured in full-time equivalent jobs engaged in the production of output of environmental goods and services. Full-time equivalent is defined as total hours worked divided by the average annual working hours in a full-time job.

Exports: consist of sales, barter, gifts, or grants, of environmental goods and services from residents to non-residents.

Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 of 15 March 1993 on the statistical units for the observation and analysis of the production system in the Community describes the different statistical units of the production system.

The recommended statistical unit for the collection and compilation of EGSS statistics (excluding general government) is the establishment. For general government, the recommendation is to use institutional units and groupings of units as defined in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010).

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.

The reference area is the economic territory of the country as defined in SEEA CF 2012 and the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). 

Under Regulation 691/2011, Bulgaria is obliged to report EGSS data for the period 2014-onwards.

Mandatory data reporting at the end of year n covers the reference period n-2 to n-4. Mandatory years 2014 to 2021.

Not requested for this metadata collection.

Output, gross value added, and exports are measured in million units of national currency. Employment is measured in full time equivalents (i.e., full time equivalent jobs).

The reference period for EGSS data is the calendar year. The mandatory reference years are 2019, 2020 and 2021.

EGSS accounts are compiled and reported in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts (EEEA).

The EEEA 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).

EGSS accounts are compiled and reported in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts.

Regular Questionnaire/ Eurostat – Environmental Goods and Services Sector Accounts (EGSS).

Eurostat collects data on EGSS through an annual questionnaire.

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society:

 (http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:087:0164:0173:bg:PDF)

The Law on Staistics also guarantees the protection of statistical confidentiality and the use of individual data by enterprises for statistical purposes only.

(http://www.nsi.bg/en/node/553)

According to the Law on Statistics and the European legislation the individual (primary) data of the enterprises is confidential. In order to ensure their protection and the impossibility of being identified, aggregated indicators are also defined as confidential when:

• Criterion A - an indicator is formed by one or two enterprises;

• Criterion B - one enterprise dominates the value of the indicator with a share equal to or greater than 85%.

Individual data are not published in accordance with article 25 of the Law on Statistics. The publishing of individual data can be performed only in accordance with article 26 of the same law.

We have implemented a procedure for second confidentiality check before sending EGSS Questionnaire to Eurostat. The confidential cells are flagged with footnote c) and secondary confidentiality with footnote d) derived from the reported totals or sub-totals for each NACE Group and CEPA/CReMA domain. The program CIF version 2 has been used for secondary confidentiality treatment verification.

The date of release of statistical information is indicated in the Release Calendar presenting the results of the statistical surveys carried out by the National Statistical Institute.

The calendar is available on the national statistical institute (NSI) website: http://www.nsi.bg/en/node/480

Data on EGSS is published on the NSI website, section ‘Environment’ in accordance with the Law on Statistics and the European Statistics Code of Practice respecting the professional independence and aimed at objectivity, transparency and equal treatment of all consumers.

Annual - EGSS data are published at least once a year, after data for a new reference year have become available.

There is no regular news release on EGSS data.

All publications are prepared in a timely manner, according to the Release Calendar presenting the results of the statistical surveys carried out by the National Statistical Institute.

The EGSS is not published in Publications.

International Publications Eurostat Electronic Publication "Energy, Transport and Environment Indicators" - 3.9 Environmental goods and services.

NSI public online database is available free of charge under the following link: https://www.nsi.bg/en/content/17801/environmental-goods-and-services

Data on EGSS can be found under the following identifiers: 

1. Statistical data 
2.  Environment and Energy 
3.  Environment

Not requested for this metadata collection.

Anonymised individual data can be provided for scientific and research purposes, and upon individual request according to the Rules for the provision of anonymised individual data for scientific and research purposes.

Information service upon request.

Data can be provided to users (given the fact that statistical confidentiality is always observed) usually by fax or e-mail, by submitting a relevant data request. Users have to submit their request, describing in details the requested data, to the Division of Statistical Information and Publications. The requests must be submitted electronically , according to the Rules for Dissemination of Statistical Products and Services | National statistical institute (nsi.bg).

