Sustainable Development Indicators
The first list of sustainable development indicators provides a concrete picture of the concept of sustainable development. The list is based on work conducted and lessons learned in numerous countries (see documents below). Its results will reflect the impact not only of government policies and strategies but also of the activities of the population and all social stakeholders. This gives Québec a way to measure its progress and see how it is doing compared to other countries. The list includes mechanisms allowing it to be enhanced in future.
The ultimate goal of Québec’s sustainable development process is to meet society’s current needs while safeguarding the potential for greater well-being and a better quality of life in future generations. To meet those future needs, we must preserve and enrich the various forms of wealth (human capital, social capital, produced capital, financial capital and natural capital) from which we benefit today, and which we hope to pass on to future generations. We therefore speak of “bequeathed capital”.
The list of sustainable development indicators was the subject of public hearings before it was adopted by the Government.
This first list of sustainable development indicators completes the implementation of the Québec Sustainable Development Plan tabled in 2004, which led to the adoption in 2006 of the Sustainable Development Act, and in 2007, of the Government Sustainable Development Strategy 2008-2013. In March 2009 the Strategy was completed when all departments and agencies adopted sustainable development plans setting out how they would contribute to achieving the governmental objectives.
The Ministère coordinated the development and adoption of the indicators for monitoring the objectives of the governmental strategy. They can be consulted on the website of the Institut de la Statistique du Québec, which updates them regularly.
Summary Document – Québec’s Sustainable Development Indicators
This document is a summary report on the three-level system of indicators designed for Québec’s sustainable development process: 20 sustainable development indicators, 84 indicators for monitoring the objectives of the Government Sustainable Development Strategy 2008-2013, and 1585 indicators for monitoring the sustainable development actions of government departments and agencies. The document includes an explanation of the capital-based approach chosen for the list, which was adopted by the Government of Québec in December 2009.
Comparative Analysis of Indicator Systems for Sustainable Development
This study looks at the principal trends, good practices and pitfalls of indicator systems for sustainable development, through a comparative analysis of the indicator systems of some 30 public administrations.
The objective is to use the experiences of the public administrations in question in order to inspire and support development of the first list of sustainable development indicators for Québec, which must be adopted by the government of Québec by the end of 2008, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Act.
The indicators chosen will be used to measure and monitor sustainable development projects carried out in Québec.
PDF file, 832 Ko
This 1-day workshop was held in June 2006, and gathered together experts in the field in order to look at the most important aspects of the preparation, application and follow-up of sustainable development indicators. Representatives from government agencies, universities and other fields came from Québec and elsewhere in the world in order to share their experiences in preparing such indicators.
This meeting was part of the preliminary steps in development of sustainable development indicators for Québec.
Synthesis report - PDF file, 372 Ko (french)