Introduction.

Non-financial" values such as wellbeing, natural capital, and human capital are becoming increasingly important in the activities of companies and municipalities. Nevertheless, these abstract concepts tend to be viewed as something that cannot be measured. However, there is now an accelerating international movement to quantitatively evaluate such values. The United Nations and other organizations have adopted the "Beyond GDP" concept, and a framework is being developed to quantify happiness and sustainability.

This article discusses two representative studies involving the Manaki Laboratory at Kyushu University that were introduced in the UN report article, and introduces some of the aiESG's support for social implementation that makes use of these findings. If you are interested in "how to measure" non-financial values such as wellbeing and natural capital, please read to the end.

Beyond GDP": a new growth indicator to redefine human wealth

GDP (Gross Domestic Product), a representative indicator of economic growth, has long been used as a basis for policy and investment decisions. However, it has been pointed out to be limited in its ability to capture negative aspects such as environmental destruction and widening inequality. Against this backdrop, the United Nations and other international organizations are developing a new set of indicators to measure "the true wealth of humanity" beyond GDP, the so-called "Beyond GDP" indicators.

The UN's SDG Knowledge Hub highlights the following two studies as representative of "Beyond GDP" initiatives (Original Article(See Section 2.1.2.).
Both of these studies were published by the Manaki Laboratory of Kyushu University, the parent organization of our aiESG.

• New National Wealth Index: a measure of future wealth (Science Magazine , , Nature Magazine (Published in our sister magazine)
  • Integrate natural, human, and productive capital, and visualize the deterioration and accumulation of "base capital" for economic growth in terms of monetary value.
  • Indicators to quantify "sustainable wealth" remaining for future generations
• Well-being Indicators: Quantify quality of life (Paper published in Sustainability Science)
  • Enables quantitative understanding of wellbeing at the regional and social level by integrating factors such as health, education, environment, and income
  • Applicable to policy evaluation and disclosure of corporate non-financial value

Reference Columns

Because of the advanced and specialized nature of this field, the following Japanese-language columns should also be read in conjunction with this article to gain a better understanding in the context of corporate practice.

• What is a "sustainable growth" indicator beyond GDP (RIETI Column)
  → Explains the new concept of capital-based growth and its relationship to well-being in an easy-to-understand manner.
• Connecting Human Capital and Well-being to Economic Policy (Special Issue on RIETI)
  → Special focus on the social welfare brought about by human capital, especially education and health.

From "Cannot Measure" to "Measure" - Toward Visualization of Nonfinancial Value

How to quantify and disclose non-financial factors such as wellbeing and natural capital in an accountable manner has become an important issue among companies and local governments. On the other hand, concepts such as "well-being" and "future wealth" are often considered abstract and unquantifiable.
However, it is now becoming "something that can be measured" that is being systematized at the United Nations level. We at aiESG are one of the few organizations that have the technical foundation for model building and evaluation methods.

We provide scientifically based and implementable solutions to the following challenges faced by corporate sustainability departments, finance departments, integrated reporting professionals, and others

• Want to visualize how their activities contribute to social value and wellbeing
• I want to improve my ability to explain non-financial information quantitatively to investors and internally

This article is based on research findings by aiESG's parent organization, Kyushu University's Manaki Laboratory, and an introductory article by the United Nations. Companies and municipalities interested in wellbeing and comprehensive capital assessment are welcome to contact us.

About aIESG's services:https://aiesg.co.jp/service/