Beyond GDP, World Happiness & Wellbeing Initiative
2022 Trends
TREND 1: An Explosion of Regeneration Projects, Initiatives, Organizations
As a response to the many crises humanity has faced, the concept of regeneration creates urgency to take action on all levels, from individuals to national governments and everything in between. The deep desire to restore what has been damaged so far and protect the planet from further harm, finds many in search of the right way forward. Keep an eye on the following organizations when it comes to regeneration:
Regenerative Society Foundation: an Italian non-profit, co- chaired by Andrea Illy and Jeffrey Sachs. The foundation is a business-driven organization, based on the synergy between business and science, to develop the transition to a fully regenerative society. A new metric is being developed; it’s referred to as a regeneration index that explores a measure of human outputs for planetary health.
Regenerative Agriculture: the first international location of the “Rodale Institute” has been set up in partnership with Davines Group, at a 15 hectares site, next to Davines Village in Parma, Italy. It explores regenerative organic farming and has the potential to sequester carbon, mitigate climate change, promote biodiversity and protect our soil, air and water.
“This integrated partnership is an effort to propel the regenerative organic movement beyond simply food and fiber to beauty and personal care. To accomplish this goal, both Rodale Institute and Davines Group hope to bolster the support system and available resources for regenerative organic farmers in the region, research on regenerative organic personal care ingredients, and to advance consumer education on the topic.” Jeff Moyer, CEO Rodale Institute
Sources:
i: Regenerative Society Foundation. Available at: www.regenerativesocietyfoundation.com
ii: Rodale Institute, Davines Group Launch Italian Regenerative Organic Center. Available at: https://rodaleinstitute.org/blog/international-regenerative-organic-center/
TREND 2: Regeneration and Beauty
The B Corp Beauty Coalition leads the important discussion around new solutions and best practices for regenerative organic sourcing in ”personal care and beauty”, the largest economic segment in the wellness economy, which totaled $955 billion in 2020, according to the Global Wellness Institute.
Source:
B Corp Beauty Coalition. Available at: https://www.bcorpbeauty.org
TREND 3: Regenerative Hospitality and Travel
Regenerative hospitality has the power to make travel a force for good by revitalizing our social and environmental ecosystems while offering guests transformational experiences. This reflects a new dimension in impactful design for immersive experiences, restoring and repairing the surrounding communities and ecosystems. Visionary concepts explore the relationship between nature, culture, the city and the human being, in a way that encourages mutual respect and connection. This is elegantly reflected in the architectural scheme for Palazzo dell’ Agricoltore, Italy’s first B-corp hotel in Parma.
Source:
Find a Collection of Mission-driven Hotels. Available at: https://www.regenerativetravel.com.
TREND 4: Regeneration Art
Art is, perhaps, the best expression of ideas and emotions that inspire meaningful transformations in the viewer. We have wellness evidence that shows how experiencing music, art and literature has a positive impact on mental health. Creative programming about regeneration has a restorative impact on us, our businesses and society. An example is the temporary site-specific installations by the British artist Mike Nelson, in “House of Farmer”, a project curated by Didi Bozzini, that explores the corporeal juxtaposition between bureaucracy and wilderness.
Source:
The House of the Farmer. Available at: https://palazzodellagricoltore.it/events/
TREND 5: Regenerative Leadership
In these cataclysmic times, who will drive the change towards radical improvement in the world? Various platforms and events have been created to provide safe havens for leaders to come together. When they feel nurtured and centered, they are more able to inspire and nurture their communities.
Resources that bring leaders together to shape “a more regenerative” future are included below.
Sources:
i: The Regenerative Alliance. Available at: https://regenerative-alliance.org
ii: B-Corp for Good Leaders Summit. Available at: https://www.bforgoodleaders.org
iii: The Global Wellness Summit. Available at: https://www.globalwellnesssummit.com
TREND 6: Spirituality and Business
It’s time to give business a soul. We learn, from the realm of workplace wellness, the trends for building connection, the focus on social wellbeing, and the attention on The Happiness Index for harnessing greater care and compassion. Perhaps this is a bridge to the next step of bringing the concept of spirituality to the boardroom. Just like we now see more Chief Wellbeing Officers or Chief Happiness Officers in companies, perhaps Spiritual Officers are next, to nurture a sense of connectedness, acceptance, peace, trust and sense of purpose in companies.
