Volume 1

Number 1

20 May 2005

PLATFORM NEWS

Seminar "Indicators to measure socio-economic inequalities in health"
Brussels, 10 June 2005
On the 10th of June 2005, the Platform will organise the sixth and last seminar in its cycle "From Gotheborg to Lisbon" on the priorities identified in the EU Sustainable Development Strategy. The focus of this seminar will be "Indicators to measure socio-economic inequalities in health in the context of sustainable development. Examples and problems encountered in Belgium; challenges for health policies".
Site : University Foundation, 11 Rue d'Egmont, 1000 Brussels. A detailed program will follow shortly.

Website
The website of the Platform has been updated and received a face lift.

BELGIAN NEWS

Public institutions

Institute of Nature Conservation (Flanders) Nature Report 2005 and Nature Indicators
The 18th of May 2005, the Institute of Nature Conservation (Scientific Institute of the Flemish Government) published its biannual Nature Report. The Report analyses the current situation of the Flemish environment. (in Dutch) and (in English, under construction)

The Institute also launched a website on enviromental indicators. (in Dutch)

Sustainability Barometer: Limburg
At the start of 2005 the province of Limburg presented - as the first Belgian province - its sustainability barometer. The barometer, developed by the Centrum voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling, University of Ghent, consists of 50 different indicators, which will be annually updated. (in Dutch)

Belgian Science Policy - Call for Proposals
The Belgian Federal Public Planning Service Science Policy has launched a call for proposals within the programme "Society and Future" to Belgian university institutions and research and study centers from the non-profit sector (deadline 27 May 2005 for marks of interest). In some of the themes within the programme, the development of indicators is emphasized. For instance, within the theme "Inequality and Social Exclusion": " From a methological perspective, it is desirable to develop instruments which can measure the quality of life and expectations about "welfare" in the modern or post-modern societies. This must go beyond the classical measures such as life expectancy health indicators, income etc ."

Research institutes and other

Corporate Social Responsibility
On 21 April Business & Society Belgium and Ogilvy Public Relationships presented the results of a survey about corporate social responsibility. In total 128 companies were interviewed about their engagement towards and opinion about CSR. More info available on Alter Business News. (in Dutch) or (in French).

International

Public institutes

EEA Publication on Environmental Indicators
Last month, the European Environmental Agency (EEA) published a technical guide on the core set of environmental indicators. The guide provides information on the quality of the indicators listed in the core set.

EEA Energy Indicators
Together with a number of other international organisations, the EEA has identified 30 sustainable energy indicators. According to the EEA it is the first time in history that such a large number of international organisations have agreed upon a report on sustainable energy indicators.

EU Strategy for Sustainable Development
In February, the European Commission published its review of the European Union Sustainable Development Strategy (EU SDS). This can be considered as a first step in effort to updated and revitalise the EU SDS.

A specific communication from Mr. Almunia adopted by the Commission treated the issue of indicators for monitoring the implementation of the EU SDS.

A Eurostat website aims to present the set of indicators being developed to monitor, assess and review the EU's Sustainable Development Strategy. A parallel objective is to inform the general public about progress in attaining the commonly agreed objectives of sustainable development.

OECD Publication on Economic, Environmental and Social Data
On the 15th of March, the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) launched its Factbook 2005: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics. The publication gives about 100 indicators which enable to evaluate the relative position of OECD countries at a given moment and over time, in different social, economic and ecological field.

Research institutes and other

Environmental Sustainability Index
On the 28th of January, the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) 2005 was presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The ESI is a composite index tracking a diverse set of socio-economic, environmental, and institutional indicators that characterize and influence environmental sustainability at the national scale. It is produced within the Environmental Performance Measurement Project, a collaboration between the World Economic Forum, and the universities of Yale and Columbia (USA).

AGENDA

Midi de la solidarité "Alternative wealth indicators to the GDP" Seminar: Brussels, 21 June 2005
The European Think Tank for Solidarity organises a lunch seminar on different ways to measure wealth. (in French)

ESEE 2005 Conference: Lisbon (Portugal), 14-17 June 2005
This Conference will provide a forum for scientific debate and discussion on theoretical and practical issues in the field of ecological economics, focusing on the links between science, society and policy. The general theme of ESEE 2005 will be Science and Governance – The Ecological Economics Perspective.

Environmental Accounting and Sustainable Development Indicators Conference: Prague (Czech Rep.), 26-27 Sept. 2005
The conference is organised by the Jan Evangelista Purkyne University in Usti nad Labem and Charles University – Environment Center in Prague.