Not requested for this metadata collection.

Data and metadata are posted on the database NSI website under the heading ‘Environment’.

Metadata fulfill the required general structure characteristics.

Metadata: Environmental goods and services | National statistical institute (nsi.bg)

Methodology: Environmental goods and services (nsi.bg)

Guidelines and handbooks EGSS on Eurostat webpage:

• System of Environmental Economic Accounting - Central Framework (SEEA-CF) https://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/seeaRev/SEEA_CF_Final_en.pdf
• Eurostat Handbook Environmental goods and services sector accounts — 2016 edition
• Eurostat Practical guide Environmental goods and services sector accounts — 2016 edition
• CEPA and CReMA explanatory notes (version December 2020)
• Guidance note – Reporting of electric and more resource-efficient transport equipment in EPEA and EGSS accounts (version December 2020)
• Guidance note – Reporting of energetic refurbishment and construction of new energyefficient buildings in EGSS accounts (version December 2020)

Not requested for this metadata collection.

For the mandatory data transmissions from 2017 onwards, Regulation 691/2011 obliges Member States to provide EGSS quality reports, which describe in detail compilation methods and several quality dimensions of the reported data.

The data which are transmitted to Eurostat are accompanied by a relevant Quality Report which outlines the methods for the compilation of EGSS.

According to European Statistics Code of Practice and common framework for quality management in the National Statistical System.

After reporting the data, Eurostat conducts a data validation procedure and if necessary corrections and adjustments are made.

In the quality report to be sent along with the Eurostat questionnaire for EGSS describes the methodology used to collect and process the statistical data. The following criteria for assessing the quality of information are used: relevance, accessibility, accuracy, timeliness and punctuality, clarity, consistency and comparability.

The main users of EGSS data are:

- Eurostat and other international organizations;

- Interested state institutions;

- Research institutes, universities, economic analysts and students;

- Private non-governmental organizations, agencies, associations, media etc;

There has been no study of user satisfaction, but no cases of outstanding requests for information are registered.

The data is reported within time limit specified by Eurostat.

Market activity data are available for all mandatory industries and environmental domains. The EGSS data should be reported in a breakdown by type of environmental product, economic activity and environmental domain. For market activities the market output is reported by environmental specific services and cleaner and resource efficient products.

Not requested for this metadata collection.

The statistical data have good accuracy and reliability.

EGSS accounts are compiled using a range of primary statistical sources. The sampling and non-sampling errors are described in the metadata of the underlying statistical data.

Not requested for this metadata collection.

EGSS accounts are compiled using a range of primary statistical sources. The sampling and non-sampling errors are described in the metadata of the underlying statistical data.

Not requested for this metadata collection.

Not requested for this metadata collection.

Not requested for this metadata collection.

Not requested for this metadata collection.

Not requested for this metadata collection.

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Not requested for this metadata collection.

Not requested for this metadata collection.

EGSS shall be compiled and transmitted on a yearly basis.

Deadline for the reporting of EGSS data and quality reports is 31 October each year.  NSI disseminates the data after their validation by Eurostat.

According to the Regulation the data are compiled and disseminated within 22 months of the end of the reference year. This applies from the reference year 2020.

There is no time lag.

There is no time lag.

The data were delivered to Eurostat on 31 October 2023. The reporting deadline for EGSS to Eurostat is 31 October.

NSI publishes the data once their validation process has been completed

The scope of environmental products/activities include those whose primary purpose is to reduce or eliminate pressures on the environment (EP) or to make efficient use of natural resources (RM).

Regulation (EU) 2015/2174 comprises the environmental goods and services as well as the economic activities to be covered by the EGSS accounts. To facilitate the use of the indicative compendium Eurostat maintains two lists, one of activities and one of products.

