12.1% of the Dutch economy is sustainable. This has emerged from a large-scale study commissioned by MVO Nederland. The organization introduces the New Economy Index (NEx). It indicates annually the percentage of the Dutch economy that is 'new': circular, climate-neutral and inclusive, also in the chain. Sustainable.

“A NEx of 20% in 2025 is what the Netherlands needs to reach a tipping point – from that point on, the economy will become increasingly sustainable and there will be no turning back to the old economy. With a NEx of 12.1% in 2020, we see that the start is definitely there. But there is still a lot that needs to be done at Dutch companies,” says Maria van der Heijden, CEO of MVO ​​Netherlands.

The research focuses on the role of the Dutch business community, which means that the NEx differs from, for example, the Wide Welfare Monitor or the Happy Planet Index. In addition, unlike other measuring instruments, the index indicates a 'distance to target', which means that it is a relationship to an end goal.

The NEx is the average of seven themes from MVO Nederland's New Business Agenda, all of which have their own NEx score: New wealth (9.9%), Real prices (17.2%), Transparent chains (6.2 %), Inclusive business (23.8%), Sustainable energy (6.2%), Biodiversity (8.9%) and Circular economy (12.1%). The figures were officially presented at MVO Nederland's NE20 festival in the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam.

Still a lot of work to do
The low scores show that there is still a lot of work to be done. Also with regard to transparency by the organization itself: it is not possible to find how the scores are arrived at on its own website. This makes comparison with other indices, such as the Monitor Brede Welvaart or the Happy Planet Index, impossible in advance.

The NEx study was conducted by SEO Economic Research, in collaboration with Rabobank, KPMG, Milgro and IUCN. With the NEx, MVO Nederland has expressed the sustainability of the Dutch economy in a single number for the first time, and will repeat the NEx survey annually.

Source: www.duurzaamnieuws.nl 25 January 2020