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Stress, state, reaction: How do these three keys change our view of the environment?
In today's rapidly changing environment, businesses and governments are facing increasing environmental pressure. In this context, the emergence of environmental indicators provides an effective tool for people to understand and evaluate environmental conditions. Environmental indicators are simple measurements that help people understand the state of the environment or human health. Due to the complexity of the environment, these indicators provide a more practical and economical way to track environmental conditions without having to re-record every possible variable.
An environmental indicator is typically defined as a numerical value that helps provide insights into the environment or human health.
For example, monitoring changes in the concentration of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) in the atmosphere over time is an important indicator of understanding stratospheric ozone depletion. Guidelines and frameworks for environmental indicators have been used to assist in the selection and presentation of these indicators. Among them, the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model is an important foundation developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Environmental indicators can be divided into several categories, including ecological indicators, pressure indicators and response indicators. Ecological indicators can include physical, chemical and biological measurements, such as atmospheric temperature, stratospheric ozone concentration or the number of breeding birds in a certain area, to facilitate understanding of the "state" of the environment.
The pressure indicator measures the impact of human activities or man-made pressures, such as greenhouse gas emissions.
Response indicators, like tracking the number of people served by public health facilities, further demonstrate society's response to environmental issues. Environmental indicators, considered a subset of sustainability indicators, aim to track the overall environmental, social and economic sustainability of society.
For example, the "DPSIR" (Drivers, Pressures, States, Impacts, Responses) framework led by the European Environment Agency provides a structure for assessing and presenting environmental indicators. Drivers and pressure indicators reflect the impact of human activities on the environment. Status and impact indicators reveal the state of the environment and its impact on ecosystems and human health.
Response indicators measure society’s response and efforts to environmental issues. The setting of these indicators usually focuses on three core areas: scientific credibility, policy relevance and actual monitoring needs.
In addition, many governments, non-governmental organizations, community groups and research institutions use environmental indicators to review whether environmental protection goals are achieved and to communicate environmental conditions to the public and decision-makers. As indicators have evolved, these measurements have become increasingly diverse and can be monitored at local, regional or national levels.
In an era when humanity faces environmental challenges, some people try to monitor and assess the state of the entire planet through indicators. Lester Brown of the Environmental Policy Institute once pointed out that the current world is in transcendence mode, and the gradual collapse of the global natural support system will lead to economic recession and social collapse.
This series of warnings reminds us that the application of environmental indicators in corporate environmental management systems has also become crucial.
For example, the EU's Environmental Management and Auditing Scheme provides core indicators so that registered organizations can assess their environmental performance and continuous environmental improvement.
When selecting or developing indicators, the different needs of users need to be taken into consideration. Generally speaking, users can be divided into three broad categories: technical experts and scientific advisers, policy makers and resource managers, and the general public. Technologists and scientists are more focused on complex and detailed indicators, while policymakers need indicators that can effectively assess policy objectives.
Ultimately, the general public prefers indicators with simple and clear messages, such as UV Index and Air Quality Index, which are closely relevant to their daily lives. Although environmental indicators themselves can quickly convey complex comprehensive information, when viewed as a set of indicator systems, they can more comprehensively reflect environmental conditions.
As with various organizational indicators, it is the core numerical indicators or visual assessments, such as arrows or traffic signals, that can be understood by the average person, further simplifying their results and impact. We also continue to witness various important environmental indicator systems adjusting their indicator reports to focus on a limited "indicator set".
Reflecting on the design of these environmental indicators and the way they are communicated, we still need to ask ourselves: Can these indicators really help us protect the environment in the future?
