Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
In a technical article, Azar
et al
. (1996) identified a range of socio-ecological indi-
cators that they feel could aid the planning and monitoring process in corporations,
governments and other bodies. Unlike many other indicators, they argue, TNS focuses
on the relation between society and ecosystems, rather than simply the state of the
environment, concentrating on processes early in the causal chain:
There are two aspects that are important in the construction of our indicators:
(i) There are in many cases long time delays between a specific activity and the
corresponding environmental damage. This means that indicators based on
the environmental state may give a warning too late, and in many cases
only indicate whether past societal activities were sustainable or not; and
(ii) The complexity of the ecosystems makes it impossible to predict all poss-
ible effects of a certain societal activity. Some damages are well known, but
others have not yet been identified. Most of the sustainability indicators
suggested so far are formulated with respect to known effects in the environ-
ment. We suggest that indicators of sustainability should be formulated with
respect to general principles or conditions of sustainability.
(Azar
et al.
, 1996: 90)
The authors identify four socio-ecological principles upon which the indicators
are based. Indicators for Principle One refer to society's use of elements from the
lithosphere and will measure such things as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, sulphur
dioxide and acid rain, phosphorous in lakes, heavy metals in soils and in human
bodies. In practice, this means restrictions on the extraction of metals and fossil
fuels combined with increased recycling and the substitution of abundant elements
for scarce ones. Principle Two deals with restricting emissions of anthropogenically
produced substances with measures/indicators for CFCs, DDT, radioactive inert gases,
etc. Principle Three addresses the anthropogenic manipulation of nature and will
monitor deforestation and desertification, animal and plant extinctions, exploitation
of productive land for waste landfill sites and other activities that injure the long-
term functioning of global ecosystems. Principle Four relates to the efficiency of
society's use of natural assets recognizing that limited assimilative capacity and
available resources, human needs will have to be met more efficiently and equitably,
including a just distribution of resources to eradicate poverty, disease and hunger.
As public awareness about the world's ecological problems grows, it is becoming
increasingly incumbent on business corporations to be ecologically responsible.
However, as Keeble
et al
. (2003) remark, the sustainable development agenda has
brought to the boardroom many issues that lie outside the direct control of business,
are difficult to characterize and are often based on value judgements rather than
hard data. This sometimes makes it very difficult for business decision-makers, who
require sets of indicators that reflect the commercial realities of business and the
culture and values of the organization. Large corporations may have an organizational
structure that may also cause problems, particularly as the sustainability performance
of individual divisions may be obscured by generalized statements about the
accomplishments of the organization as a whole. TNS consultants usually advise
that time should not be wasted on looking to develop
ideal
indicators but rather
attempt to create indicators that are dynamic and negotiated, encourage debate,
involve external stakeholders and transparently inform the decision-making process.
