WHERE ARE WE GOING? HOW DO WE KNOW IF WE’RE GETTING THERE?
To manage our way towards sustainability we need to make the change from valuing what we measure to measuring what we value. Our progress needs to be defined and measured so we can monitor how we are going and make the necessary changes. To measure our progress, we need to select indicators which are accessible, easy to interpret and meaningful. An indicator to measure how we affect the Earth’s atmosphere is "tonnes of carbon dioxide released per year." An indicator of how we affect the Clarence River might be "number of times the river is closed to fishing". We can make sense of indicators in many different ways. Below is an outline of five models for applying indicators to achieve sustainability.
Environmental Space
The environmental space available to any society is the quantity of natural resources that can be consumed sustainably. Each person on the Earth has the equal right to an equivalent amount of environmental space. Every society has the right to a fair share. Environmental space not only has a ceiling but a floor, the floor being the minimum necessary to lead a dignified life. The environmental space model not only documents the amount of ecological capacity used by people, but also the amount that could be used in a sustainable world.
For example: If global CO2 emissions of 11 Gigatonnes are required to maintain climate stability and the population in 2050 is 9.8 billion then the per capita Environmental Space for energy is 1.1 tonnes. Currently the UK’s per capita production of CO2 is 9 tonnes!
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)This model provides detailed accounts of all the energy, resources and waste materials associated with a product over its entire life cycle. LCAs provide a wealth of information that can be used to explore the links between consumption of particular products and global capacity.
For example: For every kWhr of electricity from a wood-fired power station, X units of carbon dioxide are released – from the wood-burning process as well as from the wood-harvesting, transporting and chipping processes. Additionally, Y units of carbon dioxide were released in the process of building the power plant – in terms of materials and machinery. The total amount of carbon released is taken into account.
Materials Accounting (MA)Matter does not disappear in material transformations. It will always be present in the same quantity at the end of the cycle. MA involves tracing the flows of various materials through a region. It is useful for working out how to reduce problems such as overall persistence of toxins.
For example: Lead is imported to a region each year – in used cars, household goods, through the atmosphere (leaded petrol) and in surface water. A large proportion of the lead ends up in a landfill because old cars are shredded. It then leaches into rivers. Some atmospheric lead goes into the soil.. MA can quantify this flow, and pinpoint the areas where action is needed.