Training module 8 Adoption of territorial assessment tools

Table of Contents CESBA Alps sustainability objectives CESBA Alps evaluation system CESBA Alps - KPIs Main environmental assessment tools Integration of CESBA Alps objective and tool into policies Tips & Tricks

UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 CESBA Alps sustainability objectives UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030

CESBA Alps sustainability objectives CESBA Alps aims to improve the sustainability of the Alpine built environment through the development of the first assessment tool at territorial scale

CESBA STT GENERIC FRAMEWORK CESBA Alps evaluation system Through objective criteria and performance indicators addressing all dimensions of sustainability, the tool will support the sustainability assessment of a territory, the definition of objective performance targets, the decision making in planning processes and the implementation and monitoring of effective low carbon policies. This is the process to follow from Generic framework to Local context application. CRITERIA ASSESSEMENT METHOD CESBA STT GENERIC FRAMEWORK CRITERIA SELECTION BENCHMARKS WEIGHTS CESBA STT Local tool

CESBA Alps evaluation system Assessment procedure The main goal of the STTool is to provide a final and concise score, which summarizes the overall performance of the territory with respect to all criteria.

CESBA Alps - KPIs KPIs mandatory KPIs recommended KPI – Key Performance Indicators are strategic indicators relevant for assessing, at local level, the achievement of common transnational goals for low carbon sustainable territories. Mandatory KPIs shall be considered when evaluating the performance of any territory in the Alpine Space. KPIs mandatory KPIs recommended

Main environmental assessment tools The European Commission (Directive 2011/92/EU and 2014/52/EU) defines an environmental impact assessment as "the process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects on environment of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made”. Main evaluation methods to protect the environment/ territory available now: SEA – Strategic Environmental Assessment EIA – Environmental Impact Assessment IEA – Integrated Environmental Authorization

Main environmental assessment tools Implementation scale Territorial scale (Plan) Project scale Production facility / plant scale SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment EIA Environmental Impact Assessment IEA Integrated Environmental Authorization

Where to use CESBA Alps - Examples of application Integration of CESBA Alps objective and tool into policies Where to use CESBA Alps - Examples of application Regional strategies Environmental assessment Local policies Support and monitor of Regional Strategies on Sustainable Development, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Social-economy and Transportation at regional level. Monitor territorial implementation of Regional strategies at local/municipal level, improving coherence by creating a link between Regional and Local levels; CESBA could be the common tool to evaluate sustainability aspect in policies of different levels. Support and monitor of Local Plans, for example: - Local energy plans (SEAP) - Touristic policies (for example linked with winter sports) - Connectivity plans for rural areas - Territorial plans for mountain areas (alpine space) 4. Improve/update of Environmental Assessment instrument (SEA, IEA, EIA) and their indicators set.

Integrate CESBA STTool in existing indicator systems. Integration of CESBA Alps objective and tool into policies How to use CESBA Alps to orient planning choices - Examples of application Integrate CESBA STTool in existing indicator systems. Create new indicators system/tool in order to evaluate policies and sustainable objectives in any sector (Energy, Environment, Economy, Transport etc..) For example: - TerriSTORY (Multi-thematic tool, Auvergne Rhone-Alpes) - BAT (Territorial Environmental Balance, Piedmont Region) For example: - Pilot test of Vorarlberg Region and Municipality of Velenje (Slovenia)

How to implement CESBA Alps into policies – the process Integration of CESBA Alps objective and tool into policies CONSISTENCY CHECK and SELECTION Verification of POLICY/STRATEGY/PLAN objectives and consistency check between them and CESBA Alps issues Coherence verification between POLICY/STRATEGY/PLAN indicators and CESBA Alps STTool (KPI and others) and selection of common indicators. BENCHMARKING and CALCULATION Verification of the achievement of the objectives by calculating the CESBA indicators and comparison with reference targets/benchmark defined. REVISION Possible update-revision of POLICY/STRATEGY/PLAN objectives and measures (feedback). MONITORING Ex-post monitoring of the indicators to evaluate the future implementation. How to implement CESBA Alps into policies – the process

Integration of CESBA Alps objective and tool into policies How to implement CESBA Alps into policies – CONSISTENCY CHECK AND SELECTION Comparison between your POLICY/ STRATEGY/PLAN objectives and CESBA Alps main issues through matrix or other tools. Consistency check between CESBA Alps indicators of selected ISSUE and your POLICY/STRATEGY/PLAN objectives.

BENCHMARKING and WEIGHTING Integration of CESBA Alps objective and tool into policies How to implement CESBA Alps into policies – BENCHMARKING AND CALCULATION Using the CESBA STTool online (https://tool.cesba.eu/login) you can calculate the indicators selected in previous step and, after weighting and benchmarking phase, reach the final results. BENCHMARKING and WEIGHTING The sources of benchmarks and weights, are: (in order of relevance) National/International/Regional regulations that set threshold/limit not to be crossed; Regional strategies and policies; Experts suggestion; Regional minimum and maximum value obtained from calculation.   The systematic methodology behind the choice of the reference values, following the source approach, are: Maximum acceptable performance (best value, to aim for) Minimum acceptable performance (worst value, which you would never want to reach) Target (credible value to reach in the short term)

Integration of CESBA Alps objective and tool into policies How to implement CESBA Alps into policies – BENCHMARKING AND CALCULATION After weighting and benchmarking phase (Contextualization), you could obtain progress values (from -1 to 5) that represents the scores of your indicators.

Integration of CESBA Alps objective and tool into policies How to implement CESBA Alps into policies – BENCHMARKING AND CALCULATION The online system is giving you back some relevant graphs and info to support the numeric results.

How to implement CESBA Alps into policies – REVISION AND MONITORING Integration of CESBA Alps objective and tool into policies How to implement CESBA Alps into policies – REVISION AND MONITORING From the calculation phase, the policy maker can update/review its POLICY/STRATEGY/PLAN objectives and measures. The CESBA STTool will be integrated as a mechanism to control the effects of POLICY/STRATEGY/PLAN in relation to the objectives of sustainability and low carbon. In other words, the tool will be used to monitor the performance of POLICY/STRATEGY/PLAN in terms of sustainability, mitigation, adaptation and resilience. The support tool for the monitoring stage will be a matrix which will compare the effective performances of the planning tool/local evaluation mechanism with the CESBA STTool indicators' benchmarks.

Tips & Tricks From partners experience gained and from CESBA Alps pilot testing, here are some basic tips and suggestions that can be useful to anyone who wants to approach the method and Tool introduced in the framework of CESBA Alps project: Choose CRITERIA/INDICATORS easy to calculate, in limited number and with higher update frequency (annually is the best option) in order to make useful the implementation of the online tool and avoid waste of time and money; Choose also a limited number of CATEGORIES in order to focus your effort and reach strong results; Try to standardize the SOURCES of Indicators in order to make the data as homogeneous and comparable as possible; Involve stakeholders of territories in the implementation process (PARTICIPATION PROCESS) especially in weighting and contextualization phase. Define BENCHMARKS that are clear, understandable and shared by all stakeholders (realistic thresholds) Use CESBA Alps STTool to help territories to establish a common state of sustainability, share it in an easy way with their stakeholders, benchmark it with other territories and use it to define objectives and measures to improve their sustainability.