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The future

of cities:
measuring
sustainability

KPMG International

kpmg.com
© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.
© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

Contents
Preface 4

Introduction 5

What is sustainability measurement? 6

Existing guidelines for measuring cities 8

Case study: the Bristol Quality of Life Survey 14

Case study: the Happy City Index 15

Case study: Tokyo Metropolitan Government 17

Case study: Region of Waterloo, Canada 18

Measuring the impact of a program or service 21

Lessons from working with measurement data 25

The future measurement of sustainability 26

What is my city worth? 28

What are the next steps? 29

Where do we go from here? 30

Acknowledgments 30
© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

Preface
The prestigious title of European Green Capital is
awarded annually by the European Commission to
promote and reward the efforts of cities to improve
their sustainability for their residents. The award, which
was established in 2010 in recognition of the vital role
of sustainable, low-carbon living for cities and citizens
everywhere, has been won by Stockholm, Hamburg,
Vitoria-Gasteiz, Nantes, Copenhagen, and in 2015, by
Bristol, the first UK city to do so. Ljubljana bears the title
in 2016.
During its tenure as European Green Capital, Bristol
convened leading practitioners from a variety of sectors
to promote the sustainable future of the city. As part of
that discussion, the city council asked KPMG to work
with others to develop a knowledge-transfer program
that other cities around the globe could apply to their
own sustainability needs.
The result was the Bristol Method, a series of modules
addressing different aspects of urban sustainability.
KPMG’s Global Sustainability and Cities practices
worked with stakeholders to produce practical modules
that guide city governments in measuring their current
and future sustainability and building a vision for
stakeholders. These modules have been updated and
enhanced to form The future of cities report.
The report has two modules: “Creating a vision” and
“Measuring sustainability”. It draws on the expertise
of many sources and includes a range of case studies
to ensure that cities find approaches relevant to their
own context. Although the report has its genesis in the
experience of Bristol, its findings are widely applicable,
outlining the considerations and processes involved
in building sustainable cities for current and future
generations.

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Introduction
Ever since the first cities were founded, their leaders have
needed metrics to understand what was happening in
them. What we have measured has changed over time as
the needs of city leaders and the role of government have
changed. The metrics have become more complex and
higher profile, and their uses have expanded, particularly
as government addresses a wider range of social
needs. When we measure cities now, we are seeking
to understand them in order to manage them better and
to provide evidence of performance. Increasingly, we
measure cities to understand their viability and to make
decisions that will allow those who live in them to be
happier and healthier in the future.

The measurement of what we call a city’s inequality and other issues. The 1990s
‘sustainability’ has also changed over concept of environmental, social and
time. We might say that sustainability economic balance nevertheless still
used to be about measuring the level of stands, as recognition grows that these
pollution and the amount of parkland. three are interdependent. Focusing on
In the 1990s, many cities began to environmental, economic or social aims to
take a new approach to balancing their the exclusion of the other two areas will
environmental, social and economic not guarantee a successful city — but it
impact, using metrics not only to measure may guarantee an unsuccessful one.
factors such as energy, water use and
This paper discusses some of the ways
pollution but also to address concerns
in which cities are being measured and
such as crime, employment and health.
how these metrics could evolve. More
In recent years, the definition of important, it provides practical examples
sustainability has become even more of what leading cities are doing, the
sophisticated, and the metrics we use lessons to be learned and how these
to measure it have broadened to include can be applied to other cities.
social cohesion, biodiversity, well-being,

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What is sustainability measurement?


Sophisticated performance measurements link service outputs to program outcomes.
The output of a city’s fire services, for example, supports the outcomes of its public
safety program, but a public safety program requires the output of more than a fire
service to support its intended outcomes. We therefore need to be able to measure the
impact of multiple activities that support or hinder the same goal.

When all city services are effectively protection. This means balancing the When we consider sustainability, it
delivering outputs to support all city burden of current taxation against is important to think beyond simple
programs, sustainability is at a sweet investment for the benefit of future environmental protection. The
spot where quality of life is being generations. definition should take the following,
maximized for city residents. Quality much broader view.
It also means having a clear vision
of life is one measure of the long-term
of what the city wants to offer to its
sustainability of the city.
current and future residents. We cover
Financial sustainability
Sustainability is most commonly this topic in another module. Many cities around the world are finding
referred to as: they do not have enough funds to provide
Creating a happier and healthier city
the programs and services within their
should involve encouraging values and
mandate. The challenges of inadequate
responsible behaviors that enhance
funding are many and varied, but the
“meeting the needs of the the quality of life for its residents
relevance to sustainability is whether
current generation without both now and in the future, rather
a city is forced to sacrifice investment
compromising the ability of than excessive behaviors that create
in long-term social, environmental and
future generations to meet current happiness at the expense of
financial outcomes in view of short-term
their own needs”. future happiness. Imagine a municipal
constraints and needs.
government that lowered taxes or spent
This definition makes a lot of sense in all its revenues on items with relatively
short-term ‘vanity’ benefits, such as
Social sustainability
an urban context. Any sustainable city
needs to determine how its citizens poorly conceived festivals or sporting As cities around the globe become
can thrive while it also ensures that events, at the expense of investment larger, the issue becomes whether
the needs of the next generation are in employability, skills training, legacy increasing social unrest, violence
met through education, investment in infrastructure and green spaces. Current and tensions between cultures can
infrastructure, cultural and community and future generations would receive be avoided and the rising demand for
development, and environmental little or no sustained benefit. social supports can be managed as the

