- Methods and Projects
- Standards and Classifications
Standardised Methodological Report
Cuentas Medioambientales: Cuenta de Bienes y Servicios Ambientales
- 1Contact
- 1.1Contact organisation
National Statistics Institute of Spain
- 1.5Contact mail address
Avenida de Manoteras 50-52 - 28050 Madrid
- 1.1Contact organisation
- 2Metadata update
- 2.1Metadata last certified
21/12/2021
- 2.2Metadata last posted
17/12/2021
- 2.3Metadata last update
21/12/2021
- 2.1Metadata last certified
- 3Statistical presentation
- 3.1Data description
The Environmental Accounts (EA) are a synthesis statistical operation with the general objective of integrating environmental information in the central system of National Accounts, following the methodology of the United Nations' System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), which constitutes the conceptual framework of the EA.
They include a group of satellite accounts compiled using accounting formats that are applicable to different sectorial and territorial scopes, with a great amount of physical data. The use of similar concepts, classifications and norms that the National Accounts allow to expand analysis, without overloading the central system.The result is an indispensable tool for analysing the interrelations between the environment and the economic in general, and in particular, for evaluating sustainable development through the design and construction of the Sustainable Development Indicator Systems, and for monitoring the actions of environmental policies at national and international levels.
The Environmental Goods and Services Account (EGSS) is a subset of the total economy that presents, through production and other related variables, the importance of activities of an environmental nature in economic sectors depending on the environmental scope of these activities.
- 3.2Classification system
- Clasificaciones utilizadas
The classifications used are consistent with the European System of Accounts (ESA). The EGSS includes economic activities whose main objective is the protection of the environment or the management of natural resources. As a result, the EGSS combines two types of classifications:
- National Classification of Economic Activities, NACE Rev.2, at the disaggregation level A21.
- Classification by environmental activities: which includes two classifications:
- Classification of Environmental Protection Activities (http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/nomenclatures/index.cfm?TargetUrl=LST_NOM_DTL&StrNom=CEPA_2000&StrLanguageCode=ES&IntPcKey=&StrLayoutCode=HIERARCHIC&IntCurrentPage=1) and the
- Classification of Resource Management Activities, which has not been established internationally, but is used by Eurostat and required for the estimation of the EGSS.
- Clasificaciones utilizadas
- 3.3Sector coverage
The Good and Services Account has the same system boundaries as ESA and presents data on production about environmental protection and resource management production activities.
ESA: European System of Accounts:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013R0549&from=EN - 3.4Statistical concepts and definitions
- 3.5Statistical unit
As they are satellite accounts, the same units as in the Spanish National Accounts are used, that is, the units collected in the European System of Accounts (ESA).
For further information consult ESA:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013R0549 - 3.6Statistical population
Environmental Accounts combine data from several different statistical sources. The concept of statistical population cannot be strictly applied in this context.
- 3.7Reference area
Environmental Accounts cover the entire national territory.
- 3.8Time coverage
Environmental Goods and Services Accounts are compiled annually.
- 3.9Base period
Environmental Accounts shall be updated periodically so as to incorporate the appropriate methodological and statistical changes, specially, base changes of the economic accounts.
The results correspond to the 2019 Benchmark Revision (ESA 2010), being in line with National Accounts data.
- 3.1Data description
- 4Unit of measure
- 4.1Unit of measure
Millions of euros for Production, Gross Value Added and Exports.
Full time equivalent for Employment
- 4.1Unit of measure
- 5Reference period
- 5.1Reference period
The reference period is the calendar year.
Data referred to the period: Anual A: 2020
- 5.1Reference period
- 6Institutional mandate
- 6.1Legal acts and other agreements
The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2021-2024, approved by Royal Decree 1110/2020, of 15 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2021-2024. (Statistics of the State Administration).
The reference period is the calendar year.
Data referred to the period: Anual A: 2020
- 6.2Data sharing
The exchanges of information needed to elaborate statistics between the INE and the rest of the State statistical offices (Ministerial Departments, independent bodies and administrative bodies depending on the State General Administration), or between these offices and the Autonomic statistical offices, are regulated in the LFEP (Law of the Public Statistic Function). This law also regulates the mechanisms of statistical coordination, and concludes cooperation agreements between the different offices when necessary.
