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The aim of this paper is to propose a basis upon which accounting reporting can be developed to reflect real values and the real economy. It aims to address the environmental considerations discussed in the UN debate (Bebbington and Unerman, 2020) and the concern for a “better life-world”, which is the theme of this special issue.

Addressing the task involves the application of the philosophy of pragmatic constructivism (which explains how people can relate to their reality in ways that lead to successful action) and the philosophical concept of the “good life” (which establishes the values to be pursued through action and so defines action success). Also, it outlines the necessary characteristics of measurement frameworks if they are to be effective in the development and control of human practices to achieve desired values.

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for guiding the measurement of how a sustainable good life has improved and/or deteriorated as a result of organisational activities. It outlines a system of concepts on basic and instrumental values for analysing the condition of maintaining a sustainable good life in real terms. This is related to the financial results and societal regulations to analyse and adjust controls according to the real economic goals. Also, it provides a system of value measurands to produce valid information about the development of a sustainable good life. The measurand makes accounting reporting reflect the conditions of the good life that constitute the real economy instead of merely the financial economy driven by shareholder capitalism. Providing tools to analyse whether the existing practices of business and social regulations promote or counteract the real economic goals of producing a sustainable good life means the measurement system proposed makes the invisible hand of the market visible.

The mechanism proposed to enable accounting reporting to reflect real values and the real economy is a new conceptual framework that will allow accounting to more fully realise its potential to contribute to a “better world”. In aiming to serve a sustainable good life, accounting reporting will inherently foster ethical social practices.

Educational institutions have a special social responsibility to initiate processes of sustainability transformation in society, nevertheless, activities that effectively address students as well as employees are rather moderate. To initiate change alongside strategic and political decisions, this paper aims to present findings of a gamification intervention (hereafter referred to as climate duel), which was implemented in a field study and tested to assess its potential as a supporting and transformative approach in a university context.

A three-month field study was conducted with two universities of applied sciences. The study included an environmental impact analysis of the two participating university departments, the conception and testing of the intervention and associated surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in order to and to obtain feedback that would allow the duel to be scaled up at other universities or institutions.

Three hundred seventy-five people took part and saved 2.6 tons of greenhouse gas emissions through their participation in the climate duel and their corresponding behavioural changes. In addition, feedback from the participants yielded positive results in terms of behavioural changes and generated valuable evidence for future implementations. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement, especially in terms of supporting communication activities that promote social relatedness to motivate each other, share experiences or deal with implementation difficulties in everyday life.

Building on the promising effects of gamification, the study is a showcase for applied science. With the possibility of testing a theory-based intervention in practice, an implementable, effective and scalable measure for universities that helps to accelerate the transformation process is available.