Alberta Sustainability Trends 2000

The Genuine Progress Indicators Report, 1961 to 1999

The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) accounting project is a pioneering research effort to develop a new system for measuring the total well-being and sustainability of nations or states. With this project, Alberta is the first region in the world to have a fully-constructed set of GPI accounts using the new GPI System of Well-being Accounting architecture. The development of this new system is presented as an alternative to the current measures of economic progress like the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), which simply measure the flow of money in an economy.

The GPI accounts for Alberta show how the province is doing in relation to its sustainable development objectives—development that embraces social and environmental objectives as well as economic ones. As a starting point, this requires an adjustment in our perspective—how we define and measure wealth, equality and progress.

The GPI System of Sustainable Well-being Accounts, which includes both physical and monetary measures of well-being, are structured along the following capital themes:

  • time use accounts,
  • social capital accounts,
  • human health and wellness accounts,
  • natural resources and environmental accounts, and
  • economic accounts.

The Technical Reports behind the GPI System of Sustainable Well-being Accounts are available here:

1. Economy, GPI and Trade

5. Public and Household Infrastructure

6. Employment

7. Transportation

8. Time Use:

9. Human Health and Wellness

10. Suicide

11. Substance Abuse: Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco

12. Auto Crashes and Injuries

13.  Family Breakdown

14. Crime

15. Gambling

16. Democracy

19. Agriculture

20. Forests

21. Parks and Wilderness

22. Fish and Wildlife

23. Wetlands and Peatlands

24. Water Resource and Quality

25. Energy Use Intensity, GHG and Air Quality

27. Municipal and Hazardous Waste

28. Ecological Footprint

 

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