Sustainable development on a National Level – the Finnish Approach

Lea Kauppi, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE)

Several people have contributed to this presentation

My special thanks to the secretariat of the Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development as well as to Aino Inkinen, Matti Melanen, Per Mickwitz and Jyri Seppälä from SYKE

Contents of the presentation

Strategic framework Institutional framework Assessment framework ECOREG – assessing regional

sustainability ENVIMAT - an extended input-output

model as a sustainability assessment tool

Finnish model of Sustainable Development Continuity on the political agenda (since 1987) Continuous vertical and horizontal coordination –

National SD commission as the main facilitator since 1993

Leadership on a high political level (Government) Broad-based political dialogue between the

government and the stakeholders Policy coherence Transparency and stakeholder cooperation during the

whole life-span of SD strategy processes Towards Sustainability Governance

Long history of strategies and programmes for sustainable development in Finland 1990: Sustainable development in Finland

1995: Finnish Action for Sustainable Development

1998: Finnish Government Programme for Sustainable Development

2000: Signs of Sustainability: Finland’s indicators for SD

2003: Evaluation of sustainable development in Finland

2006: National Strategy for Sustainable Development: Towards Sustainable Choices – A nationally and globally sustainable Finland

Dec. 2009: Evaluation report: State of Sustainable Development in Finland

National SD Strategy 2006 (NSDS)

Strategy framework

Vision: to assure well-being within the limits of the carrying capacity of nature nationally and globally

Objective: to create sustainable well-being in a safe and pluralistic society that promotes participation, and in which all people bear responsibility for the environment

Starting point: the key guidelines of the Strategy help form foundation for drafting Government and policy programmes and help various actors select solutions that observe the principles of sustainable development.

Timeline for the targets is beyond the current generation, extending until about 2030

Key challenges:Globally:

climate change

global poverty and inequality

population growth

Nationally:

climate change

adaptation to rapid global economic changes

demographic changes

Main themes of the NSDS Sustainable communities in a

sustainable regional structure

Balance between the use and protection of natural resources

Well-being throughout the life-span

The economy as a safeguard for sustainable development

Finland as a responsible global actor

Supporting sustainable choices

Finnish National Commission on SD (FNCSD)

Government re-appointed the National Commission on SD in February 2008

Main objective: promote the inclusion of the strategic goals of SD in national policies and administrative practices

Main task: promote, evaluate and monitor the implementation of the National Strategy for SD; and ensure that all societal actors advance the proposals set out in the strategy

Work Programme and Communication Plan for 2008-2012 adopted in June 2008

Composition of the FNCSD Chair: Minister of Labour

and Industry Vice-chair: Minister of the

Environment

43 members and deputies meetings 4-5 times a year

+ seminars 1-2 times a year

Subcommittee on locally and regionally sustainable development, term 2007-2012

4 Sector Ministers Ministries and gov’t

agencies The Parliament Local government Academic sector Business and Industry Interest groups Non-governmental

organisations The indigenous Sámi-

people Two churches Culture and Arts

Organization of the work within the FNCSD Inter-Ministerial Network Secretariat (sectoral SD

contact points) • prepares the meetings and the work programme of

the Commission• appr. 20 active civil servants from various ministries

Operational Secretariat General within the MoE• 4 civil servants • development, preparation, coordination and

management of the Finnish SD policy and the meetings of the FNCSD and its Secretariat

Sustainable development policy cycle

Identification of key challenges and strategic goals • NSDS 2006

Government commitment to implement the goals • Decision-in-Principle 2006 • Government Programme 2007

Implementation of the Strategy goals (ongoing)

Follow-up of the implementation by SD indicators • Indicator report in 2007• ongoing updating of data