Geographical comparability is provided by the general conceptual framework (Environmental goods and services sector accounts — Handbook and Practical guide, 2016 edition) and through Implementing Regulation 2174/2015 that provides an indicative compendium of environmental goods and services and thus determines the perimeter of the EGSS sector. Products from the indicative compendium in Regulation (EU) 2015/2174 are all included in statistical survey for Environmental goods and services.

EGSS data are consistent compilations of environmental activities of national economies.

Not requested for this metadata collection.

There are no excluded products and services from the Indicative compendium.

No.

Time-series checks applied during the validation aim to assure good time-series consistency of reporting data.

There is break in the time series before 2019 due to change of the methodology by adding sample data collection and comprehensive studied population. Since sample based estimations are influenced by random factors, an important requirement for this approach is to use data from several continuous years. 

The EGSS methodology was developed in the following three directions:

• By adding new administrative data sources to generate an extended list of enterprises, for which we expect that they produce EGSS; this is the comprehensively studied population, which provides essential data for EGSS reporting.
• By using a random sample data collection for representativeness in the sectors, where it is needed.
• By limiting the studied population to enterprises with 10 and more employees, which represent a larger share of the economy than small enterprises

From 2019 to 2021 reference years

The data is coherent with National accounts and SBS.

The reported data for EGSS is coherent with Structural Business Statistics (SBS). The data used from SBS is the Annual report of companies having income from ecological activities which is collected via the Information system ‘Business Statistics’ for data checks with the reported data in EGSS survey by enterprise (micro level) are:

- actual NACE, Net annual income, Production value (output), Value added at factor cost, Expenditure (including external services, raw materials, wages and salaries, social contributions, business trips, other expenditure, excluding balance value of sold assets and provisions) and Number of persons employed.

EGSS is a satellite account of National Accounts (European System of Accounts, ESA 2010) and has the same system boundaries. Due to its consistency with national accounts EGSS is important input for analyses of the green economy and environmental and resource policy and for monitoring policy targets.

The data is coherent with data from National accounts. 

There are checks in place to make sure that the EGSS output in any NACE does not exceed the total output of national accounts in that NACE categories. An analogous rule is in place for exports, GVA and employment as well.

EGSS results should be coherent with EPEA data for mandatory CEPA domains, as parts of both of these datasets are compiled using same data sources and methods.

There are no quality checks in place to check the coherence between these two datasets, but we make efforts to ensure coherence between EGSS and EPEA where possible in the main environmental domains. In the validation reports Eurostat requires reported data in EPEA and EGSS for market and non-market output not differ by more than 10% from each other.

The data reported in the EGSS questionnaire are internally coherent (totals are consistent with the sum of the breakdowns) by NACE and CEPA/CReMA domains.

Overall 2 experts work in EGSS data production.

Revision of the data is applied if necessary.

Revision of the data is applied if necessary.

Not applicable.

All the submitted data can be considered final.

The source of data for Enviromnent goods and services sector is the annual statistical survey for Environmental goods and services (EGSS),  adding sample data collection and comprehensive studied population.

The scope of EGSS products and activities is determined based on the EGSS operational list from Eurostat.

The survey (questionnaire) has Annex which is fully coherent with EGSS operational list:

- In the Annex there is detailed code table about the produced environemntal goods and services by: type of environmental product (connected goods, adapted products, end-of-pipe technologies, integrated technologies, services) and environmental domain: CEPA/CReMA class and group.

The comprehensively studied population is supplemented by examining additional administrative data sources, mainly administrative registers for identifying the producers of environmental goods and services.

The administrative data registers for complying EGSS include:

- Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forests:

All enterprises from the Register of Organic Agriculture who are producers of organic agricultural products (plant and livestock) with a valid certificate and food produced organically are included. They are classified as producers of adapted goods in CEPA 4.

