Environmental goods and services sector accounts
The output, employment, exports, and value added of the environmental goods and services sector by economic activity and by environmental purpose; climate investments by environmental purpose, investors by sector; in the business sector, a distinction is made also by economic activities. | |
Classification of Economic Activities in Estonia (EMTAK) based on NACE Rev. 2. Until 2027, data are published using the 2008 version of EMTAK, and from 2028 onwards, the 2025 version of EMTAK will be used. Classification of Environmental Purposes (CEP); Classification of Products and Services; | |
All economic activities and institutional sectors producing environmental goods and services and investing in climate change mitigation are covered. | |
Climate investments – gross fixed capital formation for climate change mitigation activities Employment – all persons engaged in a productive activity that falls within the production boundary of national accounts. Employment is shown in full-time equivalents. Environmental goods and services sector – the production activities of a national economy that generate environmental products (environmental goods and services). Environmental products are products that have been produced for the purpose of environmental protection and resource management. Environmental protection includes all activities and actions which have as their main purpose the prevention, reduction and elimination of pollution and of any other degradation of the environment. Resource management includes the preservation, maintenance and enhancement of the stock of natural resources and therefore the safeguarding of those resources against depletion. Environmental research and development – creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge and the use of this knowledge to devise new applications in the field of environmental protection. The class covers all research and development (R&D) activities and expenditures oriented towards environmental protection: the identification and analysis of sources of pollution, the mechanisms of the dispersion of pollutants in the environment, and the effects of pollution on human beings, species and the biosphere. It covers R&D for the prevention and elimination of all forms of pollution, and also R&D oriented towards equipment and instruments for the measurement and analysis of pollution. Exports – transactions in goods and services from residents to non-residents Full-time equivalent – total hours worked divided by the average annual number of hours worked in full-time jobs within the economic territory. In other words, full-time equivalents correspond to the number of full-time equivalent jobs (one FTE is equivalent to one employee working full-time). Heat/energy saving and management – activities aimed at the minimisation of the intake of non-renewable energy sources through in-process modifications, and at the minimisation of heat and energy losses through energy savings. Activities and products related to measurement, control, laboratories and the like are included as well as education, training and information and general administration activities linked to the management and saving of heat and energy. Management of forest resources can be further divided into management of forest areas and minimisation of the intake of forest resources. The management of forest areas includes all the activities carried out for the maintenance and management of forest areas. This includes restoration activities as well as the prevention and control of forest fires. Activities and products related to measurement, control, laboratories and the like are also included as well as education, training and information and general administration activities linked to the management of forest resources. The minimisation of the intake of forest resources includes activities aimed at the minimisation of the intake of forest resources through in-process modifications as well as the recycling, reuse or savings of forest products and by-products. Management of minerals – activities aimed at the minimisation of the intake of minerals through in-process modifications as well as the reduction of scraps and the production and consumption of recycled materials and products. Activities and products related to measurement, control, laboratories and the like are also included as well as education, training and information and general administration activities linked to the management of minerals. Management of water – activities aimed at the minimisation of the intake of inland waters through in-process modifications and the use of alternative resources and at the reduction of water losses and leaks, as well as the installation and construction of facilities for water reuse and savings, the use of water-saving shower heads and taps, etc. Restoration activities are also included. All water supply activities are included in the output, value added and employment of the management of water according to the current methodology. Management of wild flora and fauna – activities aimed at the minimisation of the intake of wild flora and fauna. Restoration activities are included (replenishment of wild flora and fauna stocks). Activities and products related to measurement, control, laboratories and the like are also included as well as education, training and information and general administration activities linked to the management of wild flora and fauna. Minimisation of the use of fossil energy as raw materials – activities aimed at the minimisation of the intake of fossil resources for raw materials for uses other than energy production (e.g. the production of plastic, chemicals, rubber). Activities and products related to measurement, control, laboratories and the like are also included as well as education, training and information and general administration activities linked to the minimisation of the use of fossil energy as raw materials. Noise and vibration abatement – measures and activities aimed at the control, reduction and abatement of industrial and transport noise and vibration. Activities for the abatement of neighbourhood noise (e.g. soundproofing of dancing halls, etc.) and for the abatement of noise in places frequented by the public (e.g. swimming pools, schools, etc.) are included. Other environmental protection activities – all environmental protection activities which are not classified elsewhere in CEPA and which take the form of general environmental administration and management activities or training or teaching activities specifically oriented towards environmental protection or which consist of public information. It also includes activities leading to indivisible classification, in addition to activities not classified