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INTRO TO THE WELLBEING ECONOMY

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FOR AN ECONOMY IN SERVICE

OF LIFE

WEAll is the leading collaboration of organisations, alliances, movements and individuals working towards economic systems change.

The global Wellbeing Economy alliance emerged in 2017 as a collaboration of academics, NGOs and activists who recognised that the dominant economic model being followed around the world wasn’t delivering for the majority of people and it was leading to runaway climate change, and driving in equality.

Helped to kickstart the Wellbeing Economy Government partshop program

We envision a world where everyone has enough to live in comfort, safety, and happiness. Where all people feel secure in their basic comforts and can use their creative energies to support the flourishing of all life on this planet. Where we thrive in a restored, safe, and vibrant natural environment because we have learned to give back as much as we are given. A world where we have a voice over our collective destiny and find belonging, meaning and purpose through genuine connection to the people and planet that sustain us.

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The Wellbeing Economy Government (WEGo) initiative is a collaborative effort by a group of governments committed to shifting the focus of their economies from traditional measures like GDP to broader measures of well-being. This approach prioritizes human and environmental health, social equity, and sustainable development.

The goal is to create economies that serve the well-being of people and the planet, emphasizing long-term resilience and quality of life over short-term economic growth. Member countries share best practices, collaborate on policy innovations, and work together to implement strategies that promote a more balanced and inclusive approach to economic developmen.

Wellbeing Economies. Membership of the group has grown organically since its launch in 2018 and currently involves the governments of Scotland, Iceland, New Zealand, Wales and Finland, with Canada actively participating.

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ALLIANCES OF ALLIANCES

500 organisational members

2800 individual members

150 academics

88 ambassadors and spokespeople

17 hubs around the world

40 members of Policymaker Network

6 national governments in WEGo

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Bill McKibben

Richard Wilkinson

Promoting opportunities for connection and ambassador-to-ambassador collaboration,�Supporting and challenging the Wellbeing Economy movement and alliance. We need your vision and ideas

Amplifying ambassadors' work, such as projects, speaking engagements, publications, etc., so that the WEAll network can learn from, be inspired and connect with your work. ��We are inviting more ambassadors to the group on an ongoing basis so that it is ever more representative, in terms of gender, sex, race, location, and in terms of their expertise, fields of work and audience/language, so that we are radically connecting across business, policy, grassroots and cultural spheres of influence. If anyone comes to mind that is doing great work in this space and you think would be interested in collaborating further with WEAll, let us know!

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a wellbeing economy represents �a return to wisdom�

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RADICAL COLLABORATION TO SHIFT:

Narratives

POLICy

power

Cultural narratives and the dominant ways of thinking about the economy

Rules and practices at the institutional level

Nurturing and amplifying people and organisations around the world who are implementing solutions that challenge the status quo

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THE ECONOMY IS THE WAY WE PRODUCE AND PROVIDE FOR ONE ANOTHER

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People and planet are not here to serve the economy

The economy is here

to serve us!

otherwise

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Cleaning up an oil spill might be good for GDP.

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ECONOMIC SYSTEM THAT ISN’T SERVING US

CLIMATE

INEQUALITY

LONELINESS

HEALTH CRISIS

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“The welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measurement of national income as defined by the GDP.”

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Diminishing Marginal Returns

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a WELLBEING ECONOMY would deliver

social justice on a

healthy planet

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Nature

Humans are one with nature and we give back as much as we take from the earth.

Fairness

Justice in all its dimensions at the heart of economic systems.

Participation

Citizens are actively engaged in their communities and economic decisions.

Dignity

Everyone has enough to live in comfort, safety and happiness.

Purpose

We all have a shared sense of belonging & our institutions serve the common good.

WE ALL NEED…

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We predistribute power, wealth, time, and income

Example: social enterprises and businesses owned by their workers, community wealth building and living wages.

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We shift the purpose of the economy to deliver human and ecological wellbeing.

Example: adopting a wider suite of success measures Beyond GDP, and visionary national development plans.

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We adopt preventive measures that stop harm from happening in the first place.

Example: Outcome budgeting and circular production and consumption.

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We ensure economic decisions are powered by the people.

Example: Citizen assemblies and participatory budgeting.

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Wellbeing Economy Frameworks

Shift from GDP growth to wellbeing for all on a healthy planet.
Use wellbeing frameworks and dashboards for policy development.
Incorporate local and national participatory processes to define wellbeing goals.

Planetary Health and Regeneration of Nature

Transition to a decarbonised, circular, and regenerative economy.
Design policies that eliminate waste, encourage reuse, and outlaw planned obsolescence.
Implement true cost accounting and transition to renewable energy.
Recognize the rights of nature in policy and legal frameworks, consider ecocide legislation.

Comprehensive and Progressive Tax Reform

Reform tax systems to include wealth and financial transfer taxes.
Address tax evasion and avoidance.
Use fiscal incentives for sustainable business and public procurement.
Raise revenue from taxing the wealthiest and windfall profits of large corporations.
Create social or Citizen Wealth Funds for universal basic income and services.

Work and Care

Address gender power imbalances through public health and education.
Ensure fair wages for caregivers and redistribute care responsibilities.
Raise minimum wages and support a Universal Basic Dividend.
Reduce the working week to 32 hours without reducing pay.

Participatory Governance for Future Generations

Implement long-term national planning with citizen participation.
Recognize the rights of future generations to social and ecological wellbeing.
Integrate indigenous perspectives into decision-making.
Establish Future Generations legislation for sustainable, long-term impact.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

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wellbeing economy thinking

in action?

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Wellbeing economy governments partnership

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Reducing child poverty

wellbeing budgets

Between 2019 and 2023 New Zealand’s Wellbeing Budget focused on five priorities:

Embracing digital advancements

Supporting mental health

Transitioning to a low-emissions economy

Reducing inequalities for Māori & Pacific communities

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Gross national happiness

This Bhutanese concept is rooted in Bhudist principles and assessed through a measurable framework that balances material wellbeing with cultural and spiritual needs.

9 domains of Gross National Happiness

In the 1970s, Bhutan's King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, introduced Gross National Happiness to challenge the idea that economic growth was the sole indicator of societal progress. The concept is rooted in Buddhist values of compassion and harmony with nature.��The Index is constructed using a robust multidimensional methodology known as the Alkire-Foster method. The concept of GNH has often been explained by its four pillars: good governance, sustainable socio-economic development, cultural preservation, and environmental conservation. The four pillars have been further classified into nine domains which are all equally weighted. Within each domain, two to four indicators were selected that seemed likely to remain informative across time, had high response rates, and were relatively uncorrelated. Within each domain, the objective indicators are given higher weights while the subjective and self-reported indicators are assigned far lighter weights.

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Dashboard for measuring wellbeing

Following public consultation, Iceland introduced 39 wellbeing indicators and six priorities that drive the government’s five-year fiscal strategy and annual budget. These include:

Secure housing

Mental health

Work-life balance

Zero carbon emissions

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FAQs

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What’s the role of business in a wellbeing economy?

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How would you pay for it?

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why not�green growth?

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thank you & keep in touch

weall.org