Evaluation of progress and assessment of impacts • first progress report by sector Ministries in 2007• Evaluation process in 2009 concluding with an overall

report

Facilitation of the implementation and evaluation of the strategy by the FNCSD

A.Political level• Support to the sector ministries

to mainstream SD into their sector policies & programmes

• Permanent Secretary engagement

B.Operational level• Support to the sector ministries to draw up

their own SD action plans with practical measures

C.Methodological level• Methodological development and process design helping the sectors to

assess the impacts of NSDS

Assessment Framework Progress reporting by ministries and other

stakeholders represented in the FNCSD Regular monitoring using the headline indicators Self-assessment with the help of CAF annex on

sustainable development Setting criteria for impact assessment of the

strategy Developing a toolbox for ministries in order to

observe the SD aspects in policy-planning Present the state of SD in Finland and key

challenges and trends for the future EVALUATION REPORT IN DECEMBER 2009

Monitoring Regional Sustainability – Indicators

Developed and Used in the Finnish Kymenlaakso Region

ECOREG 2002–2004www.environment.fi/syke/ecoreg

The aim:To demonstrate the concept and evaluation

of eco-efficiency at a regional scale

Kymenlaakso Region, Finland

Myllykoski Paper, Anjalankoski. Photo: Myllykoski Paper Oy

The working process – based on multistakeholder involvement and empowerment

Workshop participants

Steering group

Projectgroup

Ne

eds

Prio

ritis

ing

Ide

as

Re

sults

Eco-efficiencyof Kymenlaakso

and its measuring

The system boundaries of the ECOREG analysis

Simultaneous monitoring of eco-efficiency and socio-cultural development > Monitoring of sustainability

Eco-efficiency

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Year

Economic output Environmental burden 1

Environmental burden 2 Environmental burden 3

Rel

ativ

e c

hang

e

Socio-cultural welfare

80

85

90

95

100

105

110

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Year

Employment Safety Population change Culture

Rel

ativ

e c

hang

e

The indicators based on economic and material flow analysis

A ”top-down approach” (Input-Output Analysis, I-O)

862385

2642

0

5 00

1 00 0

1 50 0

2 00 0

2 50 0

3 00 0

K ym e nla ak so F in lan d E U -1 5

G ro ss do m es tic p ro d uc t p e r to ta l a re a in K ym en laa k so , F in lan d an d th e E U in 20 0 0, 1 0 00 eu ro /km 2

25.6 25.1 22.6

0

5

1 0

1 5

2 0

2 5

3 0

K ym e nla ak so F in lan d E U -1 5

G ro ss do m es tic p ro d uc t p e r c a p ita in K ym e n la ak so , F in lan d an d th e E U in 20 0 0, 1 00 0 e u ro

National-economy-wide material flow balance

19.0

4.23

0

1

2

3

4

K ym en-

laakso

F in lan d E U-15

0

1

2

3

4

K ym en-

laakso

F in la nd E U-15

D irec t m a teria l inp u ts /G D P in 2 0 00 , kg /eu ro

D irec t m a teria l inp u ts /a re a in 2 0 00 , kg /m 2

The indicators based on environmental analysis

A ”bottom-up approach” (Life Cycle Assessment, LCA)

Activity sectors

Kymenlaakso regionUpstream Downstream

Wood

Electricity

Other raw materials

HeatChemicals

Wood

Gravel, crushed rock

Water

Other raw materials

Raw materials

Final products

Fuels

Chemicals

Transports

Boundaries of the environmental analysis (”cradle-to-gate”)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Agriculture Forestry Communities Rural andholiday homes

Industry Traffic

Imp

act

valu

e

Climate change

Stratosphericc ozone depletion

Tropospheric ozone formation

Acidification

Eutrophication

Aquatic oxygen depletion

Ecotoxicity

Environmental accidents

Contamination of soil and water resources

Deterioration of local air quality

Depletion of non-renewable resources

Odour

Noise

Loss of biodiversity

Degradation of landscapes and cultural environments

Loss of recreational values

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Agriculture Forestry Communities Rural andholiday homes

