Ecological thresholds and resource use: emerging indicators for a sustainable economy
date: 19/08/2016
Across Europe, the number of indicators measuring resource use and efficiency is growing, and these indicators are increasingly being used to support policy making. Integrating environmental variables into statistical reporting is relevant to evidence-based policy making which promotes sustainability.
Research on planetary boundaries can empirically support Beyond GDP policy development and implementation. Identifying critical environmental thresholds enables the analysis of limits to economic growth. Thus, indicators represent a useful tool for monitoring whether, and to what extent, contemporary society is respecting such boundaries.
EU Resource Efficiency Indicators
At the EU level, Eurostat has developed a Resource Efficiency Scoreboard to measure progress towards the EU resource-efficient Europe flagship initiative as part of the Europe 2020 strategy adopted in 2010. This scoreboard includes a lead indicator on resource productivity, 8 macro-indicators on land, water and carbon, and 20 thematic indicators covering three areas (transforming the economy, nature and ecosystems, key areas). The lead indicator compares GDP to Domestic Material Consumption, which measures the total amount of materials directly used by an economy, i.e. the annual quantity of raw materials extracted from the domestic territory, plus all physical imports minus all physical exports.
Source: Ricardo Energy & Environment (2016) EU Resource Efficiency Scoreboard 2015, p. 9
European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Raw Materials’ Monitoring and Evaluation
The EIP on Raw Materials was established in 2013 in order to “ensure the sustainable supply of non-energy, non-agricultural raw materials to the European economy whilst ensuring benefits for society as a whole”. As part of the monitoring and evaluation strategy for the EIP on Raw Materials, the European Commission has recently developed a “Raw Materials Scoreboard”. This is aimed at providing policy makers and stakeholders with quantitative data on the EIP's general objectives and on the raw materials policy context. It includes 24 indicators grouped into 5 thematic clusters (raw materials in the global context, competitiveness and innovation, framework conditions for mining, circular economy and recycling, environmental and social sustainability). The scoreboard will be updated every 2 years.
Circular Economy Action Plan
In order to support EU efforts to “develop a sustainable, low carbon, resource efficient and competitive economy”, the European Commission adopted in 2015 the EU Action Plan for a Circular Economy, establishing a programme of policy measures covering the whole production and consumption cycle. A monitoring framework for implementing this action plan is under development, building on the already available Resource Efficiency Scoreboard and Raw Material Scoreboard. The Commission is working in close cooperation with the European Environment Agency and intends to involve EU Member States.
Ecological Footprint
Ecological Footprint measures human pressure on the environment. It is defined as the area of biologically productive land and water needed by an individual, population or activity to produce all the resources it consumes and absorb all the waste it produces. This Ecological footprint is calculated taking into account resources from all over the world. The Global Footprint Network annually reports on the global ecological footprint based on UN data and wider sources. A number of Member States and institutions have applied the tool at national, local and municipal level.
Sustainable Developments Goals
Among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 by the United Nations, Goal 12 – “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns” – promotes a circular economy. It includes targets to achieve “the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources” (12.2) and to “substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse” (12.5). Specific indicators are associated with each target. For example, material footprint and material footprint per capita – which are comparable to ecological footprint – are used to monitor target 12.2, while national recycling rates and tons of material recycled are used to monitor target 12.5.