Multiple Pathways to Sustainable Development: Further Evidence of Sustainability in Practice

This report serves to build on that earlier publication by examining four additional approaches that have been adopted at the country or regional level: Circular Economy in the European Union (EU) and Germany, Natural Capital Accounting in Botswana, Payment for Ecosystem Services in Costa Rica, and Gross National Happiness in Bhutan. The purpose is to show that there is no “one size fits all” approach to sustainable development, but rather a range of concepts, methodologies, and tools that can be used, depending on the specific context. Three of the four approaches to sustainable development show how global level tools and concepts can be applied successfully at the national level, while the fourth, Gross National Happiness, serves as an example of a unique national approach gaining wider acceptance and being incorporated into other countries’ thinking on sustainable development, including as a possible alternative or complement to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).