On January 23, MVO Nederland presented the New Economy Index (NEx) 2024 in Nieuwspoort, The Hague. Milgro which has been a partner of MVO Nederland for many years was also present at this event. We reviewed the NEx report and share key insights here.
Results NEx 2024
The NEx 2024, which measures the degree of sustainability within Dutch business and charts progress toward a new economy, shows a score of 17.5%. While this is an increase of 1.0 percentage points from last year, it is the smallest increase in the past five years.
Themes NEx 2024
The index is a composite of scores on seven sustainability themes: new wealth, real prices, transparent chains, inclusive business, green energy, biodiversity and circular economy.
The index, rising steadily since 2020 (from 12.1%), highlights the challenges in making the economy more sustainable. According to Wouter Scheepens, director of MVO Nederland, sustainability is running up against policy limits and there is a lack of accessibility, benefit and understandability, leading to reluctance among entrepreneurs.
Accelerating the resource transition
With the presentation of the NEx 2024, it is once again clear that urgent action is required to achieve ambitious goals and promote the transition to a sustainable, circular future. The 'circular economy' theme, which Milgro, among others, advocates, has not risen enough. The score on this theme drops from 14.5% to 13.4% this year.
To increase this percentage and move faster towards a circular economy, it is very important to accelerate the raw material transition. We are reaching the limits of what the planet can handle. Resource stocks are finite and are being depleted. An economy in which products are quickly discarded is unsustainable. In the new, circular economy, materials and raw materials retain their value by being reused.
Want to read the full NEx report? Download it here (in Dutch).
