16:00, 24 June 2021
Words by Smiley Team, Staff Writer, London
Reshaping the economy to meet the needs of people and planet, The Economy for the Common Good (ECG) is spreading to Latin America.
The global social movement prioritises human wellbeing and the environment over profit, by the design of writer Christian Felber. After 10 years of success in other areas of the world, teams will introduce the economic model to Latin America where it will uphold the needs of local people, climate and biodiversity.
“Many of us were looking for new instruments to accelerate changes that we felt our society needed to undergo, for a way of life known here by names like ‘Buen Vivir’,” says Anantzintli Andrea Rígolí, co-founder of the Uruguayan ECG chapter.
“The ECG model brings us the opportunity to light that fire again. It provides a holistic model to really bring values such as human dignity, social justice, transparency, participation and sustainability to our economy.”
Initially sparked by Felber in Austria and Germany, the ECG movement is gaining momentum with over 37 chapters in countries around the world including the UK.
It has seen the most rapid growth in Latin America, where groups across 12 countries have partnered with companies, local authorities, educational institutions, and the public to drive positive economic change.
A newly elected member of the Latin America international management team, Argentinian economist Luciana Cornaglia, said: “As the first member of the management team from a non-European and non-North American country, I advocate cultural diversity and the adaptation of the ECG's overall vision to local conditions in any part of the world.
“It is with great responsibility and commitment that we take up the challenge of making ECG a reality in our and other continents.”
Across the southern part of the continent, groups have built up a network through which they will share experiences and knowledge. The first company to join the movement is Entrebichitos, a Uruguayan agrochemicals supplier. By signing up to the ECG’s Common Good Balance Sheet it has agreed to regenerate contaminated soils and clean up waters, while following progressive workers’ rights guidance.
The ECG’s Common Good Balance Sheet is a new means of measuring business success to end destructive practices. In his book ‘Change Everything’, Felber describes it as “the first corporate social responsibility instrument which actually has impact”.
With the ongoing pandemic and economic crisis, ECG hopes to build support for this balance sheet, shifting the world towards a more ethical economic model in which human wellbeing and nature become the main foci of businesses.
Since its launch in 2010, the movement has gained more than 11,000 supporters and over 4,800 activists in more than 180 local chapters and 35 associations. Over 600 companies and organisations have agreed to meet the eight essential requirements laid out by the Common Good Balance Sheet. Nearly 60 municipalities and 200 universities promote the ECG.
Find further Information about the movement at ecogood.org.
