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. 23 key indicators present a brief summary of sustainable development in Switzerland. Lastly, a selection of indicators from the system help monitor 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 State Secretariat for the FDFA, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) as well as the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF).

Swiss topics

Despite the wealth of topics covered in the 2030 Agenda, certain aspects that are important to sustainable development in Switzerland are not - or hardly - touched upon, such as culture, mobility and transport or social cohesion. 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.

Gaps

The use of a reference framework and a typology to build an indicator system allows, amongst other things, any gaps to be detected. 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 de-velopment are highlighted. Gaps are detected using a participative process that involves the stake-holders of the subjects being dealt with. The list shown below presents the gaps identified in the MO-NET 2030 indicator system when it was published in October 2019. These gaps will be filled as the Swiss statistical system develops in the future.

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.

Assembled in a system comprised of a sustainable development process model, a reference frame and participatory processes, the MONET 2030 system 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.

Agenda 2030

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. Translated into a Swiss context, these targets are measured by means of 85 indicators.

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The indicators are updated once a year in autumn

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Further information

Publications

Press Releases

Methodologies

Links

2030 Agenda in Switzerland

2030 Agenda - United Nations

Statistical sources and concepts

Surveys