Management integration

TERM indicators	Objectives	DPSIR	Assessment
27. Integrated transport strategies	Integrate environment and safety concerns in transport strategies	R
28. National monitoring systems	Monitor the effectiveness of transport and environment strategies	R
29. Implementation of strategic environmental assessment (SEA)	Carry out strategic environmental assessment of transport policies, plans and programmes	R
30. Uptake of environmental management systems	Improve the environmental performance of transport businesses	R
31. Public awareness and behaviour	Raise public awareness and knowledge Improve willingness to change behaviour	R

positive trend (moving towards objective

some positive development (but insufficient to meet objective)

unfavourable trend (large distance from objective)

? quantitative data not available or insufficient

Group policy context

This group deals with indicators of policy and management integration: the development and implementation of national/regional integrated transport strategies and monitoring systems, and the use of strategic environmental assessment and management systems as tools for promoting environmental integration. All these indicators are also influenced by public behaviour: choices in car purchasing, modal choices (private versus public transport) and driving behaviour. An analysis of how behaviour changes with increased awareness of transport and environment problems can therefore give important information to help target policy.

Integration of the environment into sectoral policies is stated as a priority in the Amsterdam Treaty (1997). The European Council at the Cardiff Summit (1998) urged the Commission and the transport ministers to develop and implement integrated transport policies and to report regularly (using indicators) on progress.

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is considered by the Commission to be a key instrument to promote integration (Commission Communication on Integration, 1998). The proposed Directive on SEA covers the transport sector. The TEN guidelines (Decision N° 1692/96/EC of the Council and of the European Parliament, 1996) require methodological work on SEA of the trans-European transport network.

The Community’s Eco-Management and Auditing Scheme (EMAS) aims to promote the use of environmental management systems and auditing as a tool for systematic evaluation of environmental performance.

The Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters (Aarhus Convention, ECE/CEP/43) calls for better environmental education and awareness.

Group key findings

Table 7.1: Integrated transport planning and environmental management

Note: UD ‘under development’

Source: EEA and Questionnaire on Transport and Environment Strategies by the Community Expert Group on Transport and Environment Strategies

• Few Member States are yet implementing integrated transport and environment strategies. Eight countries are in the course of developing such strategies, but in most cases they still need to be fully adopted, funded and implemented.
• Only Austria and Finland have as yet set up indicator reporting mechanisms along the lines of TERM. Sweden and France are planning to do so. The Cardiff Process should provide a greater impetus to report on progress with integration at the sectoral level. TERM could be used as a common model for national activities, and should be closely coordinated with them.
• Although the transport sector is more advanced in developing SEA than other sectors, SEA is still seldom used to assess transport policies or plans at a sufficiently early stage of development. SEA is beginning to be put into practice in several countries (driven by pioneering initiatives in the Nordic Member States, the Netherlands and France), but there is seldom a proper link with decision-making. The main reason for this is the lack of legal frameworks and the persistence of institutional barriers, which hamper its acceptance and application.
• At the company level, the transport sector is increasingly adopting environmental management systems (notably ISO 14001 and EMAS) as a cost-effective means of improving environmental performance. Such management tools can provide more cost-effective solutions than end-of-pipe measures.
• The environmental effects of transport are of increasing public concern and there is growing support for improvements in public transport and better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. However, pricing policies to restrain car use appear to receive little public support.