Industry Traffic

Imp

act

valu

e

Climate change

Stratosphericc ozone depletion

Tropospheric ozone formation

Acidification

Eutrophication

Aquatic oxygen depletion

Ecotoxicity

Environmental accidents

Contamination of soil and water resources

Deterioration of local air quality

Depletion of non-renewable resources

Odour

Noise

Loss of biodiversity

Degradation of landscapes and cultural environments

Loss of recreational values

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Agriculture Forestry Communities Rural andholiday homes

Industry Traffic

Imp

act

valu

e

Climate change

Stratosphericc ozone depletion

Tropospheric ozone formation

Acidification

Eutrophication

Aquatic oxygen depletion

Ecotoxicity

Environmental accidents

Contamination of soil and water resources

Deterioration of local air quality

Depletion of non-renewable resources

Odour

Noise

Loss of biodiversity

Degradation of landscapes and cultural environments

Loss of recreational values

Impact values calculated for the activity sectors (the sum of the values equals 10 000)

Social and cultural indicators supporting the measurement of eco-efficiency

POPULATIONCHANGE

EDUCATION

SAFETY

SOCIAL EXCLUSIONEMPLOYMENT

LOCALIDENTITY

HEALTH

CULTURE

POPULATION CHANGE

-1 0 0 0

-80 0

-60 0

-40 0

-20 0

0

1 98 0 1 98 5 1 99 0 1 99 5 2 00 0 2 00 5

NET M IGR ATIONPersons

0

5 00

1 00 0

1 50 0

2 00 0

2 50 0

3 00 0

3 50 0

1 98 0 1 98 5 1 99 0 1 99 5 2 00 0 2 00 5

NUMBER OF FOREIGNERS

Persons

0

40

80

120

160

200

1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Number o f non-em ployed per 100 em ployed

DEPENDENCY RATIO

Not in the work force Pensioners (+65)Ch ildren (0 -15)

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

1 98 0 1 98 5 1 99 0 1 99 5 2 00 0 2 00 5

Kym enlaakso

EXCESS O F B IRTHS

Per 1000 persons

Fin land

Application of the indicators in Kymenlaakso: the 1st eco-efficiency follow-up report (2000-2004)

Volume growth of value added in Kymenlaakso and in Finland T1T1

Volume index of value added/Value added at the prices of 2000, 1996 = 100

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

Kymenlaakso 100 103,3 106,4 106,2 111,5 109,2 109,2 112,1

Finland 100 106,2 111,4 115,3 122 123,4 126,1 128,5

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Source: Statistics Finland, regional accounts 19 Apr 2005

Application of the indicators in Kymenlaakso:use in the regional planning

The concept of eco-efficiency has found its way to Kymenlaakso's Regional Strategic Plan 2005-2015

The following vision is formulated for the future Kymenlaakso:

"An attractive and eco-efficient, internationally interactive region.”

Eco-efficiency will also have a central role in Kymenlaakso's Regional Development Programme 2007-2010 which implements the Strategic Plan. Relevant ECOREG indicators will be used for monitoring the Programme's success.

The ”ECOREG tools”

• Indicators for regional eco-efficiency

• Working processes and methods for constructing these indicators

• Mechanism for monitoring eco-efficiency and social development, i.e. sustainability

Conclusions

Actions Measures increasingeco-efficiency

Responsibilities

Calculation

tool Calculation of eco -efficiency indicators

Assessing progress towardseco-efficiency

Determining coordinationresponsibilities

Creating a cooperation network

Establishing amanagement group

Data collection

Regional-level planning:Land use: -Regional land use plansAction planning:-Regional strategies, plans and programmes-Sectoral plans:-Environmental health programmes-Planning traffic systems-Waste management, water supply and water protection plans-Fire safety and rescue plans

Utilisation possibilities of the data produced by the ECOREG mechanism

Municipal level:-SD action programmes (Agenda 21 work)

Corporate level:-Environmental reporting-Social responsibility reporting

Concluding remarks about ECOREG

The ”ECOREG tools”:

1) The project’s overall concepts, approaches and methods for developing and applying regional eco-efficiency / sustainability indicators, are applicable throughout Europe.

