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Environment Canada:Environmental Indicator Reporting

Environment Canada

Paula Brand

Director, Strategic Alignment Division

April 8,2008

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Presentation outline

• Background / diagnostique– User needs research

• Integrating indicators to next generation State of Environment reporting

• Key elements

– Key indicators

– Web-based delivery

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Reporting as a basis for demonstrating accountability to Canadians

• Reporting to Canadians on the state of their environment is a federal role

• Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) provides the legislative basis for State of Environment reporting

– Requires the Minister “publish, arrange for the publication of or distribute through an information clearinghouse… a periodic report on the state of the Canadian environment” [44(1)(f)ii].

• Supported by broad Ministerial responsibilities outlined in the Department of Environment Act

– the Minister shall, “initiate, recommend and undertake programs, and coordinate programs of the Government of Canada that are designed… to provide to Canadians environmental information in the public interest” [5(a)(iii)]

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Numerous SoE reporting efforts have had varied results

• Iterations of SoE reporting efforts: – 1986, 1991 & 1996: large reports focussed on amassing considerable

amounts of scientific information– 1991: Report on Canada’s Progress Towards a National Set of Environmental

Indicators– 1993-1996: SoE Fact Sheets– 1992-2001: SoE Indicator Bulletins– 1997-2002: 5 NR Department MOU for Federal SoE reporting

▪ (i.e.: Nutrients in the Canadian Environment, Ecological Assessment of the Boreal Shield)

– 1997-2005: Thematic and regional reports – 2001: Tracking key environmental issues– 2003: Environmental Signals: National Environmental Indicator Series– 2005, 2006, 2007: Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators Initiative

• Shifting and unsustained reporting efforts over the past 20 years have failed to:

– inform Canadians – provide consistent information over time

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Environmental Reporting in Canada: Reporting in transition

•Moving towards using indicators for more integrated sustainable development reporting, performance reporting for decision-makers •From

– Comprehensive State of the Environment reports for broad public use

– Environmental indicators for public awareness

To– Sustainable development indicators, performance reporting,

socio-economic modules (e.g., Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators) for policy analysts, managers as a key user group, and for Canadians

– Focus on information systems, analysis capacity and user needs

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Environmental Signals: indicators in 15 issue areas

• Air quality*• Climate change*• Acid rain• Stratospheric ozone• Severe weather and

disasters• Energy • Transportation•

• Freshwater*

•Biodiversity•Soil quality•Agricultural landscapes•Forested landscapes•Watersheds•Toxic substances•Municipal solid waste

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Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators

• Indicators to measure environmental performance in relation to economic performance and human health that can sure to supplement traditional health and economic measures

• Focus on 3 indicators, annual reporting– Air quality– Greenhouse gas emissions– Freshwater quality

• Environmental-economic connections

• Web-based information system - drill down

• Audience: policy analysts and public, can serve a variety of communities, requires a product suite

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Air and GHG Results

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CEPA review recommendations address frequency and delivery of SoE reporting

• CEPA consultations– Highlighted the need for “easily understandable, reliable and relevant

information” . . . to “track results . . . warn of potential new threats and . . . help shape environmental and health protection policies and practices”

• Parliamentary Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development

– Recommends “that the government publish biennially, in electronic and hard copy formats, a comprehensive state of the environment report to provide timely, accurate and accessible environmental information, integrated with socioeconomic factors, to improve decision-making and support progress towards sustainability”

• Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources

– Recommends “that CEPA 1999 be amended to require the Government of Canada to publish a comprehensive State of the Environment Report no less frequently than every ten years”

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Communicating Canada’s environmental performance story

• Previous SoE reporting efforts were communicated from a science perspective making it complicated for Canadians

• In the absence of a strong federal story, Canada’s performance story is being told by others:

– Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)– United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)– Suzuki Foundation

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Public opinion research provides insight for demand-driven reporting

• Clear demand for authoritative, timely, credible, consistent information

• Unanimous support for the currently reported issues (air, water, climate change), no consensus on the next priority

• Preference for depth of information on priority topics versus coverage of a greater breadth of topics

• Information needed for public: real-world impacts, international comparability, what do the statistics mean

Focus Group Participants’ Key Questions:● what are the concrete impacts of these trends?

● is the situation getting better or worse? ● what is being done?● what can be done to address these issues?

