Gaya Herrington

Gaya Herrington is an internationally recognized sustainability researcher and well-being economist, and member of the Club of Rome. She holds master’s degrees in econometrics and sustainability from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Harvard University, and became known for her influential 2021 study ‘Update to limits to growth’ in Yale’s Journal of Industrial Ecology and her subsequent book Five Insights for Avoiding Global Collapse (2022), which reignited global discussion on sustainability and economic limits. Her TED Talk ‘Will the end of economic growth come by design — or disaster?’ in 2024 reached over half a million views. Herrington calls for a transformation of economic systems, from a system obsessed with perpetual growth to an economy that centers around human and ecological well-being, meeting all human needs — physical, emotional, and spiritual — within planetary boundaries. Herrington serves as vice president at Schneider Electric, named the world’s most sustainable corporation by Time (2024).