2) However, a suitable local process is needed, whereby the mechanism is adapted to fit the specific local circumstances and objectives.

In general:

3) Measuring (the progress made in) regional eco-efficiency / sustainability is possible and meaningful.

4) Indicators based on life cycle thinking can be developed. Appropriate system boundaries are a major challenge!

An extended input-output model as a sustainability assessment tool

ENVIMAT

Overview of the extended input-output (ENVIMAT) model

Key SD indicators and ENVIMAT Examples of results of ENVIMAT

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Overview of the ENVIMAT model

an environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) model on the macro-economic level in Finland

LCA approach to the environmental and socio-economic impacts of consumption and production in Finland

provides also information on environmental impacts of the Finnish economy abroad through imports and on the role of exports in the domestic impacts

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The ENVIMAT model

consists of 151 industries with their 918 domestic products

describes the interactions of monetary and physical flows between industries

includes data on emissions (appr. 80), natural resources (appr. 25), land use, wastes, energy within industries

is able to link information on 772 imported products

includes data on 2002 and 2005 (at present)

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The structure of the ENVIMAT model

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Industries

Product groups

DomesticAnalysis

Import

Consumptioncommodities

DMI = Direct Material Input, TMR = Total Material Requirement, DMC = Direct Material Consumption, TMC = Total Material Consumption

Tables

Indicators

Production

Consumption

Value addedEmployment

DMI, TMRDMC,TMCEnergy

Environmentalimpacts

Monetaryinput-outputtables (MIOT)

Physicalinput-outputtables (PIOT)

Environmentaltables

Export

Current indicators of the ENVIMAT model

material flow account indicators: total material requirement (TMR), direct material inputs (DMI), domestic material consumption (DMC), total material consumption (TMC)

domestic value added and employment

environmental impacts: climate change, stratospehric ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication, tropospheric ozone formation, ecotoxicity, human toxicity, biodiversity, depletion of natural resources• total environmental impacts (=eco-index)• wastes, land use, ecological footprint

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I . GOOD LIFE IN A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY 24/101. Balance between the use and protection of natural resources 9/92. Sustainable communities in a sustainable regional structure 5/13. Citizens – well-being throughout the entire life cycle 10/0

II. THE ECONOMY AS A SAFEGUARD FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 5/3

III. FINLAND AS A GLOBAL ACTOR AND BEARER OF RESPONSIBILITY 2/0

IV. SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE CHOICES 1/0

X/ N = Number of key indicators/ Number that ENVIMAT is capable to describe

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How well can the key indicators of the Finnish SD strategy be assessed by the ENVIMAT model ?

Assessment of changes in key indicators

OFFICIAL EVALUATION in 2007:- ORANGE = PROGRESS MAINLY NEGATIVE- GREEN = PROGRESS MAINLY POSITIVE

CRITICAL = development has been insufficient regarding climate change mitigation and/or international commitments/targets

? = maybe critical or progress has been environmentally negative

ENV = the ENVIMAT model provides information for the indicator

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Challenges of SD in Finland on the basis of key indicatorsI . GOOD LIFE IN A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY

I.1. Balance between use and protection of natural resources Greenhouse gas emissions CRITICAL ENV Total energy consumption CRITICAL ENV Use of renewable energy sources CRITICAL ENV Endangered species CRITICAL ENV Energy and natural resource consumption in relation to

economic growth ? ENV Environmental loading in relation to economic growth ? ENV Development of total material requirement CRITICAL ENV Proportion of household expenditures on services ? ENV Eutrophicating discharges into Baltic Sea ? ENV

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OFFICIAL EVALUATION in 2007:- ORANGE = PROGRESS MAINLY NEGATIVE- GREEN = PROGRESS MAINLY POSITIVE

I.2. Sustainable communities in a sustainable regional structure

Relative change in population in different regions !

