The government strategy could also set targets for the sustainable development process itself, including for education on sustainable development, dissemination of environmental information and public involvement.

Another possibility is a single 'headline' measure of sustainable development to replace or complement GDP.

Local authorities want to supplement the core national set with more community-based indicators reflecting the needs of each region.

Criteria for UK Government Indicators

National and local sets need to be integrated to add up to a national picture of quality of life.

Business is more interested in developing sectoral benchmarks for companies to evaluate their environmental performance.

Targets could be used in conjunction with Environmental Agreements, enabling local business to demonstrate its commitment through agreed, rather than self-selected targets.