PILLAR 3 | ECONOMY For Businesses
Economy refers to the full spectrum of productive, commercial, service, and administrative activities that generate income, create employment, drive innovation, and sustain national prosperity. It encompasses every form of organizational and enterprise activity — state or private, for-profit or non-profit, formal or informal — that contributes to the creation, distribution, and reinvestment of value within society. The economy transforms resources into goods and services, enables trade and commerce, advances knowledge and technology, and maintains the infrastructure and institutions that support everyday life across rural and urban communities.
In the FUTURITALIA framework, the Economy pillar is organized into six sectors: Primary Sector – Resource Economy, covering water, land, energy resources, forestry, agriculture, minerals, aquatic resources, and terrestrial fauna; Secondary Sector – Industrial Economy, covering processing, manufacturing, biomanufacturing, construction, energy generation, treatment, and resource recovery; Tertiary Sector – Service Economy, covering twenty categories of commercial, technical, social, and operational services; Quaternary Sector – Knowledge & Technology Economy, covering research and development, technology, and biotechnology; Quinary Sector – Public Economy, covering national, regional, and local governments and other public authorities and agencies; and Senary Sector – Non-Profit Economy, covering independent non-profit organizations serving public-benefit and community missions.
Together, these sectors describe the different ways organizations produce, distribute, develop, and reinvest economic value. Within this FUTURITALIA classification, the primary activity distinguishes the resource, industrial, service, and knowledge economies, while public ownership or control and an independent non-profit mandate distinguish the public and non-profit economies. This approach helps avoid counting the same organization in multiple sectors solely because its services overlap with another sector.
Economic Sectors
This pillar encompasses six sectors. Select a card below to review its definition, key characteristics, and examples.
The Primary Sector – Resource Economy covers the responsible access, cultivation, harvesting, and extraction of natural resources. Its activities span water, land, energy resources, forestry, agriculture, minerals, aquatic resources, and terrestrial fauna. It provides food, water-related resources, fuels, and raw materials used throughout the economy. This sector emphasizes resource availability, productive use, environmental responsibility, and the sustainable management of natural systems.
The Secondary Sector – Industrial Economy covers the transformation of resources and intermediate inputs into products, energy, and constructed assets. Its activities include resource processing and refining, manufacturing, biomanufacturing, construction, energy generation, treatment and finishing, and resource recovery. Through industrial facilities, equipment, technical expertise, and skilled labour, the sector supports productive capacity, domestic supply chains, infrastructure delivery, material reuse, and industrial competitiveness.
The Tertiary Sector – Service Economy covers the delivery, distribution, operation, maintenance, and support of services for people, businesses, and institutions. Its activities span commerce, transport, real estate, accommodation, hospitality, tourism, entertainment, finance, professional and technical services, communications, digital operations, utilities, waste management, education, healthcare, care, and gaming services. The sector enables access to established services and everyday economic activity rather than primarily extracting resources or manufacturing goods.
The Quaternary Sector – Knowledge & Technology Economy covers the creation of new knowledge and the development of advanced technologies. Its activities are organized around research and development, technology, and biotechnology. Through scientific investigation, experimentation, engineering, and innovation, organizations develop new methods, products, systems, and intellectual property. This sector is distinguished from the routine provision, maintenance, or commercial distribution of established technologies and services.
The Quinary Sector – Public Economy covers institutions and organizations exercising public authority or operating under government control and mandate. It encompasses national government, regional government, local government, and other public authorities and agencies. These bodies provide administration, regulation, public services, and publicly directed operations across economic activities. Classification is based on institutional control and public mandate, not solely on whether an organization charges fees or generates revenue.
The Senary Sector – Non-Profit Economy covers independent organizations whose primary purpose is to advance social, charitable, civic, cultural, environmental, or other public-benefit missions rather than distribute profits to private owners. It includes non-profit organizations that use donations, grants, membership contributions, and service revenue to sustain their activities. Surpluses are generally reinvested in their missions, supporting community services, participation, and collective well-being.