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For the past decade, a groundbreaking law has required all public bodies in Wales to consider the long-term impact of their decisions. A new report detailing the legislation’s successes and shortcomings to date could help guide other nations that are considering a similar approach.
The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, which marked its 10-year milestone last week, has received “strong support” across the public sector, according to the assessment.
There has been “a fundamental shift in how Welsh Government and public bodies operate,” with dedicated sustainable development teams and new decision-making processes aligned with the Act’s seven wellbeing goals.
Notable achievements in recent years include introducing free school meals for primary pupils (29% of children in Wales live in poverty), and a “new, progressive school curriculum with an emphasis on mental health and developing well-rounded, ethically informed citizens.”
Prosperity is now measured on wellbeing rather than GDP, which has led to the promotion of cooperative and social business models, the report says. Wales has also reduced its direct carbon emissions by 27% since 2015, and is the second-best country in the world for recycling.
The law gives substantial powers to the independent Future Generations commissioner — the so-called “guardian” of future generations.
The first person to hold this role, Sophie Howe, intervened to prevent the government from spending £1.4 billion on a 14-mile additional stretch of motorway, with the money invested instead in public transport infrastructure and initiatives aimed at encouraging physical activity.
However, last week’s report raises concerns in many areas. The current commissioner, Derek Walker, says policymakers must “move faster [and] go further.”
Walker warns that inequality and the environmental crisis threaten the wellbeing of today’s young people and those not yet born. Wales also faces declining trust in public institutions, underinvestment in public services and in preventative healthcare, and an ongoing failure to prioritise culture.
“Without urgent action, we’d be on track for an unrecognisable future, where the choices we have before us today are taken away, or made more difficult than we could ever imagine,” Walker says.
Among its 50 recommendations, the report calls for a legally binding target for nature recovery, a long-term plan to improve food security, and plans within two years by every public body to pay a real living wage.
A separate report by the Wales Audit Office, also published last week, similarly finds that the new law is not yet driving the system-wide change intended.
An ancient concept with renewed momentum
Future thinking is not new: Indigenous communities have long practised “seven-generation” stewardship — considering seven generations ahead in their decisions — and the Future Generations Commission of Wales says it was inspired by the practices of First Nations Iroquois.
But the concept is gaining significant momentum around the world. Other countries, including Hungary and New Zealand, have introduced mechanisms to consider future generations in recent years. In 2024, governments at the UN assembly agreed a ‘Pact for the Future’, with plans for a special envoy for future generations. The European Union also appointed its first commissioner for ‘intergenerational fairness’.
Even some businesses are reconsidering their way of working. House of Hackney, a London interiors company, has a board member who represents ‘Mother Nature and future generations’. Private organisations in Wales are not covered by the Future Generations legislation, but a handful, including the Football Association, are aligning their corporate strategies with the Act, according to the commissioner’s report.
The idea appeals across the political spectrum, according to Elizabeth Dirth from the Germany/Belgium-based Zoe Institute for Future-Fit Economies.
“In a world where there’s very few things left which are not incredibly polarising… future-generations framing is a unifying force,” said Dirth, speaking at a conference last November. EU-level adoption of the concept of “intergenerational fairness”, which was barely on the agenda until recently, had been “incredibly fast”, she added.
Progress in sustainable development requires much more than new laws, experts note. “It’s about fostering culture change, building trust and providing the right resources. Achieving these changes takes time and collaboration,” writes researcher Eleanor MacKillop.
