There is an urgent need to have leaders who are able to strategically transition society towards

sustainability. Evidence shows that challenges are mounting up and become increasingly

complex. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) aims to educate leaders to become

competent to lead within the sustainability challenge we are facing. This thesis explores how

leadership education can prepare teachers to become leaders to enable Strategic Sustainable

Development (SSD). Based on interviews with ESD experts, the research team identified eight

key competencies for leaders to enable Strategic Sustainable Development and eight

pedagogical approaches to train such competencies. In addition to that, the research team

analyzed how the case study organization Teach for Austria (TFA) integrates the identified key

competencies and pedagogical approaches. Recommendations are provided indicating TFA’s

opportunities regarding a more thorough integration of the key competencies and pedagogical

approaches into their leadership education. These recommendations were then made relevant

to the broader leadership education context to prepare teachers to lead. The main outcomes of

this thesis intend to serve as a guidance to enable leadership the world needs.

Global urbanization trends and climate changes result in a significant pressure for a future development of urban areas. The construction industry can play a primary role in addressing some of the challenges, but in order to make it happen, the phases of design, construction, use and deconstructio of a building should meet the criteria of sustainability. The closed loop approach can help the construction industry to move in the right direction. 

This thesis analysis the closed loop approach to identify its potential contribution in solving the sustainability challenges in urban areas, as well as explores the key aspects helping or hindering the implementation of the approach. The methods used for the research include the framework for strategic sustainable development, case study analysis and interviews with experts in the field.

The research exposed several gaps in the use of the approach moving towards sustainability, mainly due to the fact that the unique and shared definition of it is missing and neither actions nor tools are suggested for a successful implementation of the approach. Main barriers are related to the material choice, flexibility of the design, communication and legislation aspects, work with supply chain and interaction with stakeholders. Nonetheless most of them are also seen as potential enablers. Recommendations are provided to help overcoming the existing barriers and valorizing the key enablers, but the clear definition of the approach is necessary to exploit potentialitie of the closed loop approach.  

A company cannot be more sustainable than its supply chain. Given their complexity and the need for collaborative, strategic action for sustainability across supplier networks this research takes a systems perspective to answer, “How can a Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) lens support supplier network collaboration towards sustainability?”.The application of the SSD lens includes mapping barriers and enablers to collaboration for sustainability found in literature and a case company along with the Five-Level Model (5LM) to which we add complex adaptive system elements. Based on this a thematic analysis of the barriers and enablers is performed paper presents results of the 5LM and thematic analysis, finding that taking an SSD perspective shows interconnections across the multiple enablers and barriers to collaboration. The challenges encountered during 5LM along with the results implications for the Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) academic field and practitioners are discussed. We conclude that the variety and complexity of barriers and enablers for collaboration make it important to approach sustainability strategically across the supplier network. The SSD perspective supports collaboration for sustainability by providing an opportunity to examine it from a systems perspective and to formulate prescriptive considerations for the case company and guiding questions for SSCM practitioners.

The sustainability challenge is a complex interplay of interconnected challenges that requires an integrated and systemic approach. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are seen as a key tool for addressing such challenges but are currently not mainstreaming and scaling to the landscape level. The emerging leadership practice of Weaving is believed to help cohere fragmented change-making efforts and increase the adaptive capacity and resilience of socio-ecological systems. However, scientific research on NbS and Weaving is scarce and studies on their intersection are non-existent. 

To investigate how Weaving practices could foster the conditions for scaling NbS to the landscape level, rapid literature reviews and semi-structured interviews were conducted with academic experts, Weaving practitioners, and grass-root entrepreneurs. On this basis, two conceptual frameworks were iteratively developed that serve as a basis for two practical toolkits. They comprise (1) seven barriers and nine enablers for scaling NbS to the landscape level and (2) a Weaving working definition and five core Weaving practices. 

There are indications that Weaving practices have the potential to address several of the barriers and enablers for scaling NbS if approached with a systematic lens. Ultimately, interconnected challenges, such as barriers and enablers to scaling NbS, require interwoven approaches as provided by Weaving. 

