Introduction
Communities must decide for themselves which measures are most appropriate for them, meaning that these will differ from one community to the next. There are many examples of community reporting systems, although not all are true sustainability reporting systems.
Traditional community reporting systems measure changes in economic, social and environmental progress as if they were independent of each other. Community sustainability indicators show the connections among these three areas, helping to assess the degree to which society, economy and environment are interacting in a sustainable manner.
Community Sustainability Reporting Frameworks
There are as many different community reporting systems as there are communities engaged in reporting. But there are many resources available to help a community select the indicators that are most suited to its needs.
A growing number of communities are developing reporting systems that involve sustainability issues. Some systems produce environment reports, others are quality of life reports and some are called sustainability reports.
Here is a list of Canadian resources and toolkits for measuring community sustainability. (For an analysis of the state of sustainability in Canadian communities, click here.)
Ontario Round Table on Environment and Economy
A resource package on sustainable communities featuring case studies of community sustainability initiatives in Ontario.
Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition
Signs of Progress, Signs of Caution: How to Prepare a Healthy, Sustainable Community Progress Report Card, a document on 19 different evaluation and indicator tools with a User's Guide that provides comprehensive details to help groups select the tool most appropriate to their needs.
Many international organizations are working to develop indicators of community sustainability, which enable international comparisons of communities.
Compendium of Sustainable Development Indicator Initiatives and Publications
The Compendium provides a comprehensive online information base of indicator initiatives being carried out at the international, national and provincial/territorial/state levels in the context of sustainable development.
CEROI - Cities Environmental Reporting on the Internet
Provides a template and software for cities wishing to create an SOE report on the Internet.
UNCHS (Habitat) Urban Observatory
UNCHS (Habitat) has developed an indicators system that contains a set of 23 key indicators and nine lists of qualitative data. These indicators are designed for international comparability to assess global process in implementing the Habitat Agenda.
WHO Healthy City Indicators
A set of 53 indicators covering health, health services, environmental and socio-economic conditions designed to provide a comprehensive picture of health in a city
ICLEI Cities 21® Indicators
Indicators for measuring the impact of local actions on global conditions, concentrating on ICLEI's three main campaign areas: climate change, public participation/governance, and, fresh water management.
There are many examples of good community indicator programs coming out of the U.S. They provide case studies and resources that are easily accessible and highly relevant to the Canadian experience.
Sustainable Communities Network
A list of resources on indicators programs, and a list of case studies of indicator programs in US cities
Hart Environmental Data
Suggests indicators that measure progress toward a sustainable economy, society and environment.
Redefining Progress Community Indicators Program
Links existing and emerging indicators projects and facilitates the development of community indicators initiatives nationwide through a series of tools, resources, and technical support
Green Mountain Institute for Environmental Democracy
The Resource Guide to Indicators (Second Edition, August 1998). A bibliography of resources on indicator initiatives or projects.
Directories of Environmental Indicator Practitioners
A clearinghouse for public sector environmental indicator practitioners at different governmental levels in the United States
US Interagency Working Group on Sustainable Development Indicators
A conceptual framework for indicators that reflects the multidisciplinary and intergenerational nature of sustainable development. Includes an experimental set of 40 economic, environmental, and social indicators that represent a cross-section of many of the issues that are judged to be relevant to sustainable development.
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Sustainable Communities - Introduction