- 6.1Legal acts and other agreements
- 7Confidentiality
- 7.1Confidentiality - policy
The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society
- 7.2Confidentiality - data treatment
INE provides information on the protection of confidentiality at all stages of the statistical process: INE questionnaires for the operations in the national statistical plan include a legal clause protecting data under statistical confidentiality. Notices prior to data collection announcing a statistical operation notify respondents that data are subject to statistical confidentiality at all stages. For data processing, INE employees have available the INE data protection handbook, which specifies the steps that should be taken at each stage of processing to ensure reporting units' individual data are protected. The microdata files provided to users are anonymised.
INE provides information on the protection of confidentiality at all stages of the statistical process: INE questionnaires for the operations in the national statistical plan include a legal clause protecting data under statistical confidentiality. Notices prior to data collection announcing a statistical operation notify respondents that data are subject to statistical confidentiality at all stages. For data processing, INE employees have available the INE data protection handbook, which specifies the steps that should be taken at each stage of processing to ensure reporting units' individual data are protected. The microdata files provided to users are anonymised.
Environmental Accounts are a statistical operation included in the National Statistical Plan, therefore subject to the Law on Public Statistical Services of May 9 1989, and consequently, their data is protected by Statistical Secrecy, at all stages of compilation.
In the following link https://www.ine.es/dyngs/IOE/en/operacion.htm?id=1259945998307 description and characteristics of this operation may be consulted.
- 7.1Confidentiality - policy
- 8Release policy
- 8.1Release calendar
The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.
- 8.2Release calendar access
The calendar is disseminated on the INEs Internet website (Publications Calendar)
- 8.3User access
The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website (www.ine.es/en) almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice
- 8.1Release calendar
- 9Frequency of dissemination
- 9.1Frequency of dissemination
The data is disseminated annually.
- 9.1Frequency of dissemination
- 10Accessibility and clarity
- 10.1News release
The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and the Press Releases Section in the web
- 10.2Publications
Users of the Environmental Accounts may access the data regarding Environmental Goods and Services Accounts through the INE website
Specifically, the following sections appear in the Environmental Goods and Services Accounts:- Press release and main results: this contains a summary of the Results obtained during the reference period.
- Detailed results, presenting the complete set of results of the different account series available.
- Results of the pilot studies carried out, prior to the entry into force of Regulation Nº 538/2014 regarding environmental economic accounts.
- 10.3On-line database
INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or subject based on the individually collected data. Also included in the scope of this definition are synthesis preparation.
Access to tables and results in INEBASE (www.ine.es) / Agriculture and environment/Environmental accounts
- 10.4Micro-data access
A lot of statistical operations disseminate public domain anonymized files, available free of charge for downloading in the INE website Microdata Section
Due to the nature of the Environmental Accounts, microdata is not available
- 10.5Other
The policy regarding custom requests is to analyse whether they comply with the statistical secrecy and significance conditions. Following this analysis, a viability report is prepared and sent to the person who has made the request.
Requests are made through the User Care Area:
- 10.6Documentation on methodology
The handbook of Environmental Goods and Service Accounts developed by Eurostat (“The Environmental Goods and Services Sector"), may be consulted in their website through the following link:
- 10.7Quality documentation
Fields 10.7 to 17 of this document are the quality report intended for the user of this operation.
- 10.1News release
- 11Quality management
- 11.1Quality assurance
Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 16 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.
The quality of synthesis statistics, such as environmental accounts, is derived from the multiple sources they use. In all of them, we have tried to obtain as accurate information as possible, minimizing the various types of errors that may affect them. On the other hand, the compilation follows the annex V relative to the EGSS of Regulation 538/2014, as well as the recomendations of the Eurostat manual.
The estimates of the EGSS are made based on the methodology designed by Eurostat, using the principles, rules and classifications of the National Accounts, which ensures the internal consistency of the EGSS and other economic modules, as well as comparability with the aggregates of National Accounts. In addition, given that the EGSS shares many characteristics with the Environmental Protection Expenditure Account (EPEA), common standards have been used to estimate the elements shared by both, thus ensuring coherence between environmental accounts.
- 11.2Quality assessment
The Commission (Eurostat) shall assess the quality of the data transmitted and may, within 1 month of receipt of the data, request the Member State in question to submit additional information regarding the data or a revised dataset, as appropriate (Article 7.4 of European Regulation nº 691/2011).
The estimates of EGSS accounts are based on the methodology designed by Eurostat, using the principles, rules and classifications of national accounts, which ensures their internal consistency and with other modules of the environmental accounts, as well as comparability with aggregates of national accounts.
- 11.1Quality assurance
- 12Relevance
- 12.1User needs
The environmental accounts enable observing the pressure that the economy exerts on the environment, and studying the means to reduce it. They show the interactions between the economy, households and environmental factors, and therefore offer a greater degree of information than the national accounts in this field.
As an essential data source regarding the environment, these are basic for decision-making in environmental policy and in the development of impact assessments, on both national and international levels. According to the principles of sustainable development included in the Europe 2020 Strategy, and in other initiatives, as well as the advance toward an economy that is efficient in the use of resources and low in emissions, it is increasingly necessary to develop and implement a data framework structure that systematically includes environmental issues as well as economics issues.
Moreover, as they constitute a synthesis statistical operation in the environmental field, they enable identifying gaps and improvements in the Spanish statistical system.
Worth noting among environmental account users are the following:• Ministries and other public bodies
• Regional administrations (Autonomous Communities)
• Researchers and Academic institutions
• Companies and non-profit institutions (company research services, foundations, associations, etc.), trade unions and employers' organisations.
• Press and specialised media
Likewise, there are foreign institutional users (Eurostat, OECD, United Nations, etc.) - 12.2User satisfaction
The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...
On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click next link)
The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...
On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date: https://www.ine.es/ss/Satellite?c=Page&pagename=MetodologiaYEstandares%2FINELayout&cid=1259944133654&L=1
The user satisfaction surveys conducted to date assess the Environmental sector in which the statistical operation is set in, which may provide direction with regard to the opinion users have of it.
- 12.3Completeness
The Environmental Goods and Services Accounts meet the information requirements demanded by European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) Nº 538/2014, of 16 April 2014, amending Regulation (EU) Nº 691/2011, regarding the European economic environmental accounts, and therefore, it may be stated that they are comprehensive.
The rate of available compulsory statistical results is 100% (R1=100%)
- 12.1User needs
- 13Accuracy and reliability
- 13.1Overall accuracy
Environmental accounts are synthesis statistics, therefore they are affected by sampling errors coming from sources from which information is collected, which are analysed in order to see if they remain within reasonable limits. Non-sampling errors may come from both the sources and the information treatment in this operation (lack of coverage, measurement errors). In summary, the direct measurement of accuracy in this case is not considered possible.
The main instrument for analysing the accuracy is the analysis of the revisions. The revisions show the degree of proximity between subsequent estimators of the same value, and it is reasonable to assume that the estimators converge on the true value when they are based on better and more reliable data.
- 13.2Sampling error
Environmental accounts are a synthesis statistical operation, by which sampling errors that affect it come from the sources that the information is collected from, which are analysed in order to see if they remain within reasonable limits.
- 13.3Non-sampling error
Environmental accounts are a synthesis statistical operation, by which non-sampling errors that affect it may come from both the sources and the information treatment in this operation (lack of coverage, measurement errors).
- 13.1Overall accuracy
- 14Timeliness and punctuality
- 14.1Timeliness
The estimates of the Environmental Goods and Services Accounts are sent to Eurostat, at most 24 months following the end of the reference year, in compliance with EU Regulation Nº 538/2014, amending EU Regulation Nº 691/2011, regarding European economic environmental accounts, regulating the periods for transmitting data.
The indicator of the time elapsed between the end of the reference period and the dissemination in INEbase is TP1=12 months for early estimates. TP2= 48 months.
- 14.2Punctuality
The results of the Environmental Accounts are published in a timely manner, according to the INE structural statistics publication calendar.
https://www.ine.es/en/daco/daco41/calen_en.htm
- 14.1Timeliness
- 15Coherence and Comparability
- 15.1Comparability - geographical
The EU Member States use the same methodology for the compilation of estimates, which allows comparability among Environmental Goods and Services Accounts estimates.
EUROSTAT, through the indicative list of environmental products and activities, defines the minimum scope of the concepts collected.
- 15.2Comparability - over time
The temporary comparability of the EGSS, corresponding to the periods 2014-2019, plus the advance of 2020 can be guaranteed
The number of comparable elements of the time series is 7 (CC2 = 7).
- 15.3Coherence - cross domain
Environmental Accounts are coherent with National Accounts.
National Accounts
The estimates of EGSS accounts are based on the methodology designed by Eurostat, using the principles, valuations, rules and classifications of national accounts, which ensures their internal consistency and with other modules of the environmental accounts, as well as comparability with aggregates of national accounts.
GVA, Employment and Exports are, in part, estimated based on national accounts. Ratios are calculated based on national accounts agregates, such as full time equivalent employment, exports from SUT tables or GVA by economic activities. Furthermore, some NACE activities are almost entirely environmental activites (NACE 37-39). In that case National Accounts data become the starting point for the estimates as coherence with EGSS must be ensured.EPEA
EPEA data are taken as a reference regarding characteristic output, i.e., wastewater management and waste management. Since EPEA provides data on production we ensure that production in EGSS keeps coherence with EPEA.
