Abstract: This thesis argues that taking a strategic sustainable development (SSD) approach to conflict resolution in areas of the world in long-term intractable conflict with intermittent violence could support an effective process and lasting outcome. SSD proposes a holistic systems perspective and decision-making framework to address challenges and opportunities at the largest scale, including identifying root causes and drivers of the conflict as well as finding common ground internally and externally. The currently unbalanced dynamics between the two fundaments of sustainability, a robust ecosystem and social fabric, are the basis of deeply unsustainable patterns of behaviour which are often also at the heart of conflicts. Socio-ecological unsustainability can be both a threat, and an opportunity for resolution and social change. The framework offers a proven way of organizing, evaluating and using tools that can aid in dealing with sustainability issues constructively, and evidence is presented to suggest its usage can be extended to conflict issues. This thesis analyzes the links between sustainability, strategic sustainable development and conflict resolution work in the areas of conflict described, and proposes a set of guidelines for approaching conflict resolution with SSD.

This thesis analyses how public decision-makers can rapidly and sustainably decarbonise their regions, considering the challenge that promoting timely decarbonisation represents. The research was divided into three phases and developed using desk studies and interviews with Project Drawdown (PD) experts, Swedish public officials and researchers. In phase one, PD solutions showed a shortcoming in sustainable operationalisation of global decarbonisation solutions. It was found that they alone could not account for sustainability, and that there is dependency on the context of application and on decision-making processes. In phase two, it was found that sustainability could be embedded in decision-making for decarbonisation through decision support. In the Blekinge example case, several challenges were found, for which sustainable decision support was needed. To respond to this challenge, a Decision Support tool (DST) was created, based on multi-criteria decision analysis. This three-step generic tool provides a relevance assessment to prove the suitability of decarbonisation solutions in the given context, a sustainability assessment to address sustainability challenges, and a prioritisation step for strategic decision-making. The tool was validated to be useful by Swedish policymakers and by international experts. This DST has the potential to support policy-making around the world to decarbonise regions rapidly and sustainably.

Focus on municipal level planning has increased in the recent years. Municipal governments are primarily responsible for such planning and they do have the biggest responsibility of driving the entire municipality towards sustainability. In this research project we provide a study on some of the gaps and challenges in the current procedures faced by a few municipalities within Southeast Sweden with respect to Energy and climate change planning and implementation. It was observed that the current engagement practices, communication, and alignment of goals could potentially hinder the municipality from achieving the overall goals of sustainability. Furthermore, a complementing facilitating platform was suggested that would give municipal governments an opportunity to intervene and address some of these gaps and challenges to establish structure and control on activities, towards a sustainable municipality.

It is a growing belief that transitioning towards sustainable cities requires a wide citizen engagement, yet many local governments are not able to define how citizen engagement should be done. This research was conducted to assess municipalities’ effort in engaging citizens when working for sustainability. This study focuses on creating a strategic guide for municipalities to use when engaging citizens to work with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A systemic analysis approach was selected to examine the SDGs through the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, followed by a Value Stream Analysis for the SDGs. Then a mapping method used, where each SDG was linked to a level of citizen engagement on Arnstein’s ladder for citizen engagement (1969). A group interview for practitioners was held in Karlskrona Municipality in Sweden for an evaluation purpose. The results revealed a risk of misalignment for some SDGs, a relational matrix map was created where each SDG was related to a level of Arnstein’s ladder in a graphic visual, which can be used by the municipality as guide to choose the level of engagement for each SDG. A set of insights were revealed concerning the enablers and barriers for citizen engagement in municipal context.

There is an overall consensus that the poor governance and corruption plaguing many developing nations are main inhibitors to progress. These inhibitors also lead to the overwhelming feelings of desperation, apathy, and determinism. International development assistance programs utilizing capacity building have been created to deal with sustainable development issues in the developing world. Often these programs are fragmented and address results, not the causes, of problems. This study assesses how existing community development approaches could be aided through a strategic sustainable development perspective. A majority of the research involved creation of a holistic innovative community development approach, which encourages transformational change and effective leadership, and comparison of that to an existing community development approach. Strengths and limitations were observed through this comparison and generic recommendations were created to support current approaches. The study found that existing development assistance strategies are effective at building capacity and helping communities, but encompassing a more holistic perspective could align planning and decision-making with socio-ecological sustainability and thereby support mid- and long-term progress.

Institutions of higher educations (IHE), particularly universities, have a significant role to play in the global transformation to socio-ecological sustainability. This study focuses on the strategic planning efforts of one university, the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand where The Natural Step Framework (TNSF) is being used to develop a pan-University Sustainability Plan. Drawing upon the triple helix model of university-government-industry interactions for knowledge creation, and integrating principles of education for sustainable development into strategic organizational learning and change processes within higher education, this study suggests that advocates for sustainability within IHE can use the TNSF to assess institutional barriers and communicate specific opportunities in order to institutionalize strategic sustainable development and promote socio-ecological innovation.

This thesis started with the discovery that in Sweden, about 70% of wool, a valuable material, is wasted in 2017. In recent years, a local value chain in Sweden has gained momentum to increase the use of Swedish wool as a circular and sustainable fibre for the textile industry in the country. This thesis aimed at suggesting a strategic approach to strengthen the Swedish wool value chain. To do so, we used the leverage points framework as a systems thinking lens to uncover system dynamics and assess what is most needed in the system through semi-structured interviews. Then, a systematic literature review was conducted to uncover interventions contributing to sustainable transformations in the global wool value chain and suggest a strategic approach for the Swedish case. The key leverage point that emerged as a result of the research is enhancing the capacity to self-organise as a system, which can happen through increasing collaboration, fostering a structure for learning and flows of information. The strategic intervention that we suggested is to establish a ‘connector’ in the system in order to facilitate underway projects as well as collaboration in a national perspective to develop and expand the use of Swedish wool.

This thesis aims to investigate what strategic guidance can be given to design transformative ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) programs in order to bring about the necessary shift away from our dominating mechanistic and transmissive educational model towards one that is transformative. ESD programs are of high importance when moving towards a more sustainable society, however, a lack of a strategic, full systems approach for planning in the field of complexity can be observed. This gap can be bridged by the use of the FSSD, the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, which is used as a conceptual framework throughout this paper. The field of transformative education was researched by using a mixed-methods approach, revealing what key elements and best practices are present that enable transformation to happen. The Cocoon model presented in this paper is derived from the results and intends to give strategic guidance for program designers on how to create a transformative ESD program. It is a process model that aids program designers to create the space for transformational learning to occur by strategically putting into place the elements that are conducive to transformation.

This research started by recognizing the role that local, municipal governments can play to reach the global goal of sustainability. In addition,a municipal community must be able to cope with change and disturbance in order to successfully achieve a sustainable future. This research investigates how improving municipal resilience can be a strategy to reach sustainability, and answers the primary research question “How can planning resilience help a municipal government lead a community towards sustainability?” Research was conducted through an inter-disciplinary literature review focusing on identifying key characteristics of resilience.Other methods included diagramming exercises to identify factors which foster or undermine resilience characteristics. Finally, implementable measures where identified which municipalities can implement to improve resilience and sustainability. These measures were selected using a synergy matrix, which helps select measures which most support principles for sustainability and resilience characteristics. The feasibility and current adoption of such measures was checked through interviews with municipal experts of Swedish, Canadian and Finnish municipalities.

Adopting a Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) approach to official bilateral development assistance could result in more effective development planning that yields lasting results in developing countries. A Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development Assistance (FSSDA) based on SSD and customised to the needs of a development agency offers guidance in planning for development towards sustainability. This it does by directing donor and recipient planners in generating holistic perspectives, setting the goal of development as an attractive and sustainable society, and providing a flexible decision-making framework to guide strategic planning. Development assistance donor agencies face several difficulties in ensuring aid effectiveness. The FSSDA offers support in addressing these challenges by: positioning the creation of sustainable societies as the fundamental goal of development; allowing progress against imminent sustainability threats while minimizing the risk of unforeseen negative impacts; balancing economic, environmental and social considerations; and providing a fairer basis for aid conditionality.

All levels of society, individuals, businesses and governments, must be involved in order to reverse the unsustainable path that society is currently on. Though much has been written about what needs to be done, there is much less literature on how to do it. This study attempts to start filling this gap. This paper is focused on the Vision 2050 report which acknowledges the role businesses have in moving society towards sustainability. The Vision 2050 report which was released by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development explores the current reality business is facing and the opportunities that are available for them to incorporate sustainability into the mainstream of their business. The study examines how businesses can begin to integrate sustainability into their company’s operations and services, using the report for inspiration and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development as guidance. A suggested approach is presented in the form of an implementation guide, which can be used by business to help them navigate their organization, collaborate with others and to develop an action plan as they work to integrating sustainability into their operations

With the continued degradation of Earth’s natural resources and increasing social pressures, our global society is on a destructive trajectory. To avert societal collapse, it is crucial to halt this unsustainable path through strategic sustainable development. Educative spaces that cultivate sustainability leaders are essential in guiding this transition. Youth Empowerment Programs for Sustainability (YEPS) can play a pivotal role by fostering youth sustainability leaders. However, this field lacks a unified definition of sustainability and a coherent approach to empower youth to take action for sustainability. 

