我们如何确定经济价值？我们当前的经济思维方法是否与可持续世界兼容？

Is our current method of economic thinkingcompatible with a sustainable world? How do we determineeconomic value(s)? Is our current method of economic thinkingcompatible with a sustainable world? Contents 1.Introduction62.Where are we heading? Our world in 213082.1Two futures: diverging paths toward 213092.2Can we reach the desired future with today’s economic thinking?10 3.Development of our economic thinking12 4.From classical to sustainable thinking164.1Shifting our economic thinking164.2Approaches to changing our economic system19 5.Dilemmas22 6.The path to the future23 Authors Jacqueline Duiker | Ivo Smeets For more informationPlease contact Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO),Utrecht, the Netherlands Utrecht, The NetherlandsDecember 2025 About this whitepaper About VBDO VBDO is a recognised thought leader dedicated toadvancing sustainability by harnessing the powerof financial markets. Its members include financialinstitutions, NGOs, knowledge organisations andlabour unions. Operating primarily within a multi-stakeholder environment, VBDO’s core activitiesinclude responsible investment benchmarks for thefinancial sector, corporate benchmarks on business& human rights and business & biodiversity, as wellas shareholder engagement. VBDO engages withall stakeholders in the investment chain and hostsroundtables, seminars and webinars on a widerange of sustainability topics. While it is based inthe Netherlands, VBDO works with organizationsacross the world. We thank our members for making this report possible by contributing to the VBDO InnovationFund. This year (2025) marks 30-years of VBDO working to make financial markets moresustainable. It has been a journey with ups and downs and one of paradoxes. Although thereis more global urgency, knowledge, data and attention on sustainability than ever before, theworld is not becoming more sustainable. At this point in time, we face (geo)political tension,accompanied with a tendency to focus more on short-term gains than long-term sustainability. For VBDO, this is a moment to reflect and imagine how the future will look if the world continueswith ‘business as usual’ and how that contrasts with the future that people want. This whitepaperalso takes a look back in time, specifically at the history of society’s economic thinking. Ourclassical approach to economics is embedded in practically every aspect of society and hasbrought us to where we are today: prosperity in some parts of the world and hardship in others.It’s time to ask ourselves whether our economic approach is serving our best interests. Thiswhitepaper hopes to contribute to the discussion on this topic. 1. introduction do not change the way we do business. The causes ofthese risks to our society are generally known. Theylink back to our consumption and production patterns,which rely on the depletion of natural resources such asland, ocean and minerals, as well as emissions, pollution,deforestation and the exploitation of resources andpeople. None of these activities are sustainable, nor willthey be in the future. We consciously cross planetaryboundaries³ and even keep track of how we crossthese boundaries, but this knowledge has not lead tofundamental change. In this type of analysis, the more sustainable alternativeis often considered to be too expensive and therefore“not realistic”. Everyone who tries to fundamentallyembed sustainability in decision making faces thedilemma of short- versus long-term goals or self-interestversus public interest. The question arises of whether,now that we have decided to guide our decisions byshort-term aims and self-interest, it is at all feasibleto achieve a sustainable world? Thinking about thisquestion firstly requires an idea of what a sustainableworld looks like. Are we able to imagine this? What is itwe really value? What do we need to get there and howcan our economic system fit in here? This paper touchesupon these questions, not so much with the intentionto provide the answers, but rather to provoke thinkingand discussion on them. This discussion was kicked offat the 30thanniversary of VBDO. It will be continued incooperation with Sustainable Finance Lab in a debatebetween financial economists and policy makers at theDe Balie debate centre in 2026. These are big and perhaps even philosophicalquestions. They refer to what it is we value and howthis is embedded in our decision making as consumers,producers, financial organisations and governments.This decision making is mainly guided by our conceptand idea of economics. As consumers, we aim for thelowest prices and in our institutions, we believe thatwe need a positive business case or a certain return oninvestment to justify what we do or don’t do. In 2025, VBDO celebrated its 30th anniversary. Duringthese 30 years, attention for sustainability has grownsignificantly: the Paris Agreement (2015) and the Sustain-able Development Goals¹ (2015) are just two exam