Under the stewardship of Prof Dr Dr Dr h.c. Ulrich Hemel, the global “Inclusive Development” project with its “Inclusivity Index” has been developed over the past two years. The aim is a holistic approach to development that takes equal account of economic, social, ecological and ethical aspects.
A specialist article by Hemel was recently published in the ‘Jahrbuch Nachhaltige Ökonomie’ (2025). In the meantime, the World Federation of Christian Business Associations has taken up the project. A workshop with Mexican economic experts is planned in order to further disseminate the approach and apply it in practice.
To date, key dimensions of development have primarily been measured using global indicators: the carbon footprint, the Gini coefficient, gross domestic product or Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. The project is now aiming for the next step: application in companies. Instruments such as the ethics rating developed at the Global Ethic Institute, social impact analyses and environmental assessments are intended to help make companies measurably more sustainable and responsible.
A signal of the project’s global ambition is now coming from South America: USIL University in Lima (Peru) has created two positions to support the implementation on site. This shows that the ‘Inclusivity Index’ is not just a theoretical model – but a possible building block for a global social strategy with local relevance.
