Information on the system

• Is Switzerland on the pathway to sustainable development?
• What are the positive and negative developments?
• What impact does Switzerland and our way of life have on other countries?

The MONET 2030 indicator system gives an overview of sustainable development in Switzerland, providing a picture of the progress made towards the 17 sustainable development goals (SDG) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda as well in relation to certain topics specific to Switzerland. Comprising over 100 indicators on three environmental, social and economic aspects, the system is structured around the 17 SDGs. Three cross-sectional approaches, "global impacts and responsibilities", "gender equality" and "social cohesion" highlight certain connections and interdependencies with the SDGs. 24 key indicators present a brief summary of sustainable development in Switzerland. Lastly, a selection of indicators from the system ensure the monitoring of the Federal Council’s sustainable development strategy.

---

Partner Federal Offices

The MONET 2030 indicator system is a joint activity between the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), who has overall responsibility for it, and the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG), the Federal Office for the Protection of the Population (FOPP), the Federal Office for Public Health (FOPH), the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs State Secretariat (STS/FDFA), the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) as well as the Federal Finance Administration (FFA).

2030 Agenda

Since 2015, the United Nations 2030 Agenda has provided the global reference framework, guiding the nations’ sustainable development activities. The Agenda comprises 17 sustainable development goals (SGDs) broken down into 169 targets. Some of these targets, translated into the Swiss context, are measured by 85 indicators. The targets to be measured were selected on the basis of their relevance to the Swiss context and the need to limit the number of indicators. The full list of targets, together with a qualitative assessment of the state of their implementation, is available on the SDGital2030 platform.

Swiss topics

Despite the wealth of topics covered in the 2030 Agenda, certain aspects that are important to sustainable development in Switzerland such as culture, mobility and transport or social cohesion are not - or hardly - touched upon. The monitoring of sustainable development in Switzerland is, therefore, not limited to the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda translated into Switzerland’s context, but also includes around twenty indicators related to issues specific to our country. These indicators are those that do not have the SDG symbol (coloured ring) in the "All indicators" table. As they do not stem from the 2030 Agenda, they are linked to one of the principles of sustainable development.

Top of page

Gaps

The use of a reference framework and a typology to build an indicator system allows to identify gaps, amongst other things. A gap is an indicator that cannot be produced due to methodological reasons or to lack of data. By defining gaps in this way, the statistical system's needs in terms of development are highlighted. Gaps are detected using a participative process that involves the stakeholders of the subjects being dealt with. The document below presents the gaps identified in the MONET 2030 indicator system when it was published in October 2019. These gaps will be filled in line with future developments in the Swiss statistical system.

Uses and limits

The purpose of the MONET 2030 indicator system is to monitor sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda goals in Switzerland. Monitoring involves the systematic collection, analysis and presentation of data over a long period of time in order to present coherent information on the way a phenomenon is developing or on a specific topic. Indicators are statistical information designed for a specific purpose and within a given context, in this case such as monitoring one of the 2030 Agenda goal or an important aspect of sustainable development in Switzerland.

Gathered in a system comprising a modelling of sustainable development processes (typology) and a reference frame, the MONET 2030 indicators provide an overview of sustainable development in Switzerland and can thus help identify future challenges, detect any incoherent trends and make fact-based decisions. In this respect they are a global steering tool for sustainable development policy. The indicators cannot, however, be used to evaluate or monitor specific policy programmes. It is often the case that no direct causal relationship exists between the political steps or actions taken and the development or status of the indicators. External events that cannot be controlled or directly linked to the measures taken can also influence the realisation of goals.

