The characteristics and features of corporate environmental performance indicators – a case study of the water industry of England and Wales

A popular approach to environmental management is to develop a set of environmental performance indicators, which will illustrate progress against targets, inform management and communicate the company's position. Given this wide range of roles for an indicator, it is important to recognize the characteristics and features that make them effective. This paper identifies the characteristics and features of effective environmental performance indicators in a literature review. To test whether indicators were used effectively, content analysis was used to examine the environmental reports of water service companies in England and Wales. The results show that the environmental performance indicators used in the water industry are legislation driven, lack sophistication and are mainly quantitative. The conclusion was that water company indicators must become more sophisticated and less focused on external reporting. They should be directed to measuring environmental impacts and be seen as tools to improve the environmental performance of their company. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment