The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) accounting project is a pioneering research effort to develop a new system for measuring the total well-being and sustainability of nations or states. With this project, Alberta is the first region in the world to have a fully-constructed set of GPI accounts using the new GPI System of Well-being Accounting architecture. The development of this new system is presented as an alternative to the current measures of economic progress like the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), which simply measure the flow of money in an economy.
The GPI accounts for Alberta show how the province is doing in relation to its sustainable development objectives—development that embraces social and environmental objectives as well as economic ones. As a starting point, this requires an adjustment in our perspective—how we define and measure wealth, equality and progress.
The GPI System of Sustainable Well-being Accounts, which includes both physical and monetary measures of well-being, are structured along the following capital themes:
- time use accounts,
- social capital accounts,
- human health and wellness accounts,
- natural resources and environmental accounts, and
- economic accounts.
The Technical Reports behind the GPI System of Sustainable Well-being Accounts are available here:
5. Public and Household Infrastructure
6. Employment
8. Time Use:
10. Suicide
11. Substance Abuse: Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco
13. Family Breakdown
14. Crime
15. Gambling
16. Democracy
19. Agriculture
20. Forests
24. Water Resource and Quality
25. Energy Use Intensity, GHG and Air Quality
27. Municipal and Hazardous Waste