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population grows. This is true whether The design and layout of a city are key to is pollution reduction, the two priorities
cities are densely built or develop into its ability to meet those needs. support one another, but if the goal is to
vast urban sprawls, as every form alleviate congestion, they do not.
Sustainability is clearly a multi-
comes with specific challenges.
dimensional concept that involves So while a city might make every
balancing city programs so that they effort to optimize the effectiveness of
Environmental sustainability operate effectively, and then passing its services, the indicators for those
Just about every resource society uses that balanced approach along to the services might be indirectly affected
is either grown or mined. Our way of life next generation. As soon as we tip by other levels of government, making
depends on the productive capacity of the balance in favor of one program it challenging to attribute the effects to
the land and the resources that can be area over another, the city runs into one government’s services or another’s.
extracted from the ground or recovered problems. This suggests that the impact of all
from our own waste. It is therefore vital related services needs to be considered
A key challenge facing city sustainability
for the future viability of cities that we systemically.
is the mandate of other levels of
carefully steward these resources.
government to deliver services. While
the city might do its best to achieve
Physiological and sustainability within its program
psychological sustainability mandate, if all levels of government
The physiological and psychological needs do not synchronize their actions,
of urban residents are often considered sustainability can be challenging, if not
part of social sustainability. We need to impossible, to achieve.
consider if cities can continue to meet A city may wish to incentivize the
not only basic needs such as food, shelter development of public transport
and security but also more advanced and cycling, whereas the national
needs such as a sense of belonging and government may seek to subsidize low-
the opportunity for self-actualization. emission private transport. If the target

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Existing guidelines for measuring cities


City stakeholders use data to Who looks at the The Improvement and
make decisions about: measurements? 3 Efficiency Social Enterprise
(IESE) Cities in Motion
— where to deploy resources Stakeholders can include infrastructure, Index
healthcare and education providers;
— how to develop a policy
residents and businesses; as well as
— whether to start, change or stop
a program
potential investors, migrants and
other cities. 4 The GNH Index developed
by the Happiness Alliance
— what options to offer or withhold
from people Many guidelines for measuring the
sustainability of cities already exist. These methods are sometimes
— where to live, move or work Four methods are summarized in referred to as common guidelines
— how to spend time and money this section: because they can be applied to many
cities, generating comparisons and
— how to form an opinion about an issue knowledge sharing, although they have
The Circles of Sustainability
— where to lend support. 1 model developed by the
Global Compact Cities
not been used often and widely enough
to be considered standard sector
Different types of data are needed to approaches.
initiative
enable stakeholders to make different
types of decisions.

2 The Green City Index

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1 Global Compact Cities Circles of Sustainability

The Circles of Sustainability method Each of these domains is then divided The benefit of this approach is that it
helps urban communities understand into seven sub-domains. For example, considers a range of indicators, allowing
how to become sustainable. It has been economics is categorized into policy makers to understand the impact
used by numerous cities, among them production and resourcing, exchange of their actions across diverse social
Johannesburg, Melbourne, New Delhi, and transfer, accounting and regulation, settings. Traditional tools, by contrast,
São Paulo and Tehran. consumption and use, labor and typically focus on only one dimension.
welfare, technology and infrastructure,
Responses to questions about
and wealth and distribution.
economic, ecological, political and
cultural ‘domains’ are scored to
develop a comprehensive profile of the
sustainability of an area.

Figure 1: The Circles of Sustainability method indicators

ECONOMICS ECOLOGY
Production & Resourcing Materials & Energy
Exchange & Transfer Water & Air
Accounting & Regulation Flora & Fauna
Consumption & Use Habitat & Settlements
Labour & Welfare Built-Form and Transport
Technology & Infrastructure Embodiment and Food
Wealth & Distribution Emission & Waste

Organization & Governance Identity & Engagement


Law & Justice Creativity & Recreation
Communication & Critique Memory & Projection
Representation & Negotiation Belief & Ideas
Security & Accord Gender & Generations
Dialogue & Reconciliation Enquiry & Learning
Ethics & Accountability Health & Wellbeing

POLITICS CULTURE
Vibrant
Good
Highly Satisfactory
Satisfactory+
Satisfactory
Satisfactory–
Highly Unsatisfactory
Bad
Critical

Source: Global Compact Cities Programme (http://citiesprogramme.com/)

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2 Green City Index

Created in 2009 the Green City Index water and sanitation, waste management, seven key lessons on how to become a
is a tool to help cities compare their air quality and environmental governance. greener city.
environmental performance. A mix of quantitative and qualitative
The benefit of this approach is that
indicators measures not only each city’s
Over 120 cities in Europe, Latin America, cities can learn from each other as
current environmental performance but
Asia, Africa and North America have they debate policies and strategies to
also its intention to become greener.
had their environmental performance minimize their environmental footprint,
measured to identify their strengths and A summary report documents key accommodate population growth,
challenges. findings of the Green City Index about promote economic opportunity and
each region, highlighting the best- safeguard quality of life for urban
The index uses approximately
performing cities, making comparisons dwellers today and in the future.
30 indicators, including CO2 emissions,
between continents and outlining
energy, buildings, land use, transport,

Figure 2: The Green City Index indicators

— Green action plan — CO2 intensity


— Green management — CO2 emissions
— Public participation — CO2 reduction strategy
in green policy

— Nitrogen dioxide Environmental — Energy consumption


— Sulphur dioxide governance CO2 — Energy intensity
— Ozone — Renewable energy
— Particulate matter consumption
Air
— Clean air policies Energy — Clean and efficient energy
quality policies

Index
— Water consumption Water Buildings — Energy consumption of
— System leakages residential buildings
— Wastewater system — Energy-efficient buildings
treatment Waste & standards
land use Transport
— Water efficiency and — Energy-efficient buildings
treatment policies initiatives

— Use of non-car transport


— Municipal waste production — Size of non-car transport
— Waste recycling network
— Waste reduction policies — Green transport promotion
— Green land use policies — Congestion reduction policies

Source: Siemens AG Green City Index (http://www.siemens.com/entry/cc/en/greencityindex.htm)

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3 IESE Cities in Motion Index

The Improvement and Efficiency Social international outreach, social the index is intended to be used by
Enterprise (IESE) Cities in Motion cohesion, mobility and transportation, city stakeholders such as mayors,
Index is an annual study. Using publicly human capital and the economy. administrators, companies that
available data, the index surveyed provide solutions for urban challenges
The aim is to create knowledge and
148 cities in 57 countries for its 2015 and interest groups that promote an
develop valuable ideas and innovative
report, 55 of them capital cities. improved standard of living for urban
tools that can generate smarter cities
residents.
It examines cities through and promote change at the local level.
10 ‘dimensions’: governance, urban
The IESE Cities in Motion Strategies
planning, public management,
report that details the findings of
technology, the environment,

Figure 3: Cities in Motion Index dimensions

Economics Human Environment Social Urban


Resources Cohesion Planning

Governance Public Technology Mobility & International


& Civic Management Transport Presence
Participation
@

Source: IESE Cities in Motion Index (http://citiesinmotion.iese.edu/indicecim)

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4 GNH Index

The Happiness Alliance, a Seattle-based balance, social vitality and connection, poverty rates, air emissions, voter turnout,
organization, was inspired by a survey education, arts and culture, environment graduation rates, volunteer rates, rates of
conducted by the government of Bhutan and nature, good government and domestic violence and other crime, life
using a ‘gross national happiness’ (GNH) material well-being. expectancy, length of commute, work
index, rather than referring solely to gross hours and so on.
The Happiness Alliance, which has
domestic product.
been endorsed by Seattle City Council, Thousands of Seattle residents have taken
Bhutan surveys its citizens on nine key was the first organization in the US to part in the survey. The findings allow policy
aspects of happiness: psychological well- develop objective indicators to measure makers to make more effective decisions
being, physical health, time or work–life happiness. The indicators measure when serving their communities.

Figure 4: GNH Index

Psychological wellbeing
— Life satisfaction
Living standards — Positive emotions
— Negative emotions Health
— Assets
— Spirituality — Mental health
— Housing
— Self reported health
— Household per status
capita income — Healthy day
— Disability

Ecological diversity
and resilience
— Ecological issues Time use

GNH
— Responsibility towards — Work
environment — Sleep
— Wildlife damage (Rural)
— Urbanization issues

Community vitality Education


— Donations (time & — Literacy
money) — Schooling
— Community — Knowledge
relationship — Value
— Family
— Safety
Cultural diversity
Good governance and resilience
— Gov’t performance — Speak native language
— Fundamental rights — Cultural participation
— Services — Artistic skills
— Political — Driglam Namzha
participation

Source: The Happiness Alliance (http://www.happycounts.org/)

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In summary
Using guidelines that are designed to apply to common urban sustainability issues,
rather than developing methods that apply to the particular city, offers various benefits
and challenges.

Benefits of using common guidelines Challenges of using common guidelines

— the opportunity to compare cities — the inclusion of key performance indicators (KPIs)
that are irrelevant to a city’s priorities
— a comprehensive breakdown of many drivers of
sustainability — the time required to participate in a method that uses
numerous KPIs
— peer and specialist support
— the likelihood of a program being in the pilot stage
— the opportunity to meet a defined standard
and having few comparator cities
— academic research and corroboration
— the use of macro-level KPIs that are unlikely to
— a way to determine whether all relevant issues are change over the short term, rather than of KPIs that
covered drive impacts
— a means to identify areas in which the city can — prohibitive costs in times of budgetary constraint
perform better

The following case studies highlight their strengths and limitations, and studies featuring Tokyo Metropolitan
some ways in which particular cities they are followed by helpful guidelines Government and the Region of
and organizations have measured their for other cities to effectively measure Waterloo both included direct
progress on the issues that matter most the sustainability of their programs, support from KPMG firms.
to them. These real-life examples have services and interventions. The case

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© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

Case study: the Bristol Quality of Life Survey


The Bristol Quality of Life Survey1 aspects of the city’s neighborhoods, the
has been distributed annually to up Bristol survey measures them using five
to 29,000 households for the past levels of indicators:
15 years. It not only provides a snapshot
1. common European indicators
of the quality of life in Bristol but also
demonstrates how this changes over 2. national and regional headline
time. As well, the survey gives city indicators
residents an opportunity to voice their
3. stakeholder indicators (selected after
opinions about local public services and
consultation)
other issues close to their hearts.
4. ward and city-wide indicators
The statistics are analyzed by age,
(introduced as benchmarks and
gender, ethnicity and city area, or ward.
measured by the city authority)
A strict coding protocol and rigorous
quality-checking procedures are applied 5. community group indicators
to the data set. (developed in 2001–02 and measured
by each group).
The survey outputs are then used by the
city council, health service and other The report of the survey selects the
public-sector partners to help plan local indicators of widest interest and uses
services, track change and improve the maps and trends to present the material
quality of life for residents. The survey in an accessible and comprehensible
is the council’s main tool for providing format.
neighborhood-level statistics and
Professionals and politicians need the
information about public perceptions.
public’s insight and feedback. The survey
Sometimes the differences between
has significant potential to empower
hard data collected on such indicators
citizens and voluntary and community
as traffic speed, noise or air quality
organizations to make a case for change.
and the perceptions residents have of
The information helps them to effect
those indicators are interesting in and of
change themselves and to enable others
themselves.
to do so. Many cities have explored
Sustainability and quality of life can be running studies similar to the Bristol
considered synonymous. To provide a Quality of Life Survey.
comprehensive picture of these two

1
http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/council-and-democracy/quality-life-bristol#jump-link-2

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Case study: the Happy City Index


Happy City is an initiative that works are most relevant to people’s well-
with a wide range of organizations, being, and why. The Happy City Index
from grassroots community groups to has therefore been developed to help
international bodies such as the United stakeholders understand, measure and
Nations and the European Union. The improve well-being. If well planned,
initiative helps communities facilitate channeling scarce resources to key
sustainable happiness on a city scale. areas can then make a lasting difference
to people’s lives, creating ripple-through
With limited resources, local policy
effects and ensuring significant impact
makers need to know which factors
for less money.

