Vol. 492 No. 2
123 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the progress, if any, made to date by his Department or the contribution by his Department to the definition of a new set of sustainable economic development indicators to be used alongside GNP, as proposed in the context of the national sustainable development strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13843/98]
Initial preparatory work on environmental indicators and green accounting is under way and informal meetings involving my Department, CSO, ESRI and EPA have taken place. However, it is intended that a steering group, which will be more broadly based, will be set up on a formal basis shortly to progress this issue further. Due account will be taken by the steering group of EU and OECD work in this area. The CSO is participating in an EU pilot to develop satellite green national accounting mechanisms.
124 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the progress, if any, made to date by his Department or the contribution by his Department to the formulation of environment management plans to give public sector leadership in demonstrating best environmental management practice as advocated in the national sustainable development strategy. [13844/98]
The Green Government Guide, published by my Department, sets out how the public sector can demonstrate good environmental management practice. The guide has been circulated to Government Departments and other public sector organisations and they have been asked to give a high priority to promoting good environmental practice and integrating it into all aspects of their operations. An intedepartmental network has also been established to support the sharing of experience and promotion of environmental management awareness across the Civil Service.
In addition, my own Department has now decided to seek certification to the ISO14001 standard for environmental management systems in respect of its activities in the Custom House, and, in time, I expect other public sector organisations to progress to such formalised systems of environmental management.
