§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to extend the work carried out by his Department presented in "Indicators of Sustainable Development for the United Kingdom", by the construction of indicators at the level of individual businesses. [24697]
§ Mr. ClappisonThe indicators published by the Department of the Environment are national in nature and, in many cases, relate to broad industrial sectors. Individual businesses should be able to construct their own indicators to compare their performance with the national sectoral norm.
§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will develop indicators to measure the contribution of United Kingdom international trade to sustainable development globally. [26516]
§ Mr. ClappisonThe issue of international trade was flagged up in the report of indicators of sustainable development for the United Kingdom published on 12 March 1996. This area requires much further work as the issues involved are very complex. In the longer term, we will need to consider, in conjunction with other countries and international organisations, whether more appropriate indicators might be developed to illustrate the role of international trade in global patterns of consumption and production.