Why measure well-being?


Governments attempt to measure the well-being of their citizens for three main reasons.

A common Measuring The benefits of


currency what matters well-being

All major policy sectors have an Over the past 40 years, the Higher levels of well-being
impact on well-being, but they measurement of well-being have been shown to have a
often operate independently has developed to such an positive impact on important
despite the potential benefits of extent that we can now conditions such as physical
working across policy areas. rigorously monitor the impact and mental health, social and
Measures of well-being have the of policy areas that have environmental behaviors,
potential to unify the traditionally been thought of productivity and resilience.
development and assessment of as intangible. This includes Promoting well-being should
policies, providing a common measuring the impact of not be seen as a luxury. It
currency not only for all policy green and social spaces and needs to be a serious
sectors but also for community cultural policy. concern of governmental
organizations, businesses, groups policy.
and individuals across the city.

How to measure well-being Key findings


Well-being is measured using external Happy City performed a pilot study
and internal factors. External factors are on the city of Bristol in 2015, the first
the drivers of well-being. They are the measurement of its kind in the UK. The
conditions that are necessary for people index combined two different kinds
and places to thrive. Internal factors of data: pre-existing data from local
affect the individual’s experience of and national sources on the ‘drivers of
well-being. They involve how a person is well-being’; and primary survey data on
feeling and functioning in day-to-day life. ‘experienced well-being’.
The Happy City Index breaks external
The result was the ability to identify the
and internal factors into a number of
conditions that make a difference to
domains.
people’s experienced lives across a city.

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This allows local policy to be developed City has developed an online survey in
from the standpoint of improving response. The format is intended to be
well-being, rather than considering engaging, and allows people to better
well-being only once economic policy understand various aspects of their
objectives have been met. It combines well-being and compare their results
economic and non-economic objectives to those of others who have taken the
into a single framework and permits the survey. The survey will target a number
potential economic and social benefits of community organizations across
of well-being policy to be identified. the city to ensure that people who
would otherwise not participate in the
Better well-being is associated with
measurement process are reached.
better health, socialization and higher “The Happy City Index can
productivity, while ‘city livability’ is Demographic differences may mean move us towards a single
an increasingly important criterion for that policy makers will have to consider common measure that every
companies deciding where to invest. different well-being factors when agency — public, private
promoting well-being in different areas or business — can sign up
To reap benefits, local well-being
of the city. to and measure its success
policy needs to be made across
departmental boundaries and from The Bristol pilot was performed on a against. Using this as a
a long-term perspective. It is not small scale, and its main finding was common benchmark, we have
enough to look at the obvious, direct that certain factors have a much bigger a powerful tool for joining up
connections between a given policy impact on people’s well-being than public services and driving real
area and well-being. Policy makers need others. Identifying these city-level public-sector reform that can
to understand the various pathways factors can help policy makers set be used all over the country
through which their work affects priorities for service provision when and beyond.”
people’s well-being. resources are limited. — Paul Taylor
Head of the Executive Office
A larger-scale pilot study will reveal Bristol City Council
The challenges of factors that make a difference on a
implementation neighborhood or street level. This can
Collecting representative data on certain help determine specific interventions to
demographic groups — 16–24-year-olds improve well-being.
and minority communities — proved For more information, see
difficult. It is important to ensure a www.happycity.org.uk/content/happy-
representative sample, and Happy city-index.

Figure 5: The Happy City Index

External Internal
Factors Factors
Secure income Positive emotion
Good work Autonomy
Local business Competence
Experienced well-being
Drivers of well-being

Sustainability Meaning
Formal learning Resilience
Informal learning Optimism
ENJ

Skills and hobbies


NT

OY
EDUCATION ME
WORK
PU

Vitality
E

RPOS
Physical activity
Healthy lifestyles Bodily awareness
Physical health HEALTH
Mental health Appreciation
BO
DY Peace of mind
M IN D Flow
R E AT

PLACE CULTURE
PS
L

HI

Good homes
TY

IO N S
CO

Public spaces
NI

M Connection
Transport MU
Social activity
Equality Intimacy

Participation Belonging
Cultural vibrancy Trust
Social isolation Altruism

Source: http:// www.happycity.org.uk

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Case study: Tokyo Metropolitan Government


With the 2011 tsunami shutting down challenges. Among the 1,312 owned
30 percent of Japan’s energy supply and and occupied assets, comprising
Tokyo set to host the Olympic Games in 9,258,379 square meters, were offices,
2020, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government forum and event spaces, schools,
needed an energy optimization strategy hospitals and public sporting facilities.
that could be implemented across more
The assessment was based on data and
than 1,300 assets.
did not include site visits, and this made
it difficult to find deeper opportunities
Objectives for savings.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government
wanted to reduce energy and carbon Results
consumption by 20 percent and to
As well as achieving its stated
achieve annual energy cost savings
objectives of energy savings and carbon
of ¥20 billion (US$175 million). It
reduction, the project outlined how to
asked KPMG in Japan to undertake
realize the following benefits:
an assessment of its real estate asset
portfolio in order to identify energy — to reduce the government cost base
consumption and CO2 emission with limited capital investment
reduction in areas such as heating and
— to reduce carbon emissions
cooling, ventilation, lighting and asset
replacement improvements. — to improve the indoor environment
for occupants of the real estate
Method assets
Benchmarking was conducted and — to improve air quality, leading to
unique formulas were developed better public health and well-being
to calculate the energy and carbon
— to provide a successful government
reduction potential of various
example for the market to follow.
improvements. Criteria were
established for the evaluation of energy
consumption, and CO2 emission
Key recommendation
reduction targets were set for each It is important to start with a macro
facility/bureau. assessment. It is then possible to
create a plan that prioritizes the worst
Challenges performers, outlines how to bring all
assets up to average performance and
Due to the large volume of government
then eventually brings them up to high
assets being studied, data assembly
performance.
was one of the most significant

