Inclusive Wealth Report 2012: Measuring Progress Towards Sustainability

This Inclusive Wealth Report (IWR) is the first of a biennial series of reports on the sustainability of countries. The report looks at the productive base of economies, based on capital assets – produced or manufactured capital; human capital; and natural capital. This first report of the series is focused on natural capital and will be released at the Earth Summit 2012 (Rio+20) to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012. The two main themes of Rio+20 will be the green economy and international environmental governance. The United Nations Secretary-General’s high level panel report on global sustainability – Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing – was released in April of 2012 to inform the discussions and negotiations at the summit. The report highlights the potential of a green economy and also calls for new ways of measuring progress in a green economy. The IWR provides such a measure.