Diego Antonio Bittencourt Marconatto

Coming out the sustainable development trench: a new perspective for analysis and decision in sustainability

ABSTRACT The sustainable development is entrenched. Your field is characterized by con-flicting visions and interests that provide feedback for its fragmentation in two main ideological groups which oppose one another. In one trench are the bio-centered, who advocate for the prioritization of natural resources preservation over socio-economic systems; the other trench is occupied by the antropocente-red, moved by the belief that Nature exists to serve men and that market growth and technological evolution are enough to create sustainability. This loggerheads makes more difficult to construct a common vision for sustainable development, what results in slow advancement, if not in regress for a bigger equilibrium between economy, society and environment all over the world. Then there is the necessity to reduce the gap between these two vision, so that will make room for actions and politics towards a viable sustainable development. This paper aims: to propose a new conceptual perspective for sustainable analyses and decision, which allows a closer approach of both visions. From a “general map”, where we track biocentered and antropocentered actors in opposite fields, we begin the construction of the conceptual model. The industrial ecology perspective is integrated to the stakeholders theory and to the Mauerhofer’s (2008) 3-D sustai-nability for the construction of it, which is conceived to reflect instrinsic sustaina-ble development characteristics and it works as a closed circuit, retrofitted. This model fulfills this paper’s objective and is its main contribuition. We suggest the following advancements: 1. the model operation development and its ulterior application over the biocentered and antropocentered main demands, present in the diverse discussion forums; and 2. the model adaptation to specific industries.

Saliendo de la trinchera del desarrollo sostenible: un nuevo modelo para el análisis y la decisión sostenible

ABSTRACT The sustainable development is entrenched. Your field is characterized by con-flicting visions and interests that provide feedback for its fragmentation in two main ideological groups which oppose one another. In one trench are the bio-centered, who advocate for the prioritization of natural resources preservation over socio-economic systems; the other trench is occupied by the antropocente-red, moved by the belief that Nature exists to serve men and that market growth and technological evolution are enough to create sustainability. This loggerheads makes more difficult to construct a common vision for sustainable development, what results in slow advancement, if not in regress for a bigger equilibrium between economy, society and environment all over the world. Then there is the necessity to reduce the gap between these two vision, so that will make room for actions and politics towards a viable sustainable development. This paper aims: to propose a new conceptual perspective for sustainable analyses and decision, which allows a closer approach of both visions. From a “general map”, where we track biocentered and antropocentered actors in opposite fields, we begin the construction of the conceptual model. The industrial ecology perspective is integrated to the stakeholders theory and to the Mauerhofer’s (2008) 3-D sustai-nability for the construction of it, which is conceived to reflect instrinsic sustaina-ble development characteristics and it works as a closed circuit, retrofitted. This model fulfills this paper’s objective and is its main contribuition. We suggest the following advancements: 1. the model operation development and its ulterior application over the biocentered and antropocentered main demands, present in the diverse discussion forums; and 2. the model adaptation to specific industries.