Canadian Environmental Indicator Reporting: Update

1. Canadian Environmental Indicator Reporting: Update Paula Brand Environment Canada March 25, 2009 Presented to Ecoinformatics mtg

2. What is the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) Initiative? • CESI is the sole, integrated federal reporting vehicle on environmental trends built around a set of three core environmental issues – clean air, clean water, and greenhouse gas emissions with socio-economic data • A fourth indicator on biodiversity and additional underlying socio-economic factors is planned for the next round of CESI • Support decision making at many levels by: • Providing a national context for regional and local decision making • Linking socio-economic information with environmental information • CESI reports are publicly released on an annual basis • Reporting has been by way of both print and web-based, with the latter becoming the dominant vehicle • 700 copies of the 2007 Highlights report distributed, Webs hits/month for the last year ranged between 16K-21K • CESI 2008 planned to be released later this fall and the indicators will appear, once again, in the upcoming Canada Performance Report and the HRSD Indicators of Well-Being in Canada • CESI is a partnership between Environment Canada, Statistics Canada, and Health Canada, and supports data-sharing agreements with provinces and territories • The program utilizes scientific monitoring and collection of environmental data (both federal and provincial/territorial), Statistics Canada surveys of related socio-economic issues, and the development of health based, scientific indicators of air and water quality.

3. Results of the evaluation of the CESI • Relevance • Role of government in CESI - Achieved • Connection with societal and environmental needs - Achieved • Success • Achievement of outcomes - Progress Made, Attention Needed • Unintended outcomes - Progress Made, Attention Needed • Cost-Effectiveness: • Avoidance of duplication and achievement of complementarity - Achieved • Increasing efficiency - Achieved • Design and Delivery: • Effectiveness of CESI governance - Achieved • Performance measurement and use in decision-making - Progress Made, Attention Needed • Clear deliverables and expected results and program delivered as designed - Progress Made, Attention Needed

4. Federal Sustainable Development Act: The Basics • Develop and implement a Federal Sustainable Development Strategy to make environmental decision-making more transparent and accountable to Parliament. • Specific Accountabilities: • Minister of the Environment • Develop/update Federal SDS at least every three years • Create Sustainable Development Office within Environment Canada • Appoint and Chair the Sustainable Development Advisory Council • Cabinet Committee • Oversight of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy • Sustainable Development Office • Develop Federal Sustainable Development Strategy and develop and maintain systems and procedures to monitor progress on and implementation of the Strategy • Perform secretariat function for the SD Advisory Council • Other Government Departments • Preparation and tabling of Departmental Strategies every three years

5. Renewal of CESI:Policy Drivers for renewal • Fulfills Legislative Obligations • provides a consolidated means to meet reporting requirements under CEPA and the Department of the Environment Act, • supports the Federal Sustainable Development Act by supplying the overall high level indicators needed to measure progress • without CESI, less efficient and effective means would need to be found to meet these obligations • Communicates the Government’s long-term commitment to action on the environment • addresses public demand for a transparent, consistent means to track environmental progress • allows the government to tell Canada’s environmental story, instead of having it presented by third parties with often divergent agendas • begins to build the information base to put environmental decision making on par with managing economic issues • Supports Government Priorities • reinforces the Government’s environmental priorities by providing an evidence base for both the need for action and, over time, the progress that is being made • supports a balanced approach to environmental issues by situating them within the broader socio-economic context • reinforces alignment of government science and policy around key priorities • Provides the opportunity to improve delivery and effectiveness • e.g. improve web delivery; less technical; more up-to-date, relevant, trend-based information; policy-based

6. Key elements:Continued development of indicators and data collection programs • Consistency and comparability • refinement of indicators methodology to ensure sound national, regional and local level indicators • enhancement of data management practices to ensure consistent and timely data development and reporting • continued collaboration with P/T to ensure consistent methods are in place for the indicators • further development of an air health indicator (HC) • Quality Assurance • establish an initiative-wide quality assurance program • Timeliness • improve the timely transfer of information from data collection, to indicator calculation and reporting • Transparency • annually publish data, sources and methods documentation for each indicator • Surveys and Socio-Economic data • complete four surveys (SC) initiated in the first phase of this program and facilitate access to socio-economic and demographic data for Environment Canada.

7. Key Elements: Analysis and reporting of indicators with contextual information • Annual updating and reporting of indicators • publish annual web-based reports, analysis tools and limited print reports for indicators of clean air, clean water and GHG emissions. • Reporting refinement for an interactive Web • ensure that web navigation and content will work together providing a top layer of publicly accessible and relevant information with links to further detail, contextual information, technical background and regional and local sub-indicators are easily found and clear. • Tools for access and visualization • develop web tools such as inter-active mapping and charting with will be built, tested and implemented so that users can readily see trends and regional differences. • Analysis of socio-economic links in policy and sustainable development strategy • work with partners to assess the relationship of socio-economic activity as pressures and outcomes for the indicators.

8. CESI 2009Web Concept Brief textual descriptions providing highlights and linkage to a highlights report. Dashboard view of all indicators will roll up of data into simple “dial” status. Program will need to determine if doable for 2009. Clients can drill down into greater detail about individual indicators to satisfy different needs – information, data, education. Videos can explain the indicator trends and related information to Canadians who best learn from seeing and listening. In Your Region function provide a simple and convenient way for clients to obtain the a map and data regarding the indicator of interest for their geographical location. This is a feature is being implemented for CESI 2008 and would like to see continued. Quick questions or surveys provide the client a way to voice their opinion on a given subject and may provide CESI valuable information.

9. Proposed indicator suite aligned with departmental priorities & reporting *Strategic Outcomes from RPP 2007/08 Ω Internationally comparable indicator

10. Key Elements: Target Audience indicator use and uptake • Improve awareness, uptake and use • development and implementation of a targeted awareness strategy and monitoring uptake of indicators in public reporting. • User and partner engagement, outreach and needs analysis • ensure the studies of users and their requirements are done along with ongoing feedback • undertake a marketing and outreach program • ensure that other organizations involved with CESI will be engaged to leverage existing marketing related to similar programs. • Performance Measurement Strategy • Results logic model and performance measurement plan

11. CESI Logic Model: Understanding results

12. Summary • Renewal of current program for one year with a focus on deliverying key shifts • additional indicators • new website • improved policy analysis • links to Federal Sustainable Development Act) • Performance measurement strategy • Launch business case for extending program