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Case study: Region of Waterloo, Canada


With over half a million people, the constraints. Carrying out service
Region of Waterloo is one of Ontario’s reviews that consider opportunities
growth areas. Its population growth to enhance the efficiency and
rate from 2006 to 2011 surpassed both effectiveness of service delivery while
the provincial and national averages, taking into account fiscal and service
becoming the 10th largest metropolitan impacts is one strategy to ensure the
area in Canada and the fourth largest community receives the best value.
in Ontario. Over the next 20 years, the
The Region engaged KPMG in Canada
Region is projected to gain an additional
to conduct a service review with the
200,000 residents.
following objectives:
This growth and expected future
— to determine whether the Region
growth has caused both the elected
was providing the desired level of
and the unelected leadership of the
service as efficiently and effectively
Region to think about the efficiency
as possible
and effectiveness of regional service
delivery, and possible changes to — to consider whether any changes
services and service levels. to the level of services should be
undertaken
Objectives — to recommend mechanisms
As with all municipal and other orders of to improve the efficiency and
government, the Region must balance effectiveness of ongoing service
service expectations against financial delivery.

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Method

Project Service profile Benchmarking Analysis Final report


planning development

Meet to clarify Develop an Survey five Identify potential Develop and


expectations. inventory of comparative opportunities to present a final
programs and municipalities. achieve the most report containing
Refine lines of
services provided by Benchmark the efficient and practical and
inquiry.
the Region, using Region’s services operationally effective achievable
Develop a work KPMG’s Municipal approaches to service recommendations
to identify potential
program for the Reference Model. delivery. on service delivery.
cost savings and
review.
improved
efficiencies.
Conduct public
engagement.

The inventory of programs and services The benchmarking Opportunities were grouped into
was created through a series of results were those already in process, those worth
workshops with the leadership of each included in service pursuing and those not to be pursued.
Regional department, interviews with profiles of each A workshop identified the five top
Council members and a review of key Regional opportunities for deeper analysis,
corporate documents (budget, financial department. which KPMG in Canada then
statements, operational plans, etc.). An conducted.
online survey was also used to ask
the public what services were
important to them.

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Challenges Results — Develop a five-year plan to phase


out children’s centers owned by
It was necessary to understand all the The final report offered five concrete
the Region and use the savings to
businesses of the municipality. Each recommendations for optimizing service
expand the number of subsidized
different business was inventoried and delivery value:
childcare spaces offered by other
benchmarked on service level, type and
— Stop competing with non-profit community childcare providers.
performance. The Municipal Reference
employment agencies.
Model was used to standardize
the language in which the Region’s — Create a regional consortium of
Key recommendation
operations were described so that they municipalities and establish a The in-depth analysis was presented
could be explained consistently both shared data center and desk support in the form of five business cases.
within and beyond the organization. service for member municipalities. The project team responded well
to having the top five opportunities
Inevitably, Regional staff and Council — Restructure the road maintenance
analyzed in greater depth, as this
members had a vested interest in agreement between member
added value to the project. Providing
certain services that were delivered by municipalities in the Region to
detailed fact-based evidence of
the municipality. Region of Waterloo establish the same rate structure for
measurable, achievable cost savings
staff were particularly concerned about all participating municipalities.
and efficiencies is essential to the
the childcare delivery model, and
— Test the market for private-sector success of a service review.
Council members were preoccupied
interest in the municipal airport,
with the municipal airport. The service
not only to drive operational and
review provided fact-based evidence
strategic goals but also to reduce
of opportunities to increase the
the operational costs and lessen
effectiveness and efficiency of
the impact of airport costs on the
Regional operations significantly and
property tax levy.
cut through the protectionist approach
of affected groups.

20 The future of cities: measuring sustainability


© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

Measuring the impact of a program or service


Cities measure their total sustainability but they also want to understand the impact of
specific programs and services. When interpreting the impact any of these activities,
several factors must be considered.

Input, output and impact about how much money is given to a management — or they are seen as
measures school or how many teachers that pays subjective. The measurement of the
for and the effect on exam results, but we ‘impact’ of a program is often far more
It is increasingly recognized that the may not consider how these factors affect subjective than the direct inputs and
choice of key performance indicators the students’ well-being and prospects. outputs. Determining the impact may
(KPIs) often reflects what matters to also require a degree of interpretation
individual program managers rather More often than not, the most
and may not be evident until months
than the goals of the funders or program important KPIs are unavailable, or
or years after the management action
recipients. For example, we may care cannot be directly altered by program
is taken.

It is therefore important to understand the distinctions between input, output and impact KPIs.

Input KPIs Output KPIs Impact KPIs


Input KPIs are measures of the Output KPIs are direct measures Impact KPIs reflect long-term
resources that go into a service, of the results of the deployment effects that are closely related to
such as: of resources. Often referred to as the purpose of the activity. Many
service management KPIs, they cannot be measured within program
— budget allocated
measure short-term changes as a timeframes.
— people involved result of inputs, such as:
They usually involve changes to well-
— resources deployed — number of people reached being or performance as a result of
behavior change.
— time available — projects implemented
— target market. — change in output
— change in behavior.

