Measuring what matters for Australia: A scoping study and proposed framework for selecting environmental indicators of wellbeing and productivity

A two-month scoping study was undertaken by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Sustainable Communities and Waste (SCaW) Hub to inform the development of a framework of environmental indicators linked to the wellbeing and productivity of Australians.The research team compiled and assessed 34 wellbeing indices from around the world, as well as proposed themes and indicators from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, provided to the team as part of the initial research brief. The original intention was to narrow down this collated list of environmental indicators and provide the Department with a well justified shortlist of candidate indicators suitable for measuring what matters for the wellbeing and productivity of Australians.As a result of a literature review to understand the linkages between wellbeing and the environment – a key outcome of which was that these linkages are not well defined or understood – it became clear that the framework linking the environment and wellbeing was critical for defining ‘wellbeing’ and therefore which indicators were appropriate for measuring it. The team then redirected efforts towards developing a conceptual framework to provide a robust theoretical underpinning for Australia’s indicator selection. It is our view that both the framework and potential indicators require co-design by diverse Australians.Therefore, rather than recommend a set of discrete measures and data sources for wellbeing indicators in Australia, this report presents a potential sustainable wellbeing framework and possible categories of environmental indicators that should be captured. To further assist with the process of indicator selection, a comprehensive set of guiding principles and selection criteria have also been developed. It is recommended that additional research be conducted to develop indicators and that a detailed consultation process seek out the voices of diverse Australians, particularly Indigenous Australians.This report is an output of Impact Priority area 1 (IP1): Sustainable People-Environment Interactions of the Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub, which is funded through the National Environmental Science Program.