Both Gross National Happiness (GNH) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) means Development with Values
A vital aspect of GNH in a good CSR program focuses on the individual, and that each person in the business, from shareholders to management and employees, needs to be engaged and empowered equally for it to be successful.
The land where Gross National Happiness is a measure for Gross National Product, Bhutan, is the land of the Thunder Dragon. On the one hand, It is probably the most exotic but remote place but at the same time Bhutan is a real Shangri-La.
The fourth King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, declared in 1972 that Gross National Happiness (GNH) was more important than GDP, and since then the country has oriented its national policy and development towards achieving GNH, because GNH means so many things to so many people but to him it signifies simply - Development with Values.
Happiness in Bhutan means much more because it focuses on the communities well being, which CSR is essentially all about. Rather than the subjective personal well being, equal weight to the happiness of others is important. Amongst the components of Environmental Social Governance CSR means harmony with nature.
Since GNH is enshrined in the Bhutanese Constitution we will learn from their experience on how to conduct and measure progress against the GNH domains;
- psychological wellbeing
- work/life balance
- community vitality
- cultural diversity
- ecological resilience
- living standard
- health, education, good governance.
Together with the above domains and variables we will enact new and revised CSR policies and processes that are first passed through the GNH filter to ensure that our CSR recommendations are aligned with the development of GNH.
The conference will focus on how global business can adapt the GNH principles to its business practices that include the lot in a revised CSR program. The speakers and experts will provide guidance on how the organisation can ensure that decisions are in harmony with its external and internal stakeholders. How can each employee in the organisation experience harmony, work/life balance and happiness?
Many Western organisations focus on the underlying CSR components of sustainable and green business development programs, 360o environmental surveys to measure CSR progress. Is it possible to incorporate a CSR model, such as the GNH business model, that pulls everything an organisation wants to be into one index that provides annual measures on growth - showing that the organisation is progressing towards achieving its vision in a value driven, environmentally and socially sustainable way.
Come to the conference and get to understand Gross National Happiness in depth. Learn how this model could be applied to global businesses and organisations wishing to develop a way of measuring their CSR success that includes employee, customer and community happiness and environmentally sustainable business practices.
