New Deal for Business Group - Report on Progress & Recommendations: Implementation Plan

Annex D - Sub-Group 4 – Wellbeing Economy

Overview

The Wellbeing Economy sub-group was tasked with considering how business and the Scottish Government can better work together towards a Wellbeing Economy.

Meeting three times, the sub-group was able to draw on the expertise of a wide range of businesses, from the largest multi-national corporations to family farms and everything in between.

Recommendations

The sub-group presented 5 recommendations.

The Business Purpose Commission report, echoed in the Scottish

Government's response, made a set of recommendations for businesses and Government, which they are encouraged to consider taking forward as far as possible in their own individual contexts. The recommendations outlined in the NDBG report build upon that work to focus on creating the conditions in which further transformative change can be achieved through partnership working towards a Wellbeing Economy.

How we will report on progress

• The National Performance Framework (Scotland's Wellbeing Framework) helps us collectively work towards outcomes that will improve people’s quality of life. 81 National Indicators provide a measure of progress towards the 11 National Outcomes which government, business and the third sector are working together collaboratively to achieve.
• Progress will also be measured through the National Strategy for Economic

Transformation’s key ‘Measures of Success’ and the Wellbeing Economy Monitor, which tracks broader economic outcomes beyond GDP on issues such as health, equality, fair work and the environment - including specific indicators such as the gender pay gap and employees earning below the Real Living Wage. Progress will also be reflected in other measures relating to business in the economy that are routinely monitored by the Scottish Government, and consideration is being given to how these can be more explicitly tracked through existing frameworks.

• The NDBG report includes a recommendation to identify metrics to measure the impact of business actions contributing towards a Wellbeing Economy, evaluate the impact of interventions, demonstrate the positive steps taken and assess the maturity of businesses' approach to purpose. This will be taken forward through the actions identified below, building upon existing resources and reporting frameworks, and in connection with the work of the Sharing Key Metrics subgroup.
• In the short-term, success will be measured by the delivery of the engagement events referred to below as early examples of Scottish Government engagement with business in support of Wellbeing Economy aims; the agreement of a set of priority actions to implement the New Deal for Business Wellbeing Economy subgroup recommendations and, the production of a description of Wellbeing Economy that is meaningful for business.
• In the medium-term, success will be measured by the development of an agreed plan to better publicise and communicate the business case for supporting a Wellbeing Economy, which has been produced by the Business Purpose

Commission and, the publication of an SME, Third Sector and Supported Businesses Action Plan.

• In the longer-term, success will be measured by the development of metrics that businesses can use to measure, monitor and evaluate the impact of their actions, and by the publication for consultation of draft Just Transition Plans that have been informed by engagement with business and other stakeholders.