Distance of certain services from homes ! Economic dependency ratio by province ! Service satisfaction of citizens Development of public and passenger car

transport CRITICAL ENV

! : the first three indicators increased regional differences inside Finland

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OFFICIAL EVALUATION in 2007:- ORANGE = PROGRESS MAINLY NEGATIVE- GREEN = PROGRESS MAINLY POSITIVE

I.3. Citizens – well-being throughout the entire life cycle

Life expectancy at birth Expected retirement age Occupational diseases and accidents Population development by age group ! People with low employment potential Immediate placement of 9th grade students in

further studies Per capita alcohol consumption and deaths

attributable to alcohol Employment rate for immigrants and number of

non-Finnish speaking schoolchildren Participation of 14-year olds in social organisational

work Voting activity

! : Problems in pension payments in the future

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II. The economy as a safeguard for

sustainable development

GDP per inhabitant ENV Economic dependency ratio Public debt in relation to GDP divided into state

and municipal shares of debt Number of employed and unemployment rate ENV Finland's competitiveness in relation to other

OECD countries assessed in terms of relative cost of work unit ENV

! : Problems in pension payments in the future

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III. Finland as a global actor Official Development Aid Direct investments from Finland in other countries

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IV. Supporting sustainable choices

Research and development expenditure and patenting

Total material requirement (TMR) of the Finnish economy in 2002

Imports for intermediate use

48%

Imports for final use5%

Domestic nature47%

Domestic production

Domestic final use48%

Exports52%

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TMR includes both materials used in the economy and materials mobilised in extraction processes but left in nature

Greenhouse gas emission balance (Gg CO2 eq) of Finland

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Year 2002

Imports Domestic Exports

52,641 76,989 57,945

Finnish consumption and investments = 71,685

Year 2005

Imports Domestic Exports

54,622 69,194 53,835

Finnish consumption and investments = 69,981

The sustainability of Finland in terms of CO2 emissions Consumption based results: 13,8 (2002) and 13,5 (2005)

t CO2 eq per inhabitant

Official national GHG inventory (production based results): 14,8 (2002) and 13,3 (2005) t CO2 eq per inhabitant

IPCC estimates that sustainability requires 1 -2 t CO2 eq per inhabitant in the world

The positive development of CO2 in Finland from 2002 to 2005 was due to the decrease of the volume of forest industry in 2005 and the high share of hydropower in the Nordic electricity market in winter 2005

Top 20 final products of the Finnish industries in terms of their CO2 emissions in 2002: amount of imported and domestic CO2 emissions

0 4000 8000 12000 16000

Basic precious metals and other non-ferrous metals 20

Ships and boats 19

Business services 18

Restaurant services 17

Education services 16

Civil engineering work 15

Human health and veterinary services 14

Other community, social and personal services 13

Meat and meat products 12

Public administration services 11

Dairy products and ice cream 10

Television and radio transmitters; telegraphy 9

Refined petroleum products 8

Basic chemicals 7

Wholesale and retail trade services 6

Construction work of residential buildings 5

Basic iron and steel and ferro-alloys 4

Production and distribution services of electricity 3

Letting and owning of dwelligs 2

Pulp, paper and paperboard 1

Gg CO2 eq

Domestic

Imports

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Contribution of different consumption categories to the economy, environmental pressures and employment.

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0 10 20 30 40

Housing

Food

Leisure

Holidays

Personal care

Clothing

Education &employment

Otherconsumption

Economic valueEcoindexTMRDomestic energyGHGDomestic employment

The sum of the categories for each indicator = 100.

The current ENVIMAT model can be used for

monitoring and assessing how the sustainability of the economy is changing

identifying unsustainable patterns of production and consumption

identifying impacts caused by Finland in global context

designing new policy instruments (e.g. ecological taxation) for supporting sustainable choices

Further development of the ENVIMAT model annual reporting (or at least once per three years) more detailed spatial resolution new sustainbility indicators ( also socio-cultural) identification of unsustainable resource flows more dynamic features in order to use the model for

forecasting more dynamic features in order to use the model for

forecasting

Note: ENVIMAT produces data for decision making, but does not decide tradeoffs between different SD CRITERIA

Thank you for your attention!