ES Social Survey: Households and Environment

2008 Social Survey: Households and Environment (ES08) is a statistical activity included in the Statistical plan for Catalonia 2006-2009 and which presents the synthetic results, along with some new features, of the Catalan statistical system in terms of methodology, institutionality and content.

This new source of statistics offers a new perspective in the field of environmental statistics, as its objective is to examine the perceived behaviour and attitudes of the population in relation to the major environmental issues that arise in their everyday lives. The main aim was to investigate the habits, consumption patterns and attitudes of households and the population with respect to the environment, as well as household equipment and the use made of it in relation to different environmental aspects. The themes that were considered the objects of study and to be of relevance to the environmental issue were mainly water, energy, waste, problems with noise and bad smells around residences, and domestic equipment and the use made of it by members of the household. The survey also considers aspects related with people's lifestyles, as well as consumption and mobility patterns.

Another new feature of this operation was the methodology used to collect the information. In the design of ES08, a multi-channel data collection method was employed, which combines surveying by telephone, face-to-face and via the Internet in order to reduce the workload and inconvenience to the members of the general public providing the information to produce these official statistics. This methodology provided the informer units with the maximum facilities for providing the information required, an experience that was valued positively and that will be included in future statistical activities.

These statistics have also made it possible to obtain a Synthetic environmental indicator that positions households and individuals depending on their level of awareness, impact and habits in relation to environmental problems. With this aim, a methodology was established for common work, which enabled comparison with the results obtained by the different participating Autonomous Communities.

This activity was carried out in collaboration with different regional institutions of statistics, such as Euskal Estatistika Erakundea (EUSTAT), Instituto de Estadística de Andalucía (IEA), Instituto Galego de Estadística (IGE), Instituto de Estadística de Navarra (IEN) and Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), by means of a specialist and institutional team that worked in conjunction to produce ex novo the design of the statistical operation and the technical project.