SSN and WWF publish a briefing on Outcome Indicators and Footprint

Published 02 December 2009

SSN and WWF Scotland today publish a briefing note in response to the updated Outcome Indicators menu for Single Outcome Agreements published by the Improvement Service on 20th November.

The updated menu sees the removal of 'Council Area's Ecological Footprint' from the menu and the recommendation that 'CO2 emissions per capita' published by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Local Authority Area CO2 Emissions data be used instead.

While SSN and WWF Scotland are extremely disappointed to see Footprint removed from the menu of outcome indicators, we would like to stress the importance of using Footprint and Footprint analysis by local authorities and Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs). It is vital to remember that Footprint is more than an indicator, and commitments by local authorities and CPPs to achieving lower Footprint outcomes for communities should not be undermined by a shift to using the DECC Local Authority Area CO2 data.

The Briefing on Footprint, SOAs and Outcome Indicators highlights the necessity of continued use of footprint approach for education/awareness raising, scenario planning and policy analysis by local authorities and CPPs.

At the Local Footprints event launching the Scottish Footprint Guide on 25th November, Gavin Whitefield Chief Executive of North Lanarkshire Council outlined his continued support for using Footprint, "I am conscious that the updated menu of indicators for the SOA which has recently been produced by the Improvement Service excludes the footprint indicator. However I would like to make two points in relation to this. The SOA menu of indicators is not prescriptive and CPPs can still include the footprint indicator if they wish to do so. Also, and I think more importantly, I believe the footprinting process remains a crucial part of the actions which can be taken to support sustainability outcomes that are included in the agreements."

John Mason Director of Climate Change, Energy and Water Industry from the Scottish Government stated that, "...the ecological footprint will be a great aid to local authorities in progressing both climate change and the wider sustainability agenda. Ecological footprint is a powerful communication tool on over consumption, helping to raise awareness and aid public engagement. The ecological footprint tool's strength is in its ability to analyse the impact of different policy options. This will be valuable to local authorities and their partners as they look to understand the wider impacts of policy decisions on their key local indicators."