The future of cities: measuring sustainability 21


© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

Pathways of change and For example, a program to encourage pathway based on the theory of change.
timeframes companies to switch to low-emission The theory stipulates that several
vehicles (LEVs) may measure the steps, both sequential and parallel, are
Some stakeholders will be more number of LEVs introduced to the city. required in order to achieve change.
interested in inputs (e.g. finance The study may also quantify how many As completing these steps takes
departments, politicians), some in high-emission vehicles (HEVs) were time, it isn’t possible to assess directly
outputs (e.g. program managers, press) replaced and seek to determine how and quickly whether the final desired
and some in impacts (e.g. program many of the new LEVs were introduced change is going to be achieved. Instead,
beneficiaries, community groups, as a direct result of the program. measuring certain proxy factors along
healthcare and education providers). More difficult would be measuring a an outcomes pathway can provide some
When choosing which measures to change in air quality, illness related assurance that the actions being taken
report, it is important to consider who to air quality, and associated cost are leading to the final change.
will want the information and when. The savings from a reduction in illness, and
Constructing an outcomes pathway is
nature of modern government means clearly attributing those changes to the
an approach to defining all the building
that many stakeholders want information program.
blocks required to bring about a long-
on the progress of a program before its The diagram on the next page is a term goal.
real impacts have been felt. This leads to very simple example of an outcomes
an overreliance on output KPIs.

22 The future of cities: measuring sustainability


© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

Pathways of change and timeframes

3
4
Total number of
new LEVs on the
road in the period 5 6
Net change in
particulate
Number of LEVs emissions
Reduction in
1 2 introduced as a healthcare
direct result of costs
program Reduction in
Funding Program adverse
is allocated operates health impact
Improved
Number of HEVs
well-being
removed from the
and human
road in the period
Reduction in capital and
particulate health
emissions
Number of HEVs
retired as a direct
result of the
program

Inputs Outputs

Impacts

The pathway shows how the input of are further beyond the control of the is taken, the more accurately it will
allocated funding allows the program to program manager and therefore often determine whether the desired impact
operate (column 1). harder to demonstrate. has been achieved.
Operational activities then produce Obtaining reliable data becomes There is some overlap between output
outputs (column 2) such as number more challenging the further along the and impact KPIs because stakeholders
of advertisements placed or people outcomes pathway an impact occurs, or program managers tend to consider
reached with respect to the program. and it also becomes more difficult to factors that are under their direct
Column 3 shows the impact of the attribute changes to the program itself control, the quantity of resources that
example program, and columns 4, 5 because external influences will come can be allocated to measurement and
and 6 show subsequent impacts. Each into play. At the same time, the further the timeframe over which the program
successive column shows impacts that along the pathway a measurement is measured. The lower the level of

The future of cities: measuring sustainability 23


© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

control and the shorter the timeframe, supported LEVs, column 3 would If there is limited appetite or resources
the closer to the beginning of the show outputs (because the program to measure impact, construct an
pathway the chosen KPIs will be. manager would have much more control outcomes pathway and find more
over the number and type of vehicles measurable KPIs that will have a positive
If the program were an advertising
purchased) and the impacts would occur impact on the program goal.
campaign to encourage businesses
in column 4 (air quality) and column 5
to purchase LEVs, for example, the The four-step approach below outlines
(health).
output KPIs (such as the number of what needs to be considered when
advertisements placed) would occur Key message measuring the sustainability of a
in column 2 and the impact would be program.
shown in columns 3 and, potentially, 4. When planning what to measure about
If the program were instead a long-term the sustainability of a program, consider
market intervention to provide financial how to measure the impact of an action,
incentives to purchase government- not just the outputs that arise from it.

Four-step approach to measuring the sustainability of a program

Decide what you Assess the Focus on outcomes Monitor, adjust


1. want to achieve 2. contribution to 3. that will achieve the
4. and report
long-term impacts desired impacts

— Prioritize what is — Differentiate — Group activities — Drive the quality of


important to the city’s outcomes from according to what your investment of
vision and to key impacts. they are intended resources.
stakeholders. — Consider community to achieve. — Report on the
— Determine how to and business benefits. — Align measurement achievements to
make the greatest tools with resources stakeholders,
impact with the and chosen metrics. including those
resources available. who are affected.
— Establish timelines.

24 The future of cities: measuring sustainability


© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

Lessons from working with


measurement data
It is vital to consider the purpose of data before gathering and presenting it. In KPMG’s
experience, there are some common pitfalls.

KPMG’s top tips — Be transparent about how reported — Be transparent about areas for
measures are defined and calculated. improvement and feed this learning
— Communicate progress to
back into all related programs.
stakeholders, including inputs, — Use a combination of quantitative
outputs and impacts. and qualitative information to tell the — Verify the data and reported
story of the activities. information.

Pitfall Possible solutions

Working with too


Understand the purpose of the data by talking to stakeholders.
much data

Regularly examine what sort of data is being gathered and whether it fits the purpose.
Using available data instead of
Find out where the data goes instead of assuming that because it has always been
needed data
collected it must have a use.

Presenting data in Per capita, per family, per journey and similar units of measurement are often far more
inappropriate units useful than a total, even if they are only averages.

Using data over the wrong


Keep in mind that many data sets are seasonal or change only over long periods.
timeframe

Examining data at too high or Consider whether stakeholders are interested in city-wide statistics or much more
too low a level local metrics.

Drawing incorrect, misleading Unless specifically asked to draw conclusions, it is often best to let the stakeholders
or biased conclusions on come to their own conclusions and to include appropriate caveats that explain any
behalf of the stakeholder assumptions that have been made.

Making incorrect assumptions Determining how the stakeholder will react to and use the data is important. Users can
about users’ understanding have different levels of familiarity with and understanding of the data.

Mistaking the level of Although it is important to be as transparent as possible, it is also necessary to be careful.
confidentiality Consider what can be released, and do not assume everything is confidential all the time.

Mean, modal and median averages can be powerful tools, but sometimes the range and
Applying inappropriate
distribution of data points tell the most important story, such as income distribution or
averages
equality metrics.

Expecting greater certainty Seeking a suitable or ‘good enough’ level of confidence in the data may make better use
than is possible of resources than seeking perfect data.

