News

An op-ed piece reflecting on the need for a new form of inclusive development in Bangladesh. 

The Global Footprint Network offers an accessible and easy-to-use site to learn about how the ecological footprint works, check if your country is running an ecological deficit, learn about Overshoot Day, and more. 

UN officials urge governments to introduce SDGs in school curriculum.

The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017 concludes that most countries are missing important opportunities to raise economic growth and reduce inequality at the same time because the growth model and measurement tools that have guided policymakers for decades require significant readjustment.

We are just beginning to see the effect of the UN’s goals, but what businesses are performing their due diligence to better the health and wellbeing of the humans and the world?

How we track our economy influences everything from government spending and taxes to home lending and business investment. This piece takes a closer look at economic indicators to better understand what's going on.

There is no inherent or fixed notion of optimal wealth or consumption. It is for us to create ways of deciding together what is most important to us at any given time and place. Indeed, there are growing efforts around the world to do just that, as part of developing better measures of quality of life.

Opinion piece on the similarities between the happiest nations in the world according to the 2016 Happy Planet Index, and potential reasons why countries with the highest GDPs are conspicuously missing from the list. 

When it comes to happiness, Danes know what they’re talking about. Denmark ranked first among 156 countries in the latest World Happiness Report (pdf), which asked people to rate their happiness levels on a range of things, from income and social support to health expectations and trust in institutions.
But how did Danes get to be so happy?

As many as 21 stock exchanges across the world could introduce sustainability reporting standards in the coming months. They would join the 17 exchanges that currently recommend listed companies to report on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues — going a step further by providing model guidance to participating companies.

The International Council on Mining and Metals has released new guidance to the industry on how miners can support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), demonstrating how the council’s ten principles for sustainable mining intersect with the 17 SDGs. So how can mining companies run their businesses in a way that encourages environmental, economic and social sustainability? 

Using the Human Development Index as its primary metric, the UN releases a report on the challenges and opportunities Arab youth are faced with in pursuing development. 

Blog reflection on potential lessons to learn from Bhutan, a country that has adopted Gross National Happiness as an official metric.

Green business practices are good for the environment, your business and your employees. These strategies are informed by a report released by the U.S. Department of Energy concerned with ecological footprint. 

FAO advocates linking conservation of biodiversity to sustainable agriculture and rural livelihoods.

As economists and world leaders look for an alternative to the current economic system, which they believe caused the 2008 global financial crisis among other disasters, the tiny kingdom of Bhutan is pitching for a Buddhist approach to economics citing concerns beyond a country’s financial health.

Argument for the ineffectiveness of GDP as a measure that uses oil spills as evidence, further advising turning to the Genuine Progress Indicator.

Discussion of the need for a transition from an anthropocentric economic system to a biocentric one.

This year Bangladesh has preceded all expectations and was ranked as the 8th happiest country out of 140 in the world. The greatest factor that propelled Bangladesh to this position is that it has the second smallest ecological footprint in the world. This shows that HPI goes beyond assessing individual happiness but also stresses on the health of the country's nature which indirectly affects general wellbeing.

Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity welcomes the adoption of both the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda.