In Focus: Happy Nations? Measuring Sustainable Wellbeing of the Planet
| Published date | 01 June 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/20419058231181286 |
| Author | Benjamin D. Hennig |
| Date | 01 June 2023 |
20POLITICAL INSIGHT•JUNE 2023
In Focus
Happy Nations?
Measuring Sustainable
Wellbeing of the Planet
Bhutan is credited as the rst
country to have implemented
‘Gross National Happiness’ (GNH)
as an ocial measure for the
state of a nation. The small Himalayan
state’s fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye
Wangchuck, introduced the concept in
1972. In the decades since, however, GNH
has grown in popularity.
GNH gives the ‘spiritual, physical, social,
and environmental health of [people] and
the natural environment’ more prominence
over mere economic development as a
measure of societal progress. Following
the 2008 global nancial crash, and an
increasing awareness of the negative
consequences of climate change, such
ideas are reected more and more in
international eorts towards a sustainable
future.
‘Is it possible to live good lives without
costing the Earth?’ This question is now
one of the guiding principles of the Happy
Planet Index (HPI), an indicator which aims
to measure wellbeing and happiness by
taking a universal and long-term approach
to understanding how eciently people
in a country are using environmental
resources. Developed by the think tank the
New Economics Foundation, HPI is now
being managed and developed by the Hot
or Cool Institute, a public interest think tank
that explores the intersection between
society and sustainability.
The HPI ranks countries by how eciently
they deliver long, happy lives using our
limited environmental resources. Unlike
other measures of ‘happiness’ that focus on
Benjamin D. Hennig maps the Happy Planet Index, and finds that
many countries are living far beyond global environmental limits.
personal happiness and mental wellbeing,
the HPI compares how eciently residents
of dierent countries are using natural
resources to achieve long, high wellbeing
lives. It therefore focuses on the role of the
planet’s wellbeing in combination with
people’s wellbeing to paint the picture of a
(un)happy planet.
As outlined in the HPI’s methodological
approach (see happyplanetindex.org),
scores on the index are calculated by
comparing ‘happy life years’ in a country
Political Insight June 2023.indd 20Political Insight June 2023.indd 2018/05/2023 14:5818/05/2023 14:58
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