The future of cities: measuring sustainability 25


© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

The future measurement of sustainability


The world of sustainability
measurement is evolving rapidly.
Lessons learned in the corporate
world are being applied in the public
sector and vice versa. In their role as
the working group for the Bristol 2015
initiative, KPMG in the UK and members
of the Green Capital Partnership
Measurement Group brought together
a range of stakeholders to discuss
and develop a new and more flexible
approach to reporting sustainability.

That experience can help other


cities understand their progress in
becoming happier, healthier and more
sustainable.

Why create a new


framework?
The group reviewed several existing
approaches to measuring city
sustainability, but although these had
advantages, they were not flexible
enough to measure how much happier,
healthier and more sustainable Bristol
had become as a result of being a
European Green Capital.

The biggest challenge was that many


Criteria for selecting a Criteria for selecting a
existing measurement frameworks framework measure or KPI
did not take the theory of change A framework should:
into account sufficiently. Almost — The indicator is already being
all the KPIs measured some of the — be credible measured or can be measured with
ultimate impacts of an intervention, little extra effort.
— be globally recognized
but the group wanted to assess the — Appropriate baselines exist for
impacts of the Bristol 2015 program — provide a clear structure comparison.
over the course of the year, in order
— incorporate the city’s themes — The measurement will show change
to determine whether the activities
but function independently over a year.
being undertaken would have a positive
of them
impact on longer-term goals that were — The indicator can be compared with
months or years in the future. — consider every aspect of the city that of other cities.
— take account of the theory of — The indicator is meaningful to
The criteria that the group used to
change residents and other stakeholders.
develop a measurement framework
are widely applicable. — be flexible enough to adapt or — The indicator is on the appropriate
expand as assessment proceeds. change pathway.

26 The future of cities: measuring sustainability


© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

The Integrated Reporting — Economic capital: GDP, tax Integrated Reporting


revenues, jobs, employment,
Framework investment
Framework process
No existing measurement tool for
— Social capital: community cohesion, 1
sustainable cities was appropriate for
connection, integration, diversity,
the purposes of Bristol 2015. Instead, Chose the IR Framework and defined
crime
the working group chose to use the what the six capitals meant to the city.
Integrated Reporting (IR) Framework — Natural capital: areas of natural
developed by the International beauty, biodiversity, wider ecosystem
Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) to services
assess the city’s change in sustainability 2
over the year. — Human capital: happiness, well-
Mapped 150+ KPIs from existing
being, education levels
Originally developed for reporting standards onto the six capitals.
in business, the IR approach is now — Manufactured capital: roads,
being extended to government. It is railways, water infrastructure
designed to create a ‘clear, concise
and comparable format’ for measuring — Intellectual capital: patents 3
sustainability that will bring consistency registered, students, ideas, common
Chose KPIs that were of particular
to sustainability reporting. knowledge
interest to city stakeholders.
The six capitals and their The flexibility of the IR Framework allows
city leaders to examine the various
application to cities capitals, choose suitable KPIs from
among the best tools reviewed and then
4
At the heart of IR is the concept of the
six capitals. Put simply, to achieve true examine the change pathways required Worked with academics to
long-term sustainability, six types of for those KPIs. consider indicative, representative
value that exist in any organization, behavioral proxy metrics that could
For Bristol 2015, this process made it be influenced and would change
group or society must be optimized. The
possible to decide on which behavioral within a year.
approach recognizes that too often we
change to encourage during the year
focus on economic or financial value at
and to develop a way to measure that
the expense of investing resources in Output and impact KPIs
change. Encouraging the right behaviors
human, natural or intellectual capital.
by residents and businesses would then
The IR Framework encourages us to 5
provide positive outcomes for the broader
think about how values can be moved
sustainability of the city in the long run.
between the various capitals. For Categorized the chosen metrics by
The process that the working group
example, economic capital (money) is availability of data.
followed can be outlined in six steps.
used to pay for new roads or to develop
new healthcare solutions that in turn
improve human capital (health).
6
Developed intervention/project-
level metrics against relevant
capitals in order to infer the
contribution to macro-level changes
through interventions.

Input and output KPIs

The future of cities: measuring sustainability 27


© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

KPMG insight

What is my city worth?


What is your local park, library, bridge or The six areas of capital are as follows: For example, many libraries have been
swimming pool worth? We can easily forced to close in cities in recent years,
put a dollar figure on infrastructure, but — Economic capital: the earnings but a library creates intellectual capital
that can never truly reflect the long-term of business and individuals across through access to learning materials
return that an asset provides to a city. the city and information. It improves local
Cities need to take a much wider set — Manufactured capital: the value of people’s job prospects and increases
of measurements to make informed the constructed physical assets of a city’s social capital by providing a
judgments about where to allocate their the city, including roads, buildings, venue where older people who would
increasingly scarce resources. vehicles, dams and so on otherwise be isolated can enjoy human
contact, children can attend playgroups
Disbursements from central governments — Human capital: the health and well- or adults can get a boost simply by
have been reduced over the past few being of citizens meeting friends for a coffee.
years, as has revenue from taxing
— Intellectual capital: the cumulative
hard-pressed business. Simultaneously, Closing that library would generate a
know-how and collective skills of
demands on welfare services have short-term cost saving but could have
the city
grown. From Sydney to Shanghai, cities an extremely detrimental effect on the
have to do more with less. — Social capital: the strength and longer-term cohesion of the community
effectiveness of the relationships and the skills of the local workforce.
Under this pressure, it would be easy within the city, including families,
to put more value on infrastructure that communities, business and the The majority of existing measurements
generates economic growth, but that perception of the city by others focus too heavily on output indicators,
could be a mistake. New factories can (e.g. tourists) like the number of buses, libraries or
create economic growth, but if those schoolbooks you get for your money. It
— Environmental capital: the natural
factories pollute the water supply, their is considerably harder to measure the
resources that benefit the city or,
effect on the population’s health and impact of that investment, as that could
considered negatively, the costs
well-being would be damaging — not to take years to filter through the system.
imposed by carbon emissions and
mention the economic harm caused by However, if we truly want our decisions
other pollution.
the pollution of natural resources. to affect the long term, we must start to
Measuring value in this way lays bare factor in True Value much more.
While working with Bristol in 2015 during how services that look like costs can in
its year as the European Green Capital, fact generate long-term value elsewhere. By measuring the True Value of each
KPMG used the six capitals model along It also gives us a way of thinking that aspect of a city’s capital, we can have
with our True Value approach to consider recognizes we can often create value by an evidence-based discussion about
how cities can more consistently measure optimizing the trade-offs between capitals the areas that genuinely create value
the value of their services and assets. instead of focusing on one or for the city and its residents. Linking the
Considering these six capitals can help two at the expense, or without thought, beneficiaries of the True Value of a service
cities assess the broader contribution of of others. or asset with its funding can create a fairer
their assets to their long-term viability approach to funding city infrastructure.
and well-being.

