Beyond GDP
Measuring progress, wealth and wellbeingIn this issue – April 2018
· In brief
· Quote
· Agenda
In the spotlight
Measuring circular economy – new metrics for development? T
he concept of circular economy is gaining growing attention, presenting an approach to address increasing scarcity of resources and environmental pressures linked to the current linear economic model. A shift towards a circular economy will impact different sectors of the economy and at different scales. This poses questions about how different stakeholders might effectively assess the transition and monitor progress towards long term goals of circularity.Read more…
Interviews
Bing Zhu discusses the development of China’s Circular Economy Indicator System
Dr. Bing Zhu is Director and Professor of the Institute for Circular Economy at Tsinghua University, China as well as a Guest Research Scholar at Energy Program of International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria. Now a Member of the Inter-Ministerial Panel of P. R. China on Circular Economy, he works with his team to actively provide scientific support for China’s circular economy and resource efficiency. Prof. Zhu is also the Member of UN Environment Programme’s International Resource Panel (IRP), the Member of Advisory Panel of National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (NSFC) on Cooperation with International Organizations, and Vice Chairman of Circular Economy Committee of Chinese Ecological Economics Society.
Manfred Rosenstock explains the structure and the role of the EU Circular Economy Monitoring Framework
Dr Manfred Rosenstock joined the European Commission in 1993 and is currently Deputy Head of Unit of the Sustainable Development, Green Finance & Economic Analysis Unit of DG Environment. His main fields of work concern questions relating to the availability of private and public finance for investments in circular economy and resource efficiency projects and to the use of market-based instruments in environmental policy. His previous assignments were in the State aids Directorate of DG Competition and the Socio-Economic Analysis Unit of DG Regional Policy. Before joining the Commission, he studied economics at the Goethe-University of Frankfurt, Germany, and the London School of Economics, UK from 1982-1987. Thereafter, he worked as a graduate research assistant at the Institute for Public Sector Economics of the University of Frankfurt until 1993, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Economics.
In brief
Measuring Circular Economy in the Netherlands
Statistics Netherlands, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) have jointly published the report “The circular economy: starting progress measurement in the Netherlands”.Read more…
EU Monitoring Framework for a Circular Economy
The European Commission has adopted the EU monitoring framework for the circular economy (presented jointly with other initiatives on circular economy, including the Europe-wide strategy on plastics). The framework, based on the Circular Economy Action Plan, aims to measure progress and to assess the effectiveness of action towards the circular economy in the EU and Member States.Read more…
The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018
The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018: Building a Sustainable Future is part of the World Bank’s effort to measure national wealth and changes in wealth, building on two previous books: Where is the Wealth of Nations? Measuring Capital for the 21st century (2006) and The Changing Wealth of Nations: Measuring Sustainable Development in the new Millennium (2011).Read more…
The Thriving Places Index
The Thriving Places Index was developed by Happy City, a UK based charity with the mission of “making what matters count”, in cooperation with the New Economics Foundation and with support from Triodos Bank. The index, building on the Happy City Index, aims at providing local decision-makers in England with information on the factors that determine wellbeing, based on a participatory approach.Read more…