About CSIN

Sustainability indicators are signals that tell us if our society is moving toward or away from more sustainable ways of living and doing business.

Sustainability indicators also inform course corrections that are necessary to keep communities, corporations, governments and organizations of all descriptions moving in the right direction.

In recent decades, federal, provincial and municipal jurisdictions, businesses and NGOs the world over have been developing measurement systems. All use indicators to mark and inform the progress each makes towards environmental stewardship and sustainable development.

The Canadian Sustainability Indicators Network (CSIN) seeks to advance best practices in measurement and sustainability indicator systems in Canada and beyond and to play a key role in the progress toward global sustainable development. The goals of CSIN are:

What we do

Sustainability reporting is practiced and indicators have been developed in Canada by a number of governments, corporations and non-government organizations, working from local to the international in scope. Despite some shining examples, sustainability reporting in Canada is still sporadic, and reporting approaches are not always consistent. This makes it difficult for people to get a clear picture of how we are doing in meeting sustainability needs and goals. To get more good indicators and reports, we need more people with the skills and knowledge in these fields.

CSIN offers indicator and reporting practitioners an organization focused on helping them to meet and share information and ideas. It is linking the growing number of sustainability reporters across Canada with each other and with colleagues and centers of expertise around the world. CSIN operates as a Community of Practice, an approach that emphasizes self-governance, self-selection and participation based on interest, capturing knowledge, and encouraging learning and innovation.

CSIN uses a combination of face-to-face meetings and online presentations and discussions to help people meet each other and share expertise.

Sponsors

CSIN was created through the collaboration of three organizations:

CSIN has received financial and in-kind support from a number of organizations inclusive of: