John Holmberg

Socio-ecological Indicators for Sustainability.

A systematic framework of indicators for sustainability is presented. In our approach there is an emphasis on societal activities that affect nature and on the internal societal resource use, as opposed to environmental quality indicators. In this way the indicators may give a warning signal to an unsustainable use of resources early in the chain from causes in societal activities to environmental effects. The aim is that these socio-ecological indicators shall serve as a tool in planning and decision-making processes at various administrative levels in society. The formulation of the indicators is made with respect to four principles of sustainability, which lead to four complementary sets of indicators. The first deals with the societal use of lithospheric material. The second deals with emissions of compounds produced in society. The third set of indicators concerns societal manipulation of nature and the long-term productivity of ecosystems. Finally, the fourth set deals with the efficiency of the internal societal resource use, which includes indicators for a just distribution of resources.

Backcasting — a framework for strategic planning

Backcasting is a planning methodology that is particularly helpful when problems at hand are complex and when present trends are part of the problems. When applied in planning towards sustainability, backcasting can increase the likelihood of handling the ecologically complex issues in a systematic and coordinated way, and also to foresee certain changes, even from a self-beneficial point of view, of the market and increase the chances of a relatively strong economic performance. To that end, backcasting should be performed from a set of non-overlapping principles that are general enough to be helpful in the coordination of different sectors of society and in business, as well as to cover relevant aspects of sustainability. Such principles are helpful when developing reliable non-overlapping indicators for monitoring of the development when coordinating various measures from different sectors of the society or within individual firms with each other, and when handling trade-offs in a relevant way. Furthermore, the transition can benefit from being undertaken in a strategic step-by-step manner, by which such investments search for those that combine two qualities: (i) technical flexibility to serve as platforms for future investments in line with non-overlapping principles of sustainability, and (ii) good possibilities of giving relatively fast return on investment. This framework for planning is developed together with the Natural Step, a non-government organization, and in collaboration with a network of scientists and business. Examples are given from firms applying the framework.

A compass for sustainable development

SUMMARY The enlargement of complexity and effects of environmental problems has increased the need for a ‘compass’ to point us in the direction of sustainability. The four principles—System Conditions—which we have earlier described, along with a step-by-step approach to meet them, is such a compass. The System Conditions are first order principles for Sustainability: • they do not cover the whole area of Sustainability; • they are complementary, i.e. they do not overlap; • they are all necessary; • they are applicable at different scales and activities. The compass provides a model that does not only imply restrictions to business and policy-making, but also opportunities from a self-interest point of view. The model makes it possible to foresee changes regarding demands and costs on the future market. A number of business corporations and municipalities apply the compass as a guiding tool to the future market, asking the following strategic questions for each of the System Conditions: Does this measure ...

The ecological footprint from a systems perspective of sustainability

Summary The Ecological Footprint (EF) is a method for estimating the biologically productive area necessary to support current consumption patterns, given prevailing technical and economic processes. By comparing human impact with the planets limited bioproductive area. this method tests a basic ecological condition for sustainability. The ecological footprint has gained popularity for its pedagogical strength as it expresses the results of its analysis in spatial units that can easily be communicated. Many EF estimates have been performed on a global, national and sulrnationallevel. In this paper. we review the method and critically assess it from a sustainability perspective based on first order principles. We examine: • Which aspects of sustainability are already covered by existing EF assessments; • Which further aspects ofsustainability could be made accountable through the EF (such as areas needed to assimilate waste streams that are not yet accounted for in present assessments); and • Those aspect...

Embedding sustainability in higher education through interaction with lecturers: Case studies from three European technical universities

In this paper, three universities compare their work on the integration of sustainable development into their educational programmes. The purpose is to show examples of how this can be done and to illustrate important generalised success factors. Methods used to achieve embedding of sustainability in curricula through individual interaction with teachers and other actors are described. The three universities are all technical universities with relatively high ambitions for their activities in relation to sustainable development.

Material constraints for thin-film solar cells

Harnessing solar energy by using photovoltaic cells has the potential to become a major CO2-free energy source. Materials requirements for the solar cells based on four types of thin-film photovoltaics have been estimated and compared with global reserves, resources and annual refining. The use of solar cells based on Cd, Ga, Ge, In, Ru, Se and Te as a major energy-supply technology has severe resource constraints. Other systems such as a-Si without Ge and crystalline silicon do not involve such constraints. For some of these metals, there is the risk of enhanced, environmentally deleterious concentrations in the ecosphere due to leakage from manufacturing, use or waste handling.

On Designing Socio-Ecological Indicators

There is a need for indicators which capture the essential parts of society in the maladjustments of its physical relations to nature. The socio-ecological indicators should contribute to the control mechanisms that are urgently needed if society is to be able to redirect itself to a path of development which is subordinated to sustainable interactions with nature. An analysis of various factors important to the design of socio-ecological indicators is performed here. An important aspect of the socio-ecological indicators is that they will focus on parts situated early in the cause-effect chain. This implies better possibilities for foresights when dealing with the global, complex or diffuse problems in connection to sustainability. The indicators can be useful in many situations: as a support for discussions among decision-makers and the general public, as part of an environmental impact analysis, and as a tool in the evaluation of various plans or projects.

Defining the Generational Environmental Debt.

Assume that we have borrowed the Earth from our children, and that we one day shall give it back to them and account for what we have done to it. Then we would have to try to restore the damages we have caused. Further, we would have to offer compensation for the damages we have done that we cannot repair at a lower cost. The generational environmental debt (GED) is a measure of these cost. In this paper we define and discuss the concept of GED and calculate GED for emissions of the greenhouse gas CO 2 . The global GED for CO 2 emissions is estimated to 1.2.10 13 USD and the Swedish GED for CO 2 emissions is estimated in 60 billion USD.

The university and transformation towards sustainability: The strategy used at Chalmers University of Technology

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the strategy used for achieving change towards sustainability at Chalmers University of Technology (Chalmers). Examples of how this strategy has been used are described and discussed, and exemplified with different lines of activities in a project on Education for Sustainable Development, the ESD project. Design/methodology/approach - The strategy consists of three important building blocks: Create a neutral arena; Build on individual engagement and involvement; and Communicate a clear commitment from the management team. The analysis is made along three different lines of activities in. the ESD project: The work to improve the quality of the compulsory courses on sustainable development; The efforts to integrate ESD into educational programmes; and The work to collect and spread information on good teaching practices within ESD. Some other related examples where the strategy has been applied are also presented. Findings - The ESD project functioned as a neutral arena since it was not placed at any specific department but rather engaged participants from many departments. This neutral arena has been important, for example, to increase the willingness of teachers to share their good teaching examples. The process was successful in creating a shared responsibility and for starting learning processes in many individuals by the involvement of a broad range of educational actors at Chalmers. The strong and clear commitment from the management team has worked as a driving force. Originality/value - This paper can provide valuable input to universities that struggle with change processes.

Explaining the Variation in Greenhouse Gas Emissions between Households: Socioeconomic, Motivational, and Physical Factors

Consumption-accounted greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (GHGEs) vary considerably between households. Research originating from different traditions, including consumption research, urban planning, and environmental psychology, have studied different types of explanatory variables and provided different insights into this matter. This study integrates explanatory variables from different fields of research in the same empirical material, including socioeconomic variables (income, household size, sex, and age), motivational variables (proenvironmental attitudes and social norms), and physical variables (dwelling types and geographical distances). A survey was distributed to 2,500 Swedish households with a response rate of 40%. GHGEs were estimated for transport, residential energy, food, and other consumption, using data from both the survey and registers, such as odometer readings of cars and electricity consumption from utility providers. The results point toward the importance of explanatory variables that have to do with circumstances rather than motivations for proenvironmental behaviors. Net income was found to be the most important variable to explain GHGEs, followed by the physical variables, dwelling type, and the geographical distance index. The results also indicate that social norms around GHG-intensive activities, for example, transport, may have a larger impact on a subjects emission level than proenvironmental attitudes.