Our unsustainable way of living has created a precondition for the emergence of more and new illnesses, jeopardizing the overall health of society. The Swedish healthcare system faces complex challenges that threaten its ability to live up to its obligations as stated in the law. It is proven that leaders in public organisations can have a substantial function in leading towards sustainability. Leadership competencies have a big role to play in that journey.This thesis explores the complex challenges administration leaders in the healthcare sector of two Swedish public organisations – Region Blekinge and Västra Götalandsregionen face when it comes to sustainability. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development is used to analyse the complexity and the sustainability within the study’s context. The Framework of Sustainability Research and Problem-solving Competence is utilized to understand the application, the relevance of the key competencies in sustainability in leadership, as well as the barriers in applying them, to deal with challenges. The conclusions are based on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The results show the need for all key competencies, with biggest emphasis being put on systems thinking, interpersonal, intrapersonal and implementation. The findings reveal potential enablers and barriers for the organisations in moving society towards sustainability.

This master thesis explores the shifting paradigm in conservation, moving away from the myth behind the preservationist approach that separates humans from nature towards a more inclusive conservationist approach. The study focuses on the role of Indigenous Peoples in this evolving paradigm and examines factors that influence their ability to participate in and influence conservation debates and policies. The research draws on qualitative exploratory methods, including interviews with Indigenous Peoples and experts in the conservation field. Thirteen factors emerged from the thematic analysis, namely: legal recognition, law enforcement, political representation, awareness, external support, community building, capacity-building, connection across Indigenous communities, economic inclusion, public attention, protests, advocacy, and intimidation. The findings emphasize the need for a systemic and inclusive approach to conservation policymaking that incorporates cultural diversity and respects the rights, perspectives and agency of Indigenous Peoples. Ultimately, the conservationist approach, and particularly the effective inclusion of cultural diversity in conservation debates and policies, can enhance society's capacity to protect and sustain natural resources and biodiversity for current and future generations, aiding our sustainability journey in its ecological and social sides.

The Paris Agreement, the recent Special Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the Sustainable Development Goals are examples of United Nation’s facilitated calls for urgent climate action and more generally for a rapid transition of society towards sustainability. Since urban personal mobility is a significant contributor to society’s current sustainability challenges, and considering current trends of population growth and urbanisation, there is a strong need to develop enhanced support for urban planning for rapid transitioning to sustainable personal mobility.

This thesis is part of a wider effort to develop methodological support for such planning and action. The aim of the thesis is to provide a partial foundation for that wider effort by: (i) identifying and organising prominent research themes related to the above topic; and since previous research points to benefits of a transdisciplinary, multisectoral and multicultural approach, (ii) exploring and addressing the complexity of co-production processes in such contexts; and (iii) analysing the appropriateness of some prominent planning approaches for the desired planning support.

The aim is pursued through a systematic literature review, including bibliometric analyses, and two empirical case studies, including workshops, interviews, field studies and feasibility studies. One of the case studies included participants from several countries in the Southern Baltic region and the other case study tested the usefulness of different planning approaches in the local context of Kisumu, Kenya and Gothenburg, Sweden, respectively.

The thesis provides a map of some prominent research themes and discusses their relevance to the field of urban planning for rapid transitioning to sustainable personal mobility. The analysis of the identified themes and their development over the past ten years shows that there has been a shift in mobility planning from ’predict and provide’ towards participatory visionary approaches. This, in turn, has led to new challenges, related to, for example, epistemic communities, language and culture. Furthermore, it is seen that sustainability considerations have become increasingly pronounced in the urban mobility planning literature. However, different dimensions of sustainability are often considered individually (e.g. the ecological and social dimensions) and coordinated approaches to sustainable mobility planning are virtually lacking.

At the methodological level, the thesis provides a preliminary conceptual framework for analysing complexity in co-production processes with regard to epistemic communities, language and culture, as well as a discussion of the usefulness of four specific planning approaches for the desired planning support, namely the backcasting, transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge, foresighting and SymbioCity approaches.

The overall conclusion is that there is a need for research that would show how mobility actors can contribute to resolve pressing issues related to climate change fast enough without compromising other aspects of sustainability, including how temporary trade-offs can be addressed in a strategic way.

