Following the global financial crisis, the green economy emerged as a concept that promised to help stimulate growth and address imbalances. However, metrics discussed for assessing the green economy and green growth borrowed from indicators already available and had gaps when it came to inform policy, due to a disconnect between indicators and possible policy interventions. To address this problem, the project set out to directly measure the characteristics of the green economy, and green production in particular. 

The project started with a “Green+” review of headline indicators, indicator sets and statistical frameworks, and then drew upon the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Green Jobs Survey methodology (including green certification) to identify headline indicators, indicators and statistical data sets that directly measure green growth and the characteristics of the green economy such as jobs and inflation. Importantly the green certified economy metrics are sensitive to policy interventions in particular the implementation of green production standards. The Green+ review has been prepared (2016). 

The Green Growth Manifesto has been published (2022) setting out the vision and core framework, meanwhile work is continuing on The Green Economy Architecture, and the world’s first green Food Price Index was prepared as a Masters thesis project (Marcel de Vries, 2022) in collaboration with Erasmus University Rotterdam. The Tiaki Institute is seeking partnerships to support pilot studies demonstrating that it is possible to collect these data and use them to inform green growth policies.