The document discusses different perspectives on wealth and prosperity. It argues that traditional measures like GDP do not capture important societal and environmental factors. Wealth is about more than just money - it involves living in a healthy society with a clean environment. The document proposes that sustainability indicators be reported alongside traditional economic numbers to provide a more complete picture of prosperity. It outlines an initiative called "A Longer View" to facilitate sharing environmental and social data with news organizations and websites, with the goal of informing both business and the public.

1. Who is genuinely wealthy?
A Longer View

2. People with low-impact material wealth
and a healthy environment?

3. Or people with expensive, high-impact
possessions – and a degraded environment?

4. Another example:
Who is wealthier?

5. The person with $1 million, who must live in a high-
crime society with poor public services and
polluted ground water?

6. Or the person with $50,000
who lives in a peaceful society with good public
services?

7. Society needs new tools to understand these
distinctions.

8. Increased GDP might tell us that we’re eating more
beef, driving bigger cars, living in bigger homes.

9. It doesn’t tell us that run-off from fertiliser is destroying
oceans, that emissions from bigger cars are giving more kids
asthma, and that using more land and wood carelessly is
causing deforestation and the destruction of whole species.

10. GDP doesn’t tell us that inequality is driving up levels of
crime, mental illness, HIV, over-consumption, levels of
imprisonment, obesity, teenage pregnancies and addiction
– while destroying social mobility, trust and life expectancy.

11. Markets. Currencies. Commodities. These are the numbers
we give most of our attention to. They’re important. But they’re
just a part of a much bigger story. A story we don’t tell so
well.

12. Sustainability indicators are rarely reported.
And when they are reported, usually given low priority by the
media...

13. So how about we start paying attention to these
numbers as well?
Atmospheric carbon dioxide – 398 ppm
Human development – 0.619
SA unemployment – 25,2%
Ecological overshoot – 4%

14. What if these numbers, the
numbers we need to check
on people and planet, were to
be right up there with the
market numbers? Every day...
So we can’t forget them.

15. Business is running blind when it
ignores or forgets sustainability.
‘The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment, not the
other way around.’
– Gaylord Nelson (Earth Day founder)
To truly understand our economic prospects, we have to know what’s
happening to the environment and in society, at all levels – regional,
national and global.

16. A Longer View
• A bridge between environmental data providers and
publishers (news providers, websites, etc)
• Starting in South Africa
• Small non-profit international secretariat
• Lead partners in business in each country
• Creation and management of web and data distribution
tools
• The biggest and most important part of our work will be
lobbying and publicity – getting high-profile publishers to
use our data.

17. We’ve got most of the numbers
needed to guide us to safer, more
prosperous societies. . .
Let’s make sure people see them. Every day.

18. A Longer View
The numbers that will guide us to prosperity –
where we can see them, all the time.