This study showcases the German experience with developing an accounting system that embeds a high proportion of economic and environmental indicators of the national Strategy on Sustainable Development. It then derives a more general three-step approach for such an integration exercise: (1) revision of the indicator set, (2) expansion of the accounting system to meet new data needs, and (3) development of appropriate modelling approaches for an integrated environmental, social, and economic analysis.
The study underlines that, in the economic domain, statistical data as well as the analytical instruments utilising it are a common basis for dealing with conflicts of interest and for decision-making. Thus, a policy for sustainable development can only stand firm against particularistic policy approaches and interests in the long run if it is sufficiently founded on data and facts. Therefore, the development of a database for a policy on sustainable development and the related analytical instruments is a necessary investment into being able to follow through with that policy approach.
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