A paper on “Business for the Greater Good: GNH Rating for Enterprises” by Laszlo Zsolnai and Zoltan Valcsicsak was presented at the 7th International Conference on Gross National Happiness in November 7-9, 2017 in Thimpu, Bhutan. The authors argued that Gross National Happiness (GNH) provides an alternative framework that can help enterprises to develop broader, more inclusive business models that aim to serve the greater good of society. The four pillars of GNH may be used to develop a holistic, multidimensional scheme to measure the environmental, social, cultural, and governance performance of business enterprises. Zsolnai and Valcsicsak presented an operational model which suggests rating companies according to their performances in pillars defined by GNH
The underlying logic of their suggested rating scheme is as follows: GNH ⃰ rating means that the given enterprise satisfies basic criteria of environmental conservation. GNH ⃰⃰ ⃰ rating means that the given enterprise satisfies the basic criteria of environmental conservation and equitable socio-economic development. GNH ⃰⃰ ⃰ ⃰ rating means that the given enterprise satisfies the basic criteria of environmental conservation, equitable socio-economic development, and good governance. Finally, GNH ⃰⃰ ⃰ ⃰ ⃰ rating means that the given enterprise satisfies the basic criteria of environmental conservation, equitable socio-economic development, good governance, and cultural preservation. It is proposed that individual ratings would be determined by a representative stakeholder group that includes members of the public and private sectors as well as of the community.