Date Time ‘Ecosystem measure’ designed to address shortcomings of GDP approved by UN GEP was developed by a global team of researchers including Professor Bateman from the University of Exeter Business School A new way of measuring economic growth that reveals the enormous value of the natural world has been officially approved by the United Nations. Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP), pioneered by a global research team including from the University of Exeter Business School, is designed to address the shortcomings of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the highest profile measure of economic growth in the world. GEP reveals how nature contributes to economic activity and human wellbeing and whether the natural environment is being run down as a means of expanding the value of all goods and services bought and sold in a country – which is assessed by GDP.