Other statistics
Since some data on production and exports is provided by SBS and other satellite accounts such as EW-MFA and EEA, we ensure that production in EGSS keeps coherence with the rest of the statistics and Environmental Accounts.
- 15.4Coherence - internal
The annual results of Environmental Goods and Services Accounts are coherent with each other and with the available annual series.
For each estimation, the most updated data are applied. Coherence is kept, in general, because data sources follow the same valuation principles. If some methodological change appears the corresponding adjustment is carried out to reflect only the real variation and not the part caused by the methodology.
- 15.1Comparability - geographical
- 16Cost and burden
- 16.1Cost and burden
In the 2021 annual Program, the estimate of the necessary budget appropriation to finance this Environmental Accounts operation is 31.25 thousand euros.
There is no response burden for informants, since the information provided by other statistics is used.
- 16.1Cost and burden
- 17Data revision
- 17.1Data revision - policy
The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).
This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow: routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.
Environmental Accounts data is revised coherently with the data revision scheme of the Annual Spanish National Accounts.
Regulation (EU) Nº 538/2014 establishes that in each annual data transmission, data be provided for years n-2, n-1 and n, with n being the reference year.
- 17.2Data revision - practice
The factors that determine the revisions of Environmental Accounts estimates are basically the changes in Annual Spanish National Accounts as well as the changes carried out so as to improve estimation procedures.
As it is the first time that data of accounting Base 2010 of Environmental Goods and Services Accounts is published, the last year of reference with t + 12 months of time difference has early estimate nature, and the rest of years have provisional nature. The final data are published three years and 12 months (t+48) after the end of the corresponding reference year.
The practical way to proceed consists of publishing the data, indicating their final, provisional or early nature. Each annual estimate is revised for three consecutive years, from early estimates until it ceases to be considered provisional and acquires the final nature.
The revision of the series has been implemented to include:
- The guidance notes derived from the Task Force on the integrated classification
- More detailed information derived from improvements in the sources.
The A6-RMAR indicator (relative mean absolute revision) of the Gross Valued Added of the Environmental Goods and Services Account 2014-2019 and advance estimate 2020 is 4.16%.
- 17.1Data revision - policy
- 18Statistical processing
- 18.1Source data
As this is a synthesis statistical operation, the Environmental Accounts integrate and manage a large number of economics and environmental information sources.
In the case of the Environmental Goods and Services Account, the following statistical information is used:
Elaborated by the INE:
Structural Business Statistics: Sections of manufacturing industry; supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning; Water supply, sanitation activities, waste management and decontamination; and Services.
Annual Industrial Products Survey
Survey of Products of the Services Sector.
National annual accounts of Spain, mainly the Tables of origin and destination, accounts of production and exploitation by branches of activity.
Survey on expenditure on environmental protection by the industry.
Environmental Protection Expenditure Account.
Elaborated by other agencies:
Energy Statistics (MITECO).
Foreign trade data of the Tax Agency. - 18.2Frequency of data collection
The data is compiled annually.
- 18.3Data collection
The data collection techniques may vary, depending on the type of source, the date that the data is available, etc.
In general, the data is sent to the Environmental Accounts unit by the different units compiling it, though on occasion, the information may be obtained directly from the corresponding database.
- 18.4Data validation
The base information, from the different statistics, is subjected to a series of processes: identification of outliers, error filtering, adaptation to the terms of the Environmental Accounts.
- 18.5Data compilation
The compilation process may be structured in several stages:
1. Updating of base information: collection of available data
2. Treatment of base information: this is subjected to a series of treatments, consisting of identifying outliers, filtering errors and adapting to the terms of the Environmental Accounts.
3. Preparation of the general structure file. With the new information available, the work file is completed with the breakdown level required in the European accounts Regulation. For each institutional sector, and for the purpose of obtaining more precision in the estimates, auxiliary files are used to work with the greatest breakdown level possible of the different identifiable components thereof.
4. Process of analysing and revising the estimates. The time series of results are analysed, for each sector and transaction, with the objective of detecting possible inconsistencies.
5. Preparation of the final results files with the different formats required: format for mailing to Eurostat, and files for dissemination in INEbase (Results, Methodology, Press Release).
- 18.6Adjustment
No seasonal adjustments are carried out.
- 18.1Source data
- 19Comment
- 19.1Comment
- 19.1Comment
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