elsewhere. Other resource management activities – all natural resource management activities not classified in other classes, i.e. general administration, education, training and information activities that relate to two or more natural resources Output – the total value of goods and services created by residents during the accounting period. It includes market output, output produced for own final use, non-market output of the general government sector and output of non-profit institutions serving households. Production of energy from renewable resources – activities aimed at the reduction of the exploitation of non-renewable energy sources through the production of energy from renewable sources Protection against radiation – activities and measures aimed at the reduction or elimination of the negative consequences of radiation emitted from any source. It includes the handling, transportation and treatment of high-level radioactive waste, i.e. waste that, because of its high radionuclide content, requires shielding during normal handling and transportation. Protection and remediation of soil, groundwater and surface water – measures and activities aimed at the prevention of pollutant infiltration, the cleaning up of soils and water bodies and the protection of soil from erosion and other physical degradation and from salinisation. The monitoring and control of soil and groundwater pollution are included. Protection of ambient air and climate – measures and activities aimed at the reduction of emissions into the ambient air or ambient concentrations of air pollutants, and at the control of emissions of greenhouse gases and gases that adversely affect the stratospheric ozone layer Protection of biodiversity and landscapes – measures and activities aimed at the protection and rehabilitation of fauna and flora species, ecosystems and habitats as well as natural and semi-natural landscapes. The maintenance and establishment of certain landscape types, biotopes, eco-zones and related issues (hedgerows, lines of trees to re-establish “natural corridors”) have a clear link to the preservation of biodiversity. Research and development activities for resource management comprise creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge and the use of this knowledge to devise new applications in the field of resource management and savings. Value added – the difference between output and intermediate consumption. The components of value added are compensation of employees (wages and salaries, employers’ social contributions), consumption of fixed capital, operating surplus and mixed income, and net taxes on production. Intermediate consumption is the value of the goods and services consumed as inputs by a process of production, excluding fixed assets whose consumption is recorded as consumption of fixed capital. Waste management – activities and measures aimed at the prevention of the generation of waste and at the reduction of its harmful effect on the environment. It includes the collection and treatment of waste, including monitoring and regulation activities. It also includes recycling and composting, the collection and treatment of low-level radioactive waste, street cleaning and the collection of public litter. Wastewater management – activities and measures aimed at the prevention of the pollution of surface water, by reducing the release of wastewater into inland surface water and seawater. It includes the collection and treatment of wastewater, including monitoring and regulation activities. | |
Enterprise | |
Enterprises in the environmental goods and services sector and enterprises investing in climate change mitigation FRAME List of economic units producing environmental goods and services and economic units investing in climate change mitigation, compiled from the business register for statistical purposes | |
Estonia as a whole | |
2010 is the pilot year; the output, exports, value added, and employment of the environmental goods and services sector are regularly calculated for 2014–...; climate investments for 2021–… | |
Not applicable |
DIRECTLY APPLICABLE LEGAL ACTS Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2011 on European environmental economic accounts (Text with EEA relevance) Regulation (EU) No 538/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts (Text with EEA relevance) COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2015/2174 of 24 November 2015 on the indicative compendium of environmental goods and services, the format for data transmission for European environmental economic accounts and modalities, structure and periodicity of the quality reports pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European environmental economic accounts OTHER LEGAL ACTS Not available OTHER AGREEMENTS Not available |
The dissemination of data collected for the purpose of producing official statistics is guided by the requirements provided for in §§ 32, 34, 35, and 38 of the Official Statistics Act. | |
The dissemination of data collected for the production of official statistics is based on the requirements laid down in §§ 34 and 35 of the Official Statistics Act. The principles for treatment of confidential data can be found here. |
Notifications about the dissemination of statistics are published in the release calendar, which is available on the website. Every year on 1 October, the release times of the statistical database, news releases, main indicators by IMF SDDS, and publications for the following year are announced in the release calendar (in the case of publications – the release month). | |
All users have been granted equal access to official statistics: dissemination dates of official statistics are announced in advance and no user category (incl. Eurostat, state authorities, and mass media) is provided access to official statistics before other users. Official statistics are first published in the statistical database. If there is also a news release, it is published simultaneously with data in the statistical database. Official statistics are available on the website at 8.00 a.m. on the date announced in the release calendar. |
Not published | |
Not published | |
Data are published in the statistical database under the subject area Environment / Environmental accounts / Environmental goods and services sector accounts in the following table: and under the subject area Environment / Environmental protection and supervision / Investments for climate change mitigation in the following table: KK22: Investments related to climate change mitigation (first publication in December 2025). Discontinued dataset KK38: Output, exports, value added and employment of the environmental goods and services sector by economic activity and environmental protection or resource management activity is available under the subject area Discontinued datasets / Environment. Archive / Environmental accounts. Archive. | |