- Public Procurements Agency (PPA):

A list of enterprises, registered as contractors with the contract sum and their unified budget number for assigning code of economic activity. The main targets are public procurements related to environmental protection activities (CEPA 1, 2, 3, 4, 6) and resource management activities (CReMA 10, 12, 13 and 14). The targeted enterprises are those that have received payments as contractors of public procurement services with (primary) purpose criterion, which is in this case, environmental protection or resource management. We identified the enterprises by keywords CEPA & CReMA (energy-efficient, energy-saving and auditing, renewable, glazing windows, thermal insulation, biofuels, air, wastewater, waste, recycling, soil, noise, biodiversity, radiation, wild flora and fauna, aquaculture, organic farming, minerals). After selecting the enterprises, we assigned codes of economic activity from the statistical register. We added them to the general population list for the EGSS survey if they were missing.

In this way we identified mainly enterprises related to design and implementation of construction and installation works in connection with the implementation of the National Program for Energy Efficiency (insulation services), construction and installation of wastewater treatment plants and waste services.

- Agency for Sustainable Energy Development:

All companies producing green energy (NACE 35) classified in CREMA 13A and a list of companies working in the field of energy auditing/consultancy of buildings (CREMA 13B) are added to the general population.

The Statistical data sources for identifying EGSS producers are:

- Accounts and Prices in Agriculture and Forestry

A list of state forest and hunting holdings and companies whose primary activity is afforestation, sorting, forest inventory, forest management consultancy and others related to the management of forest areas CReMA 11.

- PRODCOM

Enterprises which have production of EGSS goods - biofuels, pellets, multiple-walled insulating units of glass, etc

For estimations, based on sample surveys, only data from enterprises with 10 and more employees are used. The data received from the enterprises with less than 10 employees are added to the estimated values.

From the statistical business register we include: CEPA 3, CEPA 2, CReMA 13C and 14:

- All enterprises (specialized producers of environmental protection services) with NACE 37-39

- All enterprises with NACE 38.3 material recovery activities

The produced goods and services cover domains CEPA 3, CEPA 2, CReMA 13C and 14.

The source of data is annual statistical survey (questionnaire).

The main respondents of the survey are specialized producers from NACE 36,37,38,39, NACE 35 for production of electricity from renewable sources, companies that have license for organic production, municipalities, ministers for non-market producers and others. The frequency is annual. The list of studied population (comprehensive and by sample) is updated every year.            

No other data source.

Data are collected on a yearly basis.

Data are checked by comprehensive validation procedure using IT tools in excel format. 

Data compilation is in accordance with the definitions and accounting rules described in the EGSS handbook

Formulas from national accounts are used for calculations of market and non-market output and GVA.

Output and GVA are calculated separately for market and non-market output based on the final data from statistical survey for Environmental goods and services (EGSS).

For cross-checking purposes, the reported market output, GVA, employment in EGSS sector, total employment and exports value are checked with SBS database - Income and expenses annual reports.

Shares are used to estimate the environmental services on detailed NACE-level about the produced environemntal goods and services by: type of environmental product (connected goods, adapted products, end-of-pipe technologies, integrated technologies, services) and environmental domain: CEPA/CReMA class and group reported through the annual survey for EGSS each year. The survey covers all listed  products from the EGSS operational list from Eurostat.           

Not requested for this metadata collection.

Output, GVA, exports and employment are taken from the survey of  EGSS.

Market output is the output that is sold or disposed in any other way on the market or intended for sale or exchange in future periods at economically significant prices and cover the cost of production of goods and services The market output is calculated from net annual revenue from sales of environmental goods and services (less the book value of goods sold).

Non-market output is estimated as the sum of all current expenditure (for materials, for external services, labor, social security, etc.) used to produce it.

Intermediate consumption includes the value of all goods and services, transformed or entirely consumed in the production process during the period, excluding consumption of fixed assets recorded as consumption of fixed capital (depreciation).

Market GVA = market output minus intermediate consumption. Intermediate consumption is sum of expenditure on raw materials, for external services, other expenditure (excluding balance value of sold assets and provisions), expenditure on business trips and travels.

Non-market GVA is sum of expenditure on labor (wages) and social contributions.

We compile the data on exports and employment from the survey of EGSS and it is in FTE.

EGSS data broken down by NACE is very important for comparability of the EGSS accounts with national accounts.