Sustainability related challenges in mobility planning have been recognised at the international level and the urgency for change has been widely discussed among scholars. However, there seems to be no general agreement on the best ways of pursuing such change. To seek answers to the question of how to pursue change, this study analysed the development of the broad research fields of mobility, urban planning and transitions, and the overlap of these bodies of literature. Both academic and non-academic literatures were covered. By means of a systematic literature review, as well as bibliometric studies, several prominent research themes that address change from planning and transition perspectives were identified. Moreover, these themes describe different viewpoints and challenges in mobility planning. These include planning and policy for sustainable mobility and accessibility, backcasting and scenario planning, indicators in planning, modes of transport, decision-making, studies of global North and global South, as well as overarching themes of equity, equality and justice, roles of institutions, and co-production of knowledge. Strategies for staying up to date with these fields were also identified. In the literature covered, the temporal dimension in mobility planning was described in four different ways, but little was found about how accelerated transitions towards sustainable mobility can be achieved. Further knowledge gaps were identified in relation to behavioural change, policy development, institutionalisation of planning capacity and social sustainability in mobility planning. This created an outline for possible future studies.

The goal of this thesis is to understand how the Biomimicry Toolbox (BT), a practical tool for applying biomimicry, currently supports strategic thinking in order to create sustainable solutions. A pragmatic qualitative research approach was used, in which the BT was analysed through the lens of the Five Level Framework (5LF), a tool for planning and analysing in complex systems and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, the application of the 5LF for sustainability endeavours. Interviews were conducted with people experienced with the BT. Results show that the BT has several aspects of strategic thinking. It supports the application of a systems perspective, provides a success goal to move towards and offers tools for a strategic process to follow. The authors conclude that the BT could benefit from including understanding of the patterns and structures of the social system in relation with the earth system. Also, it can benefit from including a section on upstream thinking helping users of the BT consider root causes. Lastly, it could benefit from a strategic approach for evaluating how sustainable solutions are and include a simple and clear prioritisation process. The improvements can make the BT more impactful in supporting societies transition towards sustainability.

Describing novel ideas and solutions that more effectively meet people’s needs than existing products, processes, or structures, social innovation (SI) is a promising concept to address the pressing issues of the sustainability challenge that society faces. Social innovation education (SIE) is a recent field in higher education that has gained attention regarding its potential contribution to sustainable development (SD); as such, SIE is nested within the system of education for sustainable development (ESD). The Sustainability Competencies Framework (SCF) suggests key competencies that equip students for work in SD. This thesis assesses the presence of sustainability competencies in SIE programs to provide insights on how SIE can strategically contribute to SD. A global sample of ten SIE programs has been qualitatively investigated; the findings map the content and pedagogies within the programs and provide recommendations for curriculum design that successfully teaches key sustainability competencies. Following a strategic approach for SD, the researchers take the nested system of ESD into consideration and suggest a science-based definition of sustainability across the diversity of programs to facilitate a common discourse and mutual contributions for successful education. The research addresses both educators and institutions of SIE and ESD programs.

Society is on an unsustainable course, predicted to reach a tipping point where greenhouse gas emissions cause irreversible consequences. The cement industry is estimated to be responsible for 7% of the global CO2 emissions, but remains an essential part of building safe and affordable infrastructure for an urbanising and growing population. It is imperative that the industry urgently transitions to a more sustainable pathway. As a key stakeholder, the construction industry could play a role in this. This paper looks at the sustainability of the cement production process from a systems perspective and how the construction industry can help leverage change, using the FSSD and Meadows’ (1999) leverage points as a framework. An analysis of the cement production method against the misalignments with the FSSD Sustainability Principles was performed, as well as a document content analysis of the WBCSD 2018 roadmap for the cement industry. We also conducted 9 semi-structured interviews with experts in the cement and construction industry. Results showed that while CO2 emissions are the biggest challenge for the industry, change will not happen fast enough while a number of structural barriers prevent this. These barriers, their potential solutions and leverage points within the construction industry are discussed.