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Markets power innovation and efficiency, turning complex solutions into everyday realities. Businesses have delivered new possibilities on a massive scale, making energy cleaner, products more efficient, and technology more accessible. This economic system fueled growth and raised living standards worldwide, bringing a rapid pace of progress through competition and creativity.

To measure this progress, gross domestic product, or GDP, was introduced around the middle of the last century. It turbocharged growth as the core goal of economic policy. GDP summed up everything produced and sold, offering a convenient shorthand for economic success. GDP growth became the prime single standard for societal progress – together with the profit of companies that contributed to it. This focus on growth spurred production, made many products cheaper, and, in some cases, lifted millions out of abject poverty.

However, GDP measures output, not outcomes; it misses the quality of life, community health, and the abundance of the natural world. As Robert F. Kennedy said in 1968, GDP “does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.”

Why growth Is not always the answer

There is a flip side to the increased efficiency and scaling of technologies. Continuous and indiscriminate economic expansion has created new problems and exacerbated existing ones. To name just a few:

• Pollution and global warming: In 2022, global CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion grew by 1.3%, reaching levels above those seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. Coal was the largest source of emissions from fuel combustion at 45%, followed by oil at 33% and natural gas at 22%.[i] And then of course, there is the pollution other than from carbon, like from plastics and toxic chemicals which are now ubiquitous.
• Resource scarcity: The World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2023 highlights the potential for resource rivalries and supply chain disruptions due to escalating competition for essential materials.[ii]
• Increasing inequality: The World Inequality Report 2022 reveals that global income inequality has surged, with the top 10% now capturing 52% of global income while the bottom 50% receives just 8.5%.[iii]

Growth alone cannot fully address complex challenges like environmental degradation or inequality. It often treats these issues as externalities—necessary trade-offs for progress. But is it always truly progress? Research suggests that greater levels of wealth do not necessarily correlate with greater levels of happiness.[iv] And UN rapporteur Olivier de Schutte argued earlier this year that the growth pursuit in some cases may actually keep people locked into poverty rather than delivering them from it.[v] This leaves us asking: if growth is not always the best measure of success, what is?

A well-being economy: Expanding how we measure success

One answer is the paradigm of a well-being economy. In such an economy, businesses, governments, and citizens strive to contribute to human and ecological wellbeing not as a nice-to-have, but above all else. The well-being paradigm proposes a holistic definition of success. Rather than centering solely on growth, it considers multiple indicators, such as environmental health, social equity, and community resilience, on top of financial performance. This shift doesn’t abandon market forces; it draws on them while refining the focus. Growth can still hold value, but only if it serves broader goals that support people and the planet.

In a well-being economy, the definition of progress is expanded. Businesses gain recognition for efforts that, among other things, reduce pollution, strengthen communities, promote circular resource use, restore biodiversity, or maintain fair and living wages. For example, a company that delivers renewable energy adds value by positively impacting community health and climate stability. When economic measurements account for such contributions, markets flourish in ways that reinforce long-term security and quality of life. This approach aligns market efficiency and competitiveness toward goals that meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s realities.

The business case for a well-being economy

A well-being economy offers new paths for companies ready to truly own their place in this world — as part of an economy embedded in society, which in turn is embedded in the ecosystem — by internalizing social foundations and planetary boundaries. The business sector today faces rising consumer, employee, and investor demand for sustainable and ethical practices. When businesses invest in practices that preserve resources, eliminate waste, or empower communities, they gain competitive advantages and build stronger community trust.

Some companies already embody the principles of the well-being economy, such as startups that upcycle old clothes or fishing nets into good-as-new fibers, energy firms that switch from fossil fuels to renewable sources for generation, credit unions that keep economic benefits within the local economy, and multinationals that change their business models from selling products to delivering services. These businesses thrive while preserving environmental integrity and social equity, and thereby supporting healthier, more resilient markets.

Navigating an uncertain future

How will these principles play out in practice? The “decisive decade” we find ourselves in—marked by climate tipping points and systemic ecological challenges—requires deep shifts. This uncertainty sparks the research we pursue within the Sustainability Research Institute, where a team of analysts investigates what sustainable practices could look like across industries and societal constructs. We concentrate on sharing research and best practices around the principles of sustainability, asking how society can invert this trade-off between human and ecological well-being into a synergistic opportunity.

This research builds insights into a broader vision of economic progress with lasting power, guiding how markets can allow communities and ecosystems to thrive. For business leaders, a well-being economy framework offers tools to navigate the future with agility and resilience. Adjusting success measures gives companies the flexibility to put financial goals in service of a commitment to people and the planet and be truly innovative. At a time when society is bumping into ecological limits, transitioning to a well-being economy offers a feasible way forward, evolving how we measure progress and keeping markets stable and vibrant.

The well-being economy represents a practical vision for a sustainable future. It harnesses the strengths of markets but directs this energy toward a lasting form of prosperity that extends beyond output, actively reducing unwanted outcomes and positively contributing to the regeneration of those aspects holding the most intrinsic value—including value not reflected in prices. By rethinking growth and aligning success with shared values, we gain the chance to build an economy that supports a world we want to live in. Are you interested in learning more? You can watch my recent TED Talk and explore our innovative sustainability research on the site of the Sustainability Research Institute

[i] Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy Data Explorer – Data Tools – IEA

[ii] Resource Rivalries: Four Emerging Futures – Global Risks Report 2023 | World Economic Forum

[iii] World Inequality Report 2022 – WID – World Inequality Database

[iv] Solving the income-happiness paradox | International Review of Economics

[v] A/HRC/56/61: Eradicating poverty beyond growth – Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter | OHCHR