This research provides a contemporary analysis of how YEPS can enhance their effectiveness as a strategic tool for sustainable development, through analysing how YEPS foster sustainability youth leaders. The Hummingbird Framework was developed to represent the necessary conditions for youth empowerment and sustainability competencies. Using this framework, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 program directors, designers and/or facilitators and 7 youth alumni from short-term, immersive, sustainability- focused youth programs within Europe. The findings, analysed through the Hummingbird Framework show that YEPS represent a critical avenue for fostering sustainability leaders through their participatory and creative approach to sustainability, equipping young individuals with the tools and mindset necessary to drive the sustainability transition. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement to align the field of YEPS with strategic sustainable development. 

The transport sector is making slow progress towards sustainability, particularly given the urgency and scale of the sustainability challenges associated with the sector and the number of solutions that exist. This thesis uses a three-phase research methodology to identify and provide guidance to help address the barriers preventing the expansion of one of the most rapidly growing transportation alternatives: electric vehicles. The engagement of stakeholders can act as a strategic point of intervention to address these barriers and facilitate the regional market introduction of the technology. A process was therefore developed to help project management in the pre-project planning phase to address the key challenges to engagement that are commonly experienced on electric vehicle projects. The process combines a Strategic Sustainable Development approach with Best Practice for Engagement. Information was sourced from literature and interviews with experts in electric vehicles, stakeholder engagement and Strategic Sustainable Development. Initial feedback from testing the process on an electric vehicle project indicates that this guidance is timely and likely to become widely applicable on similar projects in the future.

Transport sector is an essential driver of economic development and growth, and at the same time, one of the biggest contributors to climate change, responsible for almost a quarter of the global carbon dioxide emissions. The sector is 95 percent dependent on fossil fuels. International Energy Agency (IEA) scenarios present different mixes of fuels to decrease both dependence on fossil fuels and emissions, leading to a more sustainable future. The main alternative fuels proposed in the Blue map scenario, presented in the Energy Technologies Perspective 2008, were hydrogen and second-generation ethanol. An assessment of these fuels was made using the tools SLCA (Sustainability Life Cycle Assessment) and SWOT Analysis. A Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) is the background used to guide the assessment and to help structure the results and conclusions. The results aim to alert the transport sector stakeholders about the sustainability gaps of the scenario, so decisions can be made to lead society towards a sustainable future.

The human social system is facing complex social issues and (new) initiatives coming from different social actors are born to try to tackle these complex social issues. Social innovation is the field where these initiatives function, so it is also a complex field to identify and frame. Thus a new theory, the Transformative Social Innovation Theory (TSI), was developed in order to frame and bring more clarification on the social innovation field to contribute to societal transition and transformation. The five TSI tools were developed from the TSI theory and they are training tools. All the TSI tools aim to (dis)empower the social innovation initiatives, actors and networks in the process of transformative social innovation. Transformative Social Innovation is the process of changes in social relations involving challenging, altering and/or replacing dominant institutions and structures which are considered to be the roots of systemic errors. This study sought to explore the Transformative Social Innovation tools from the perspective of the Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD). In this regard, the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) was adopted as it provides a principle-based and scientifically-proved definition of sustainability as well as a systems thinking approach regarding the complexity of global sustainability challenges. This research project tried to identify the potential contributions of the TSI tools to sustainability and the entry points of the tools where relevant SSD features could complement them so that they can contribute to strategically move the society towards sustainability. A qualitative research approach was selected. The methodology included four research methods, namely document content analysis, interviews, the FSSD analysis and prototyping. The results of this research indicated three main contributions of the TSI tools that could help to strategically move the society towards sustainability. Five entry points where the tools could be complemented with SSD features and a set of add-ins from SSD that could complement the current TSI tools were identified. The add-ins were sent to the TSI theory authors for the expert consultation.