The breakdown by NACE is reported mostly based on the NACE of the enterprise that produces EGSS goods and services – information for actual NACE is taken from Register of statistical units annually. General government units (S13) with NACE O, 84 are non-market producers of EGSS and their output is non-market output. The main producers of market output in environmental products are the non-financial corporations sector. For non-financial enterprises which are classified as non-market producers we use List from National accounts which under ESA 2010 are reclassified into the General Government Sector.

The construction of new buildings that are certified as ‘nearly zero-energy’ by the national certification/labelling schemes has to be reported as MEMO ITEM_CReMA 13B. EGSS accounts compilers are asked to estimate the (full) value of output (and related employment, GVA and exports) of low-energy consumption and passive buildings construction, to be reported in the core part of the EGSS questionnaire. At the current stage NSI cannot provide data on the full value of the on the newly constructed buildings designed to have near-zero energy consumption (NZEB). As requested by Eurostat in the last validation round we have examined NZEB national plan and overview report of energy efficiency policies in the building sector.

The National Nearly Zero-Energy Building Plan 2015–2020 (NPSBNPE) is developed on the basis of Article 9(1) of Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings. According to the NPSBNPE ‘A nearly zero-energy building’ is a building that cumulatively satisfies the following

conditions:

a) the building’s energy consumption, expressed as primary energy, corresponds to energy performance Class A or Class A++ for that type of building (48 – 95 kWh/m2 for residential buildings and 70 -140 kWh/m2 for administrative and office buildings, hospitals);

b) at least 55% of the energy used (supplied) for heating, cooling, ventilation, domestic hot water and

lighting is energy from renewable sources produced in the building or in its close surroundings, which is defined as to be ‘on-site and nearby’.

According to the new Ordinance on the technical requirements for the energy performance of buildings (the "Ordinance") which entered into force in the end of November 2022 mandates that from 1^st of January 2024 all new buildings must be designed to have near-zero energy consumption or to be ‘A nearly zero-energy buildings’. Until that date, the new buildings should be designed with energy consumption of at least of Class B. Existing buildings will also have to be refitted to move from Class C, as previously required, to Class B. Only if it is impossible to improve energy efficiency can the building remain in Class C.

Under measure BG-RRP-4.023 - Support for sustainable energy renovation of the residential building stock - STAGE 1 is targeted towards sustainable energy renovation of the national building stock of residential buildings (deadline for applications was the end of May 2023 year).

Specific objectives:

• Improving the energy characteristics of the national building stock of residential buildings, by applying integrated energy-efficient measures;

• Achieving a minimum "B" energy consumption class after implementing energy-saving measures in residential buildings;

• Stimulating a minimum of 30% primary energy savings for renovated residential buildings;

We will continue asking the Sustainable Energy Development Agency (SDEA) which is national authority for the implementation of National Renewable Energy Action Plan and National information system on the state of EE (Building energy performance reports). We will ask the Ministry of Regional Development which is responsible for renovation of existing buildings programme for beneficiaries’ of measure BG-RRP-4.023.

For energy efficiency related measures in CREMA 13 B we report data from our survey for energy refurbishment and renovation of existing buildings (services for installation of thermal insulation inside/outside the buildings, installation of triple-glassed windows, services for installing machines and equipment for reducing the consumption of heat and electricity, installing solar panels for water heating, consultancy, architectural and engineering projects and services related to the energy efficiency of buildings).

In conclusion there is still lack of accurate information on: 

- the number and area of existing buildings reaching the target to be NZEB, and is the minimum Renewable energy share (>50%), only reached energy class;

- how the Ordinance implementation of new regulatory requirements for design and construction of new NZEB will be accounted – Bulgaria is behind the deadline set out in the Directive that all new buildings will be NZEB  by 31 December 2020;

- Overall 22 existing buildings have reached energy consumption of class A,  source National information system on the state of energy efficiency measures, link https://www.seea.government.bg/documents/SG%20_Final_BG.html

Not applicable.

Not requested for this metadata collection.