28 The future of cities: measuring sustainability


© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

What are the next steps?


The work of KPMG in the UK and Integrated Reporting The diagram below demonstrates
the members of the Green Capital how various types of city activity are
Framework linked within the IIRC’s Framework
Partnership Measurement Group for
Bristol 2015 has produced what we The IIRC Integrated Reporting Framework and identifies where some of their True
believe is one of the leading frameworks offers a way to capture the positive and Value may lie. Each of the activities and
for thinking about the long-term negative contributions to each of the six functions described within the MRM can
sustainability of a city. It allows us to think capitals made by any given city activity. have positive and/or negative impacts on
about how we transfer value between the six capitals encompassed by the IR
the six capitals to ensure that the most KPMG’s True Value Framework. Only some of these impacts,
important aspects of a city’s sustainability however, will be significant to the whole
goals are optimized. methodology program or to particular stakeholders.
True Value recognizes this distinction and
KPMG is currently working on an KPMG’s True Value2 approach
calculates the material contributions of
extension to this process, merging a recognizes that although we need
each activity to the relevant capitals.
number of approaches that have already to expand the focus beyond simple
been applied to the public sector. economic valuation, it is far easier to Some sustainability measurement
compare the six capitals when they work has already been carried out
Municipal Reference Model use the same measure. Using a wide for various national infrastructure
range of sources, the methodology operations such as long-distance
The Municipal Reference Model (MRM) selects measures from the most rail and telecommunications. This
provides a consistent framework important capitals and converts them approach is right at the forefront of city
for examining all the services and into financial values, making it easy to measurement, and KPMG welcomes
activities within a city, whether they are compare actions across all six capitals. discussion with any city interested in
provided by the city government, the trialing the approach. Please contact
private sector or others. These include For example, we conduct studies on the
joanna.killian@kpmg.co.uk.
justice, education, parks, water, power, value of every square kilometer of parks
communications and culture, among in a city, and use that information to
other areas. This broad approach is indicate a return on investment for a city’s
important because it allows comparisons parks service that can be compared to
across cities and stakeholders when other spending allocations.
services may be provided by various
mixes of city, state, private and third-
sector organizations.

KPMG’s True Value methodology


Municipal Reference Model
Describes the various
Function 1 Function 2 Function 3
activities/functions a city
performs/requires
Human
Natural
Human

Human
Natural

Natural
Manuf
Manuf

Manuf
Social
Social

Social
Econ
Econ

Econ
Intel
Intel

Intel

Integrated Reporting
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Provides a recognized framework
to categorize the values created − − − − − − − − − − − − − − − − − −
or destroyed by programs and
services
True Value
+ + + + + + + + + +
Offers a method and IR to
calculate the relevant values − − − − − − − − − − −

2
For more information, go to www.kpmg.com/truevalue

The future of cities: measuring sustainability 29


© 2016 KPMG Advisory N.V.

Where do we go from here?


This module has shared examples of what others are doing in measuring the sustainability of their cities. It is almost certain
that every city in the world has some form of data collection, and that it will include sustainability metrics — although they
may not be called that.

The experiences of the cities described in this report suggest some key questions that any city should consider when
planning next steps.

Questions to ask when measuring sustainability

— Why am I measuring? What impact do I want to make?


— Do I want to measure behavior as outcome, or results as impact?
— What data already exists?
— Who will want to know the results of measurement? May
I speak with them? What do they want to know, and how will
they use the data?
— Who can I work with?
— How long can I wait for answers? What level of certainty am I looking for? Where do I
stop on the change pathway?

Acknowledgments
KPMG’s Global Sustainability and Cities practices worked with stakeholders from
around Bristol to produce the initial version of this module of The future of cities.
The case studies are written by those involved in sustainability work. The rest of the
paper is written by KPMG based on insights from helping organizations measure their
sustainability for more than 20 years. For further information, contact:

Joanna Killian
Partner, Local Government, Public Sector and Health
KPMG in the UK
joanna.killian@kpmg.co.uk

Stephen Beatty
Americas and India Head of Global Infrastructure
Head of Global Cities practice
KPMG in Canada
sbeatty@kpmg.ca

Alan Mitchell
Executive Director, Global Cities practice
KPMG in Canada
amitchell@kpmg.ca

We would also like to thank Mike Zeidler and Sam Wren-Lewis of the Happy City
Index, Alex Minshull and Mark Leach of Bristol City Council, and Grant Patterson of the
International Integrated Reporting Council.
Without their contributions, this paper would not have been possible. The authors wish
to thank the faculties of the University of Bristol and University of the West of England
for their contributions to the section on measuring the impact of programs and services.

30 The future of cities: measuring sustainability


Contacts
Richard Wagenmakers
Partner KPMG Advisory
T: +31 20 656 8243
E: wagenmakers.richard@kpmg.nl

Sander Grunewald
Senior manager KPMG Real Estate
T: +31 20 656 8447
E: grunewald.sander@kpmg.nl

kpmg.com/socialmedia kpmg.com/app

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