Humanity is facing highly complex challenges at a global scale. A new sort of conscious sustainability changemakers is needed to face the sustainability challenge. However the mainstream entrepreneurship education tends to focus on business as usual skills, with a significant lack of comprehensive understanding of the whole system and the inner work needed to face the mental barriers to become sustainability changemakers. While the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development was used as a structured approach to the topic, the research design was based on a dynamic research interactive model. Theory U guided the data gathering process that included participatory observation, dialogues with the organizers and participants through the seven progressive schools in Europe. The research aims to identify the common assumptions that guide the design of leading edge learning programs for sustainability changemakers. Building on the findings, the authors present a prototype of a learning tool in a form of self-reflection card game with the intention of helping the next generation of changemakers in their learning journey towards sustainability. Conclusions detail specific guidelines to design a learning program of changemakers towards sustainability.

This thesis investigates the potential of User-Centered Design (UCD) and Agile to support Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) practice in product and product-service system (PSS) design. UCD tools and concepts are used to support stakeholder and needs research. Agile provides process support for collaboration and resilience. SSD tools and concepts are used to define and work within the system boundaries for sustainability. All three practices are combined in an innovation approach that supports collaborative and cross-functional design teams as they develop products and PSS. Design teams using this approach will work to satisfy the needs of customers while considering the needs of all non-customer stakeholders and the ecosphere. The full-systems context emphasized in the approach will support innovation and encourage design teams to consider services as complements to, or substitutes for, physical products.

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.

To the vast majority of people, the terms “sustainability” and “sustainable development” are unfamiliar, and, when they are recognized, there is still a great deal of interpretability as to their significance. Since no consensus exists regarding these terms, communication efforts to promote action and awareness among citizens must invariably “frame” the issue of sustainable development in one way or another. By and large, most communication strategies promote small private-sphere actions relevant to patterns of consumption. While these small actions are helpful, participatory, collective, public-sphere activism towards sustainability is much more potent and desirable. In attempting to engage this type of participatory action, communicators must understand the psychological barriers that are likely to confront their efforts. Communication professionals recognize that one such barrier, that of perceived, or, psychological distance, from issues of non-sustainability is especially pernicious. This paper attempts to apply Construal Level Theory (CLT), which provides “an account of how psychological distance influences individuals’ thoughts and behavior” (Trope et al. 2007) to the design of communication strategies for participatory sustainable development. After providing a thorough review of CLT, the authors examine the many ways that the theory can contribute to the design of communication strategies for participatory sustainable development.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are an underutilised sector to disseminating sustainability within communities. Entrepreneurs are action-oriented individuals who enjoy challenges and act upon environmental feedback, making them ideal change agents. However, there is a lack of tools specifically targeted towards SMEs to help them act strategically towards sustainability. In order to support entrepreneurs and motivate them into becoming catalysts for change towards sustainability the research team identified the need to provide them with a customized tool. The tool will be focused towards entrepreneurs interested in starting up new businesses with a core strategy of sustainable development. If the entrepreneur is able to apply sustainability at the beginning of their business venture, it reduces the need for later corrections. The research examines what is needed in a tool to support entrepreneurs and how to encourage them through the conception of adopting sustainable strategies.

A strategic management of water is integral for any society aiming at moving towards sustainability. This thesis aims to provide a common understanding of how water management should be considered within sustainability constraints, using ‘backcasting’ from basic sustainability principles as a compass. With a common language, a constructive dialogue is then possible to unify all stakeholders to move together towards sustainability. To answer the research question “How can an interaction with water stakeholders be strategically developed to progress toward the service of water in a sustainable society”, a methodology based on Sustainability Life Cycle Assessment, the Template for Sustainable Product Development and Multi-Stakeholder Platforms has been utilised within one domestic and one industrial water user case study in Blekinge, Southern Sweden. In this locality, water is regarded as abundant in volume. Yet it was revealed that what is consumed by society is not water as such; but the purity of water. Within this context, opportunities to move towards sustainability have arisen and the case study organizations were able to utilise improvements in reporting and operations. Economic activity such as new infrastructure, pollutant trading schemes and product accreditation are amongst the many concepts identified as potential steps towards the service of water in a sustainable society.

This research aims to support sustainability practitioners at the beginning of a change initiative towards sustainability to increase the success of the change. Moving towards sustainability is a complex journey and requires radical and structural transformational change in companies. Mutual understanding of the company and the practitioner is required to design a suitable change process. Existing tools related to sustainability, change management, corporate analysis and assessment were analyzed. In addition, practitioners in organizational change and sustainability were interviewed. Identified were eight Areas of Inquiry for the practitioner to focus on at the initial stage of an engagement: Vision; Purpose and Commitment; Urgency, Importance and Business Case; Level of Integration of Sustainability; Business Goals and Strategy; Culture and Capacities; Communication and Stakeholder Engagement; Measurement and Reporting. These areas form a platform for dialogue to guide sustainability practitioners in gaining understanding of the organizational change capacities and sustainability within the company and, in doing so, contributes to addressing the sustainability challenge at large.

