Bhutan, the monarchy in the Himalayas known for its use of Gross National Happiness as development indicator, will start applying the GNH concept to business.
"Taking care of our workers will uplift our economy," said Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay at a forum in Singapore over the weekend.
Enshrined in Bhutan’s constitution, GNH is a "higher goal for human development that highlights balanced, sustainable, inclusive, and equitable [policies], far beyond the conventional measure" of gross domestic product.
A conference, “The GNH of Business,” will be held in November where the government will launch certification tools for the private sector. The meeting will explore ways to create conditions for achieving GNH in businesses.
In addition to presenting concrete policy, frameworks, institutions and measures to promote GNH as a value in companies, the conference will discuss assessment of GNH and implementation issues across the business sector.
Meanwhile, the certification will be given to a company that commits "to behave ethically and to contribute to the happiness of its office workers, its customers, community and society ... while also contributing to the sustainability of the natural environment."
PM Tobgay first proposed aligning business with GNH two years ago, saying that the current business practices over-emphasise profit maximisation and increasing the share value, with little concern for the health of local environment and community well-being.
The GNH conference will coincide with the birth month of the Fourth Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the architect of GNH. The king coined GNH in 1972, saying it was a more important measurement of development than Gross Domestic Product.
The GNH Index is composed of four pillars:
- good governance,
- sustainable socio-economic development,
- cultural preservation,
- environmental conservation.
Under these pillars are nine domains: Psychological well-being, health, education, time use, cultural diversity and resilience, good government, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards.
People are considered happy when they have sufficiency in 66% of the (weighted) indicators or more – that is, when they were identified as extensively happy or deeply happy.
Using the index, people can belong to any of the four groups: unhappy, narrowly happy, extensively happy and deeply happy.
In 2011, the United Nations unanimously adopted a General Assembly resolution calling for a holistic approach to development. Aimed at promoting sustainable happiness and well-being, the resolution was introduced by Bhutan with support from 68 member-states. The following year, the UN conducted a high-level meeting on “Happiness and Well-being: Defining a New Economic Paradigm.”
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