CanadianSustainabilityAccounting-MarkAnielski.doc

A Sustainability Accounting System for Canada An Assessment of the State of Sustainable Development Accounting and Indicator Reporting at the National, Provincial, Municipal-Community and Corporate Level Prepared for: National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy Prepared by: Mark Anielski Pembina Institute November 5, 2002 Table of Contents 2. Background 7 3. State of Sustainability Reporting – An Overview 9 3.1 National 9 3.1.1. NRTEE’s Environment and Sustainable Development Indicators, Statistics Canadas New National Capital Accounts, and Environment Canada’s CISE. 9 3.1.2 The Canadian Policy Research Networks Quality of Life Indicators 14 3.1.3 National Atlas and Quality of Life Mapping System 16 3.2 Provincial Sustainability Reporting 17 3.2.1 Alberta 17 3.2.2 Yukon’s Sustainable Progress Indicators 24 3.2.3 GPI Atlantic Genuine Progress Index 25 3.2.4 British Columbia’s Environmental Trends Reporting System 27 3.3 Eco-system-based Sustainability Reporting 28 3.3.1 Fraser Basin Sustainability Indicators 28 3.3.2 Statistics Canada’s Trends in Cities Project 31 3.4 Municipal/Community Sustainability Reporting 34 3.4.1 FCM Quality of Life Reporting System: Environmental Indicators 34 3.4.2 Maclaren’s Urban Sustainability Indicator Matrix 37 3.4.3 Edmonton Capital Region “Indicators of Success” 41 3.4.4 Vancouver’s State of the Environment Report (1997) 45 3.4.5 Sustainable Calgary’s State of the City 2001 Report and GreenMap Calgary 45 3.4.6 Edmonton LIFE (Local Indicators of Excellence) 45 3.4.7 Toronto Vital Signs (2002) 46 3.4.8 Hamilton Vision 2020 Sustainability Indicators 46 3.5 Corporate Sustainability Reporting 47 4. Critical Analysis of Sustainability Accounting Efforts 53 5. A Conceptual National Sustainability and Accounting and Reporting System 57 5.1 Towards a common vision and definition of sustainability 57 5.2 Towards an Integrated National Sustainability Accounting System 60 Appendix A 72 A1. Canada’s National, Provincial, and