Systemic poverty, social disruption, and environmental degradation are the most urgent sustainability challenges humanity confronts today. Inclusive Business (IB) can play a role in dealing with sustainable challenges, offering innovative solutions to tackle key environmental and social challenges. Considering the lack of clear guidance regarding the way IB measure their impacts, the goal of this research was to evaluate eight impact assessment tools for IB practitioners and assess how useful these tools are to move a business strategically towards the success of sustainability, as is defined by the 8 Sustainability Principles of the FSSD.

Two review processes were used to analyze the tools the 5 Level Framework (5LF) and the FSSD. The (5LF) is useful to plan in complex systems while the FSSD is designed to help change towards a sustainable society. The results present which tools, based on their features, can assist a company to move towards sustainability and explain how they address different aspects of the sustainability principles. Guidances were developed which included key characteristics of the tools that could help Inclusive Business practitioners to choose the most suitable tool that best meets their needs.

Business organisations, given their size, influence, and global impact on finite planetary resources, are the key economic drivers contributing to unsustainable growth. Sustainability Maturity Models (SMMs) were developed as a tool to assist organisations to recognise and incorporate practices identified as pivotal to achieving business transformation. The Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) approach was used to develop an analytical tool to assess the robustness of two of the aspects of SMMs, specifically structure and process. Interviews with model designers were also conducted. The research team identified key strengths limitations of SMMs.  

The analysis revealed that SMMs have strength in starting the conversation with leadership and charting the way ahead for organizations by clearly defining the maturity level success criteria.

These findings confirm the significant potential of SMMs infused by supporting process tools, to be a strong foundation for organisations on their sustainability journeys, aiding overall transformation of businesses. This in turn has the potential to shift the role of businesses in the larger socio-ecological system from being contributors to the sustainability challenge, to becoming active providers of solutions.

The global socio-ecological system is under stress with increasing consumer demands and society’s inability to meet those demands. Businesses are both enablers and inhibitors of this socio-ecological dilemma, enabling a shift towards sustainability, in various ways including through Certification. This study aims to understand the B Corp Certification (BCC) – a certification that certifies business according to their social and environmental performance.  The purpose of this study is to gage how much this Certification granted by B Lab moves the dial on sustainability. 

To accomplish this, a case study was performed on B Lab with a focus on Developed Markets. This study was largely dependent on semi-structured interviews, desk research and an analysis of the B Impact Assessment (BIA) - a cornerstone of the BCC - which was assessed according to the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD). The FSSD which takes a scientific systems view on strategic sustainable development (SSD) was instrumental in analyzing how much the BCC aligns with a SSD approach.

The result of this research lends itself to recommendations for the B Corp Certification of which B Lab may choose to consider in future iterations of the BIA and Certification in general.

In order for Japanese companies to move strategically towards sustainability, it is necessary to identify and understand the national and organizational factors that can hinder or facilitate this organizational shift. Literature reviews, workshops with a Japanese company, questionnaires, and interviews were conducted in order to identify these factors. The results showed that there are many common sustainability barriers between Japan and ‘western’ countries. In addition, there are some Distinctive Cultural Characteristics (DCCs) specific to Japan that have a significant impact on the success of an organization that wants to move towards sustainability. According to the findings, suggestions for sustainability practitioners are provided, which involve understanding the barriers and taking advantage of the DCCs in order to help the Japanese companies to move towards sustainability more effectively.

Climate change is a pressing issue caused by the systematic increase of greenhouse gasses (GHG). One way to avoid higher GHG emissions is through an increased use of public transportation, transitioning society away from the personal automobile. Public transportation is more sustainable than the personal automobile as its emissions per person are less and it takes up significantly less space. Sustainability is defined through the principle-based definition of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD).

This research studied barriers and best practices to the use of public transportation in the South Baltic Sea Region (SBSR), in cooperation with the EU funded InterConnect Project. The research team was able to use the resources of the InterConnect Project for their methods in order to discover perceived barriers and potential best practices and ideas to overcome these barriers through the stakeholder perspective.

