About Beyond GDP

The Beyond GDP initiative is about developing indicators that are as clear and appealing as GDP, but more inclusive of environmental and social aspects of progress. Economic indicators such as GDP were never designed to be comprehensive measures of prosperity and well-being. We need adequate indicators to address global challenges of the 21^st century such as climate change, poverty, resource depletion, health and quality of life.

Initial conference in 2007

In 2007, the European Commission, European Parliament, Club of Rome, OECD and WWF hosted the high-level conference “Beyond GDP”. The objectives were to clarify which indices are most appropriate to measure progress, and how these can best be integrated into the decision-making process and taken up by public debate. A brief conference summary(pdf, 621 kb) is available for download, and more details may be found under 2007 conference.

EU Roadmap 2009

Spurred on by the success of the 2007 conference, the Beyond GDP partners continue to work on improving our measures of progress, wealth and well-being. In August 2009, the European Commission released its road map, the Communication “GDP and beyond: Measuring progress in a changing world”. The Communication outlines an EU roadmap with five key actions to improve our indicators of progress in ways that meet citizens’ concerns and make the most of new technical and political developments.

Website to share news on developments

This website aims to promote sharing of information on recent developments and ongoing work at European and national level to develop indicators to assess overall societal progress in its social, economic, and environmental dimensions.