Glossary

Capital	Capital means all the man-made goods that are used in the further production of wealth.
Circular economy	A circular economy entails markets that give incentives to reusing products, rather than scrapping them and then extracting new resources. In such an economy, all forms of waste, such as clothes, scrap metal and obsolete electronics, are returned to the economy or used more efficiently.
Decoupling	‘Decoupling’ refers to breaking the link between “use of natural resources” and “economic growth.” Decoupling occurs when the growth rate of an environmental pressure is less than that of its economic driving force (e.g. GDP) over a given period.
Economic development	Economic development generally means creating jobs, increasing the wealth of both the individual and society and improving people’s quality of life.
Economic growth	Economic growth describes an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and services that a society produces and consumes. Economic growth describes an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and services that a society produces and consumes.
Entrepreneurship	Entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values than simply economic ones.
Gross domestic product (GDP)	GDP is the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period.
Labor	Labor is the economically active population is people who are willing and able to work, whether they have found a job or not.
Land	Land as a factor of production connects land, natural resources, forests, water resources and natural conditions
Limits to Growth	The Limits to Growth is a 1972 report on the exponential economic and population growth with a finite supply of resources, studied by computer simulation.
Linear economy	A linear economy traditionally follows the “take-make-dispose” step-by-step plan. This means that raw materials are collected, then transformed into products that are used until they are finally discarded as waste. Value is created in this economic system by producing and selling as many products as possible.
Sustainable development	Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable development goals (SDG)	SDGs are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The SDGs were set up in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030.
Well-being	Well-being is a positive outcome that is meaningful for people and for many sectors of society, because it tells us that people perceive that their lives are going well. Good living conditions (e.g., housing, employment) are fundamental to well-being. Tracking these conditions is important for public policy.

Glossary

Source and Responsibility