Top of page

Background

The MONET project, which stands for Monitoring der nachhaltigen Entwicklung, was launched in spring 2000 by the Federal Statistical Office, the Federal Office for the Environment and the Federal Office for Spatial Development, with the aim of developing a system of indicators to measure sustainable development in Switzerland. The aim of this project was to provide a monitoring tool, in this case a system of indicators, to determine the extent to which Switzerland was meeting its commitment to define and implement a sustainable development policy. This commitment, made at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, is also enshrined in the revised Federal Constitution of 1999.
The first system of indicators was published in autumn 2003. It included more than 150 indicators, of which only around a hundred were published, organised into 26 themes covering the three dimensions of sustainable development: economy, society and environment. The system was based on an interpretation of the Brundtland definition, translated and clarified by 45 principles of sustainable development, which constituted the system's frame of reference, as well as on a typology of indicators describing the main processes of sustainable development: covering needs, capital stocks, capital appreciation and depreciation, efficiency and disparities, and measures taken (reactions). The construction of the system and the approaches used are documented in the following document (available only in French and German).

Revisions

The system subsequently underwent several developments and revisions:

2009

Why was a revision necessary?
Experience gathered since the MONET indicator system went online in 2003, as well as a user survey in 2007, have confirmed that the system was very reliable and met a real need. Nevertheless, some elements were in need of improvement: for example, the system was difficult to read as it was too large; some indicators lacked relevance; there were gaps in the system and international comparability was limited.

Objectives of the revision
The system revision project which took place from September 2007 to June 2009 had the following objectives:

• reduce the size of the system
• increase its relevance
• fill in gaps
• optimise international comparability

As they are deemed to be very reliable, the structural elements of the system, such as the principles of sustainable development and the typology of indicators, have not been revised.

The procedure
The system was analysed and the indicators were tested by means of a series of selection criteria. These dealt with the use of indicators in reports and analyses, on their presence in the Federal Council’s Sustainable Development Strategy 2008 - 2011 as well as on the possibilities for international comparison.

The results of this analysis were discussed, commented on and completed by several workgroups made up of FSO representatives from the domains involved as well as from other federal offices active in the area of sustainable development.

The new MONET system
The list of themes, gateway to the system, has also been revised in order to simplify the reduction in the system’s size and to make it easier to read.

The twelve new themes which replaced the 26 previous ones were more in line with the themes of the European Union’s sustainable development indicators system from back then.

The system revised in 2009 contained 80 indicators (instead of 130), including 12 new ones, structured according to the new themes.

Documents only available in French and German.

2016

Why was a revision necessary?
The system resulting from the revision conducted in 2009 was almost completely in line with international recommendations on measuring sustainable development1. The subject of sustainable development and its measurement have moved on since then, however, especially following the United Nations Rio+20 conference on sustainable development. The second revision of the MONET indicator system took place between 2014 and 2016 as the federal council was renewing its sustainable development strategy for 2016-2019 and with the adoption by the UN of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) in September 2015 (2030 Agenda).

1 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Conference of European Statisticians Recommendation on Measuring Sustainable Development, 2014

Objectives of the revision
The purpose of the revision was to adapt the MONET indicator system to new developments in the measurement of sustainable development and in the statistical system as well as making the indicators easier to use and explain. There was no intention of enlarging the indicator system or of making it more complex.

One of the reasons for revising the indicators was to anticipate the inclusion of the SDGs into the Federal Council’s sustainable development strategy as well as incorporating new possibilities arising from developments in the system of environmental-economic accounting (SEEA).

The structural elements of the system, such as the themes and the typology of indicators were not revised as they meet international recommendations.

Procedure
The components of the indicator system (themes, principles, indicators) were analysed according to a set of criteria. The results of this analysis were discussed, commented on and completed by several working groups of experts from within and outside of the federal administration.

The new MONET system
This work resulted in the adaptation of some of the sustainable development principles and the revision of indicators. The revised system comprised 73 indicators, 22 of which were new.

The revision also saw the creation of a transversal "Gender equality" theme bringing together the indicators measuring equality between women and men spread across several themes of the MONET system. This grouping allows gender equality to be better presented from the perspective of sustainable development.

Documents only available in French and German.

