Written by: Millie Szolkowska
Earlier this month, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres called for the transformation of the global economy, driven by a change in how we understand and measure economic progress[1]. For decades, gross domestic product (GDP) has been prioritized by politicians and policymakers, as the dominant indicator of economic success. However, the pursuit of indiscriminate growth has long been criticized as conflicting with the finite resources of the planet[2], increasing inequality both within and between nations[3], and for not sufficiently capturing economic success[4].
As climate impacts intensify around the globe and socio-economic instability grows, momentum behind the ‘beyond GDP’ movement is building. This movement seeks to put the well-being of people and the planet at the heart of economics. Nowhere is the case for this shift clearer than in the Blue Economy – a sector that has long dealt with the consequences of narrow economic accounting.
The Blue Economy and the Exposure of the Limits of GDP
Ocean and coastal environments provide a stark exposure of the mismatch between what we measure to determine economic success, and what ultimately sustains prosperity. Under present economic accounting, fisheries can experience growth whilst local food security and fish stocks decline. Coastal infrastructure can expand whilst exposure to climate risk expands. Tourism industries can experience increased revenue whilst reefs and coastal habitats are degraded. All of this is seen as growth but would be seen by few as progress.
Marine systems operate within ecological thresholds, and potentially long recovery cycles. GDP is poorly designed to detect the accumulation of this risks that stem from the approaching and crossing these thresholds.
The opportunity for Canada
Many high-level documents have highlighted the need for a sustainable approach to blue economy development[5] [6], but often these documents do not fully clarify how to integrate social and environmental equity within economic objectives[7]. Where such sustainability frameworks exist, Indigenous and coastal communities frequently continue to absorb costs whilst marine industries expand without their consent[8] [9].
Canada has the capacity to take a more integrated approach. As a world leader in ocean science, resource management and emergency response within the blue economy, and with stated ambition to lead future development within the sector, Canada is well placed to demonstrate how the beyond GDP movement can change outcomes on the ground[10].
Innovative approaches are already being developed on the ground in Canada. One example is the Blue Economy Development Approach (BEDA), sequences traditional economic thought in a new model: Equity → Health → Wealth[11]. Consent and equity constitute the first decision gate, after which Indigenous and local knowledge is paired with scientific knowledge for an understanding of ecosystem health. Only once these foundations are secure are benefit-sharing models and growth potential considered. These pillars are treated as mutually reinforcing rather than sequential trade-offs. The embedding of such methodologies in governmental and business activities has the potential to place Canada at the forefront of the transition from conception to implementation of the beyond-GDP concepts.
Conclusion
For Canadian organizations, from port authorities and fisheries regulators to ocean technology firms and financial institutions, embedding beyond-GDP principles into decision-making also represents a potential strategic advantage. Prioritising equity and ecosystem integrity at the outset reduces the barriers and conflicts that often arise when economic expansion is pursued first.[12].
Indeed, operationalizing beyond-GDP thinking on the ground, through integrating environmental and equitable factors into internal decision-making processes and success metrics, ought to position organizations well to thrive in a policy and investment environment that is steadily moving towards a more holistic understanding of economic value. In doing so, Canada can derisk and future-proof it’s Blue Economy domestically whilst demonstrating credible leadership on the international stage.
[1] Global economy must move past GDP to avoid planetary disaster, warns UN chief | United Nations | The Guardian
[2] Limits to Material Growth in a Resource Finite World | Springer Nature Link
[3] Piketty, T. (2017). Capital in the twenty-first century (A. Goldhammer, Trans.). Belknap Press.
[4] 5 ways GDP gets it totally wrong as a measure of our success | World Economic Forum
[5] World Bank (2017). What is the BE? Available online at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2017/06/06/blue-economy (Accessed 12 February 2026)
[6] Halpern BS, Klein CJ, Brown CJ, Possingham HP. Achieving the triple bottom line in the face of inherent trade-offs among social equity, economic return, and conservation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013;110(15):6229–6234
[7] Mak, L.M., Ross, M., Noonan-Birch, R., Singh, G.G., & Cisneros‐Montemayor, A.M. (2025). From ambiguity to action: a framework for assessing ocean-based projects in Canada’s Blue Economy. Frontiers in Marine Science.
[8] Cisneros-Montemayor A. M., Croft F., Issifu I., Swartz W., and Voyer M. (2022a). A primer on the “BE:” Promise, pitfalls, and pathways. ScienceDirect. 5, 982–986
[9] Bennett N. J., Cisneros-Montemayor A. M., Blythe J., Silver J. J., Singh G., Andrews N., et al. (2019). Towards a sustainable and equitable BE. Nat. Sustainability 2. Available online at: https://oceancanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Bennett-et-al_2019_Towards-a-sustainable-and-equitable-blue-economy.pdf Accessed February 12 2026).
[10] Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (2024). BE: targeted regulatory review – regulatory roadmap. Available online at: https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/about-notre-sujet/blue-economy-economie-bleue/roadmap-feuille-route-eng.html (Accessed February 12 2026).
[11] Mak, L.M., Ross, M., Noonan-Birch, R., Singh, G.G., & Cisneros‐Montemayor, A.M. (2025). From ambiguity to action: a framework for assessing ocean-based projects in Canada’s Blue Economy. Frontiers in Marine Science.
[12] Ota Y, Singh GG, Clark T, Schutter MS, Swartz W, Cisneros-Montemayor AM (2022) Finding logic models for sustainable marine development that deliver on social equity. PLoS Biol 20(10)