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What we heard on the importance of international comparison

• Very important to see how Canada compares to other countries

– Adopting best practices / cooperation– Establishing benchmarks / standards– National pride– Credibility, accountability– Interconnectedness

“It’s a global issue”

“National pride”

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Public opinion research identified other common findings

• Overwhelming support for trends over time

• Desire for more up to date information (< 2 yrs)

• Demand for local and place-based information

• Target audiences (Canadians, stakeholders) more receptive to web delivery

– Information access is by media, web search, Wikipedia

• While improvements were suggested, all agreed an initiative like CESI is important

Public opinion feedback on current CESI initiative:

“very important”, “absolutely important”, “extremely important”, “essential”

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Technology exists for an effective new approach• Advances in information technologies are revolutionizing

the way people interact with information

• Customer satisfaction increases significantly when government services are accessed through the web

• Parliamentary committee recognized need for a modernized SoE reporting approach

– “…should be reinstated in manner suitable to today’s technology that gives access to the data as well as analysis.”

• Web is the most effective means to respond to public expectations

– More frequent reporting cycles, access to underlying detail, local scale information

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Next generation SoE reporting

▪ Focus on issues of importance to Canadians and GoC agenda (Climate change, air, water, protected areas)

▪ Demand driven and policy-based▪ Trend-based information▪ Easily understood

▪ Dashboard approach ▪ Access to local and regional level information▪ Customizable and searchable

VISION

Key Indicators

Web-based delivery

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SoE reporting driven from an audience-based perspective

Inventory And Monitoring Data and

Statistics

People withTopic or Issue Interests

Is problem X common? How are conditions changing?

ManagersAnd

Policy AnalystsIs Program Z

“doing its job?”

Core Indicators

Generally Informed Public How are we doing overall?What does it mean to me?

Scientist / Individuals

Public

Policy, PlanningAnd

ManagementMetrics

Key indicators

CESI

National Inventory

Report What are current conditions

and trends at Area C

VISION

DPR

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Key indicators: Attributes based on public audience perspective

Inventory And Monitoring Data and

Statistics

Core Indicators

Attributes of Key Indicators- Easily understood- Health related- Performance toward a target- Trends (are things getting better / worse?)- Comparable internationally

Policy, PlanningAnd

ManagementMetrics

Key Indicators

Science Program Reporting- Assessments, technical, science-based - Examples: GHG Inventory, State of the Air, Ecosystem Status & Trends, CCME Water Task Group

INDICATORS

Attributes of Core Indicators- Authoritative measures- Status and trends- Basis for comparison

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Key indicators: Criteria for selection

• User relevance – Simple, understandable and easy to interpret by target audience

• Policy relevance – Monitor key outcomes of environmental policy and legislation, and inform

on familiar issues to the public

• Analytical validity – Accurate whether based on scientific, community or traditional

knowledge. Data are credible and robust and the methodologies have integrity

• Measurability– Long term, derived from information collected in a comparable manner

from year to year. Information will be available in the future and show reliability over time

• Cost effectiveness– Require limited numbers of parameters to be established and simple to

monitor, regular monitoring is in place

INDICATORS

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Web-based delivery: SoE reporting based on a high profile web presence

• Shift from lengthy, descriptive reports to a dynamic online information source ensuring access to the most up-to-date information

• Window to My Environment with functionality including:

– Customizable dashboard to environmental information

– User ability to select indicators, functionality and scalability ▪ mapping, searching, viewing: my city, my indicator

– Links to information at various scales ▪ local, provincial / territorial information

– Address fundamental user needs question ▪ “How are we doing and what can I do?”

WEB-BASED DELIVERY

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Web-based Delivery: Mock home page

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Web-based delivery: A user mock upWEB-BASED DELIVERY

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CESI renewal provides the basis for next generation SoE reporting

• CESI provides the foundation of core indicators – Established consistent base of environmental quality information over last 4 yrs

– Public and stakeholder support for CESI-like effort to provide key environmental information

• A transparent consultative process used to developed a path forward– User needs – Canadians, stakeholders, internal decision-makers

– Diagnostique – best practices, lessons learned, international analysis, historical reviews, workshops, senior level consultations

• CESI 2008 report will begin transition to new SoE reporting vision – Providing more trends, access to site level information, better integration of

socio-economic information

– Enhanced web-based reporting