The dissemination of data collected for the purpose of producing official statistics is guided by the requirements provided for in §§ 33, 34, 35, 36, and 38 of the Official Statistics Act. Access to microdata and anonymisation of microdata are regulated by Statistics Estonia’s procedure for dissemination of confidential data for scientific purposes. | |
The data of this statistical activity are also published on Statistics Estonia's website in the environment section under the heading Environmental protection funding. | |
The environmental goods and services sector accounts handbook, Eurostat 2016 Environmental goods and services sector accounts practical guide, Eurostat 2016 | |
The quality report is submitted to Eurostat since 2017 in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2174. |
To assure the quality of processes and products, Statistics Estonia applies the European Statistics Code of Practice and the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (ESS QAF). Statistics Estonia is also guided by the EFQM Excellence Model and the requirements in § 7 “Principles and quality criteria of producing official statistics” of the Official Statistics Act. | |
Statistics Estonia performs all statistical activities according to an international model (Generic Statistical Business Process Model – GSBPM). According to the GSBPM, the final phase of statistical activities is overall evaluation using information gathered in each phase or sub-process; this information can take many forms, including feedback from users, process metadata, system metrics, and suggestions from employees. This information is used to prepare the evaluation report which outlines all the quality problems related to the specific statistical activity and serves as input for improvement actions. |
Ministry of Climate; Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture; Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications | |
Since 1996, Statistics Estonia has conducted reputation and user satisfaction surveys. All results are available on Statistics Estonia's website in the section User surveys. | |
The environmental goods and services sector accounts are in compliance with the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 and the rules of the national accounts. |
According to the indicative compendium of environmental goods and services in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2015/2147 the data are comparable, but in addition to the goods and services in the indicative compendium, there may be additional goods and services which are specific to each country (including Estonia). | |
A pilot survey was conducted based on data of 2010, and regular surveys have been conducted since 2014. The data published for 2010 are not comparable with later data due to methodological differences; the data are comparable from 2014 onwards. Climate investments are first published in 2025, but the published data (for 2021–2023) are comparable. | |
Environmental goods and services sector accounts are in compliance with the national accounts. | |
The outputs of the statistical activity are coherent. |
The data revision policy and notification of corrections are described on Statistics Estonia's website in the section Principles of dissemination of official statistics. | |
The published data may be revised if the methodology is modified, errors are discovered, new or better data become available. Regular revisions are carried out annually in accordance with the national accounts methodology. |
SURVEY DATA Not used ADMINISTRATIVE DATA Annual reports are received from the commercial register of the Centre of Registers and Information Systems. Data on construction and reconstruction of buildings are received from the register of construction works of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. Data on payments of transfers of Green Investment Scheme are received from the Ministry of Climate. Data on installed pumps are received from the Estonian Heat Pump Association. Data on exports and imports of services are received from Eesti Pank (the central bank of Estonia). Data on amount of waste, wastewater, and drinking water are received from the Estonian Environment Agency. Data of investments in the construction of road barriers and cycle and pedestrian tracks, as well as data on the number of vehicles, their age, and technical inspections are received from the Estonian Transport Administration. Data on payments of transfers of Environmental Investment Centre are received from the Estonian Environmental Investment Centre. Data on payments of transfers of the European Union Structural Funds are received from the Ministry of Finance. Data on environmental transfers are received from the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board. Data on expenditures made for the protection of forests are received from the Estonian State Forest Management Centre. Data on transfers for the protection of forests are received from the Estonian Environmental Investment Centre. Vehicle price data are received from the Estonian Institute of Economic Research. DATA FROM OTHER STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES For compilation of accounts, data from statistical activities 20300 “Financial statistics of enterprises (annual)”, 21303 “Government finance”, 21408 “Supply and use tables”, 20001 “Financial statistics of non-profit organisations”, 21401 “National accounts (annual)”, 21701 “Research and development”, 22203 “Manufactured goods and industrial services”, 22303 “Foreign trade”, 40203 “Household Budget Survey”, 40013 “Labour Force Survey”, 20206 “Energy consumption and production (annual)”, 10101 “Environmental protection expenditure accounts”, and 20901 “Business register for statistical purposes” are used. | |
Annual | |
Administrative data are received via X-Tee, an FTP-server and by e-mail. | |
The data are compared with the data of previous periods. Arithmetic and qualitative controls are used in the validation process, including comparison with other data. | |
Data from different data sources are aggregated based on classifications used. Output, value added, exports, and employment are calculated according to specific formulas. | |
Not applied |
The environmental goods and services sector accounts is mandatory according to Regulation (EU) No 538/2014 of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union amending regulation No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts. The first year for which data are compiled is 2014. The transmission of data started according to the implementation of the regulation in 2017. |