2018

Why was a revision necessary?
Adopted in September 2015 by all the member countries of the United Nations, the 2030 Agenda is a new global reference framework that guides Switzerland's action on sustainable development. In December 2015, the Federal Council decided that Switzerland would report regularly on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda’s goals. To this end, it was decided that progress towards these goals would be monitored using the MONET system, which would be extended to meet these specific needs.

Objectives of the revision
The aim of this revision was to complete the MONET system to take account of the 2030 Agenda targets translated into the Swiss context by building on what already existed, i.e. not only the MONET system indicators, but also the methods and processes used when the system was built and when it was revised and developed, as well as indicators drawn from other international, national or regional systems.

Procedure
The revision was carried out using a participatory approach with the federal offices concerned, in conjunction with the process of translating the targets into the Swiss context. The aim of this process was to establish an initial baseline of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Switzerland. The processes, the division of roles and responsibilities between the players involved and the criteria for selecting indicators were taken from those used during the initial development of the MONET system in the early 2000s and during previous revisions.

The MONET 2030 system
The new system, entitled MONET 2030, was published in June 2018, on the occasion of the presentation to the United Nations of Switzerland's Voluntary Report 2018 on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It included 85 indicators, 34 of which were taken from the 2016 revised MONET system, and was available alongside the latter. The MONET 2030 indicators were structured according to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. As regards to the 2030 Agenda targets translated into the Swiss context, the system made it possible to measure 69 of the 103 targets relating to domestic policy and 8 of the 66 relating to foreign policy.

The MONET 2030 system introduced a new way of presenting the indicators on the FSO's web pages. The traditional commentary text, which generally described the development of the indicator, has been replaced by a more concise reading aid, highlighting the limitations of the indicator and thus helping its interpretation. An "international comparison" section has been added to provide information on how the indicator compares with indicators published by international organisations.

2019

Why was a revision necessary?
This revision follows on from that of 2018. Although the two systems did not have the same objective, i.e. monitoring the 2030 Agenda’s targets translated into the Swiss context for the MONET 2030 system, and monitoring sustainable development in Switzerland for the MONET system revised in 2016, the parallel presence on the FSO website of two systems with many similarities made their communication complicated. In addition, maintaining and updating these two systems represented a considerable workload that could not be justified. The revision took place between March and October 2019.

Objectives of the revision
The aim of the 2019 revision was to merge the two systems, MONET and MONET 2030, into a single system so as to take account of the 2030 Agenda targets translated into the Swiss context and the important aspects of sustainable development in Switzerland that are not, or are only partially, covered by the SDGs. It was also important to retain the tools and processes developed since 2003 for the MONET indicator system, in particular to base the revised system on a reference framework and typology and to use selection criteria and pre-established rules of the game to guide the choice of indicators. These elements make it possible to measure sustainable development holistically, taking into account the notions of "here and now", "tomorrow" and "elsewhere". They offer a range of analytical possibilities and represent a nationally and internationally recognised benchmark for measuring sustainable development.

Procedure
All the work was carried out using a participatory approach involving the concerned main players in the federal administration. A support group comprising the federal offices involved in the federal administration's internal 2030 Agenda working group, as well as representatives of the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) and the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), helped to define the sustainable development themes specific to Switzerland and to select the appropriate indicators for monitoring these aspects.

The new MONET 2030 system
The new system, structured according to the 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda, included 103 indicators when it was published in October 2019, 18 of which were dedicated to monitoring important aspects of sustainable development in Switzerland. The 85 indicators from the 2018 MONET 2030 system have been retained. The themes specific to Switzerland include social cohesion, mobility and transport, as well as culture. As the indicators dedicated to these themes cannot be attributed to the 2030 Agenda’s targets translated into the Swiss context, they have been attached to the MONET system's sustainable development principles.
The revision process, the revised system and the list of gaps to be filled are described in the document below (available only in French and German).

Further information

Publications

Press Releases

Methodologies

Links

2030 Agenda in Switzerland

2030 Agenda - United Nations

Statistical sources and concepts

Surveys