Substantial work on indicators of sustainability is already underway both within Canada and internationally. The first phase of the NRTEE's work on the ESDI Initiative has included surveying a range of these approaches to sustainable development indicators. The NRTEE has also engaged and supported a number of the key expert groups and organizations working on indicators in Canada.

The NRTEE's efforts have highlighted the fact that many communities, governments, businesses, international agencies and non-governmental organizations are attempting to develop new means to access and report on progress toward various aspects of sustainable development.

Different sustainability indicators are designed to achieve different goals. For example two prominent Canadian Initiatives - the Alberta Genuine Progress Indicator Accounting Project (Pembina Institute) and the Genuine Progress Index for Nova Scotia (GPI Atlantic) are working towards evaluating a wide range of social and environmental factors at the provincial level. Instead of tracking sustainability, initiatives such as the Canadian Policy Research Networks' Quality of Life Indicators Project focus on quality of life or well-being.

The research papers featured have been commissioned by the NRTEE through the ESDI Initiative. Additional research documents will be posted as they become available.

The next phase of the ESDI Initiative will focus on identifying existing indicator and data collection initiatives, in order to develop a national set of indicators.

Background Research

Technical Guidelines for Indicator Selection (Alice Born, Claude Simard, and Rob Smith, Statistics Canada)

Summary of the Conceptual Framework for a National Set of Environment and Sustainable Development Indicators

A Proposed Approach to Environment and Sustainable Development Indicators Based on Capital
(Claude Simard & Rob Smith, Statistics Canada and Andrew Sharpe, Centre for the Study of Living Standards)

Review Paper on Selected Capital-Based Sustainable Development Indicator Frameworks (Peter Hardi, International Institute for Sustainable Development)

Proposed Framework on Human Capital Indicators (Andrew Sharpe, Centre for the Study of Living Standards)

Discussion Paper on Health and Education Human Capital Indicators (Andrew Sharpe, Centre for the Study of Living Standards)

Lessons learned though Canadian Indicator Initiatives (Overviews of the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) Alberta and the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) Atlantic Initiatives)

Learning from Citizens What Matters for Quality of Life:
Quality of Life Indicators Project (Canadian Policy Research Networks)

Summary of the GPI Agriculture Accounts, Report #1
Farm Economic Viability in Nova Scotia

The GPI Agriculture Accounts Report #2: Resource Capacity and Use Summary

The Nova Scotia GPI Fisheries & Marine Environment Accounts

Towards a Measurement of Ecological Integrity - Summary Report