The research team concludes that by addressing the perceived barriers, a first step towards transitioning society within the SBSR towards more sustainable transportation can be done. As transportation is complex and connected to other systems, the need for a systems perspective and a strategic and collaborative approach was identified. This could be achieved through using the FSSD in the SBSR.

A global transition to renewable energy is required to address the sustainability challenge and mitigate the socio-ecological consequences of climate change. This thesis explores what factors contribute to slowing down the transition to renewable energy in Southeast Asia. The region was chosen due to its rising energy demand, high energy poverty rates and unsustainable energy generation. The objective is to identify what barriers and enablers inhibit and encourage the financing of decentralized solar energy systems (DSES) in the region. 

The study applied a qualitative approach where five exploratory and 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain rich and diverse insights into the current state of DSES within Southeast Asia. The PESTLE analytical framework was used to code the results in a systematic way.

This study found several barriers inhibiting an increased deployment of DSES. These included ineffective regulatory frameworks, systemic corruption and market monopolization of DSES, financial issues related to the small size of projects as well as technical and financial capacity among local actors.

At the same time, the study identified multiple enablers to address these challenges, including policies encouraging transparency and standardization, capacity building for maintenance or financial literacy and falling project costs due to technological innovation.

Current human activities have a significant impact on the socio-ecological system, endangering this system’s capacity to support human civilization and biodiversity. Today’s linear industrial model can be seen as a main driver of this challenge, which implies a need for a model that uses less raw material and is more aligned with the cyclical nature of Earth. A concept that claims to provide such a model is Circular Economy (CE). This study analyses CE for its potential contribution to strategic sustainable development, and explores the barriers and enablers companies face in its implementation process. The main methodologies used for this research include the analysis of the concept by means of a conceptual framework and a Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, as well as interviews with experts in related fields. The research exposed several gaps between CE and strategic sustainable development. The main barriers were found on a technological, legal, economic level, and at the behavioural level, i.e. the difficulty to change mindsets. Leadership, collaboration, the CE concept itself and customer behaviour were identified as important enablers. These results show that the concept is difficult to implement and that there is a need for a refined approach, which is easier to apply while leading closer towards sustainability.

The aim of this research is to discover ways that multi-stakeholder platforms for collaboration can be instrumental in the efforts of the media industry to achieve compliance with sustainability. Industries have gained awareness of their responsibilities towards environmental, social and economic welfare, and the media has a powerful role within society. The media industry's behavior is reflected both through its impacts of business operations as well as media products. The premise of this research suggests that an effective platform model fosters interpersonal, stimulating and energizing conversations amongst stakeholders in a neutral and friendly environment. In collaboration with various media stakeholders and showcasing an existing UK-based platform, the Media CSR Forum, and in investigating its structure and membership dynamics, it was possible to gain insight of common challenges for media companies. We identified the potential for platform models to help media companies plan strategically with the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. Strategic planning for sustainable development can help the media industry to face the challenge that their current contribution to un-sustainability represents and become a key player for sustainable societies.

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.

Society is dependent processes that emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The accumulation of these gases in the atmosphere prevents sunlight reflected from earth’s surface to get to space thereby warming the earth and causing climate change. To prevent the effects of adverse climate change, the voluntary carbon market was designed to help buyers, individuals or organizations that cannot avoid emission in their process, purchase carbon credits from sellers, entities whose process prevent or avoid carbon emissions. The voluntary carbon market faces challenges like market fragmentation, opacity of records, and delayed processes due to layers of intermediation and double counting. In an attempt to solve these challenges, blockchain, a ledger technology, has been applied by innovative organizations. This thesis researches the possible roles of trading carbon credits using blockchain based platforms in the voluntary carbon market. Furthermore, this thesis focuses secondarily on how the application could increase supply of carbon credits, influence commitment to net-zero, contribute to production of high-quality carbon credits, and promote fairness in carbon trading. A conceptual framework based upon the Oxford Principles for Carbon Offsetting, Taskforce for Scaling the Voluntary Carbon Market (TSVCM), and the Sustainability Principles was used in this study. Seven organizations were investigated in this study through a first phase of interview and a second phase of survey.The findings suggest that blockchain-enabled carbon trading has the potential to enable market growth, foster systems interactions and transition via information technology, and support opportunities for sustainability in the socio-ecological system. Blockchain also inherits the unsustainability of the overall tech and energy sectors wherein it operates. Weak governance systems off-chain from non-disclosures by market players also risk the market system on-chain to vulnerabilities. The authors conclude that trading carbon credit on blockchain-enabled platforms is a step in the right direction in terms of amