ROI needs ROWE

A month ago, I (Peter Michel) found myself on a stage in a former Roman Catholic church in Ruigoord, Amsterdam.

Not as an impact investor.
Not as an entrepreneur.
Not as a speaker.

But as Father Money.

During renegade economist Kate Raworth’s wonderfully unconventional Economic CircUS at Katapult Future Fest 2026 on May 28, volunteers from the audience became characters in our economic system. I was encouraged by Nina Andersen to go on stage to represent Father Money. Standing opposite me was Mother Earth, played by Özlem Eren.

As the performance unfolded, something unexpected happened.

Father Money and Mother Earth stopped competing.

We danced together in harmony.

And at the end, I went down on one knee before Mother Earth.

The audience laughed, applauded and, perhaps without realising it, witnessed a metaphor that perfectly captured an idea I have been developing over the past year.

ROI needs ROWE (Return on Wealth for Earth).

For decades, we have become exceptionally good at measuring Return on Investment. We know how to calculate ROI down to the last decimal.

Yet the greatest wealth generator of all rarely appears on a balance sheet.

Mother Earth.

Healthy soils.
Living forests.
Pollinators.
Clean water.
Biodiversity.
Thriving ecosystems.
Ancient wisdom.
Invisible fungal networks.
The resilience Nature quietly provides.

These create extraordinary value, yet we rarely account for it.

This is why ROWE was presented at the 5th World Systemic Forum (WSF) in FLums, Switzerland on January 16, 2026.

My belief is simple:

Financial capital and natural capital should not be opposing forces.

Like Yin and Yang, ROI and ROWE belong together.

Every investment generates a financial return. But every investment also leaves an ecological, social, often invisible footprint—positive, negative or neutral.

What if we started measuring both?

Imagine a fund earning $10 million. Instead of distributing every dollar back into the financial system, imagine if a small percentage would intentionally be returned to regenerate the ecosystems that made that prosperity possible.

Not as charity.
As stewardship.

ROWE is still a work in progress. There is no universally accepted methodology yet. Existing ESG, impact investing and social return frameworks each contribute valuable insights, but none fully capture the living wealth that Nature continuously creates.

That is why I believe the next challenge is not simply creating more metrics.

It is creating WETRICS—new ways of recognising, measuring and rewarding the wealth of the Earth itself. Wealth for Earth Tracking, Reporting and Impact Credit Systems (WETRICS) is an approach that seeks to measure and make visible forms of (often invisible) value that conventional financial metrics often leave outside the frame.

This is not about replacing ROI.

It is about completing it.

Because the healthiest economies will ultimately depend on healthy ecosystems.

Perhaps one day, every investment decision will ask two questions:

- What is/was the ROI?
- And what is/was the ROWE?

If Father Money and Mother Earth can dance together, perhaps our financial system can too.