The Comprehensive Wealth Indicator Report, coming spring 2016, will provide a new means to measure and track the sustainability of Canada’s well-being The
Comprehensive Wealth website launches today at www.comprehensivewealth.ca
– In advance of releasing Canada’s first Comprehensive Wealth Indicator Report, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) has launched a new website — www.comprehensivewealth.ca — to explain this new measurement system and its significance to Canadians.
When released in mid-2016, the Comprehensive Wealth report will deliver a blueprint for measuring economic, social and environmental sustainability. IISD, one of the top ten environmental policy think tanks globally, is leading this initiative that promises to put the nation back on the leaderboard for progressive thinking about sustainability. And they’re inviting Canadians to discuss, advocate and promote the measurement of Comprehensive Wealth and the actions needed to build and maintain it.
At www.comprehensivewealth.ca interested Canadians can learn what Comprehensive Wealth is and why it matters. And they can find the information and tools to promote the use of Comprehensive Wealth and help guide the country toward prosperity for this generation and those to come.
Driven by the idea that you can’t manage what you don’t measure, Comprehensive Wealth is a concept that focuses on the roles of people, the environment and the economy in creating and sustaining well-being, complementing indicators like gross domestic product (GDP) and addressing issues they can’t capture on their own. Comprehensive Wealth includes natural, produced, social and human capital — the foundation of well-being. Regular reporting on it is essential to successfully guiding Canada through the 21st century and beyond.
Building on the pioneering efforts of United Nations, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Statistics Canada, IISD will release a Comprehensive Wealth report for Canada in June 2016 — a timely new approach to measuring national progress that considers critical factors beyond GDP.
“GDP, while relevant as a measure of current economic progress, must be complemented with new measures that reflect the prospects for the long-term sustainability of well-being,” says economist and Comprehensive Wealth project lead, Robert Smith. “Businesses measure both income and wealth. Nations should do the same. A country with a high level of well-being like Canada really needs to understand what lies behind its well-being. And, with a relatively well developed program of wealth measurement at Statistics Canada already, Canada is poised to emerge as a leader in this important domain.”
The report will be the first in Canada and one of the first anywhere to offer a clear methodology, key indicators and analysis of Comprehensive Wealth. It will mark the beginning of a more evolved approach to tracking the progress of the nation.
With support from the Ivey Foundation, the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD) will release the Comprehensive Wealth Indicator Report in June 2016. To learn more, please visit www.comprehensivewealth.ca or follow the discussion on Twitter.
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ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IISD’s mission is to champion innovation, enabling societies to live sustainably. Through their head office in Winnipeg, Canada and their branches in Ottawa, New York, and Geneva, IISD, established in 1990, champions sustainable development around the world. Visit www.iisd.org.
ABOUT THE IVEY FOUNDATION The Ivey Foundation is a private charitable foundation located in Toronto, Canada. Its goal is to help build a smarter and sustainable economy that protects Canada’s natural assets while maintaining economic security and prosperity for Canadians. Its focus on environment and economy has led it to invest recently in programs like the Green Fiscal Commission (at McGill University) and Sustainable Prosperity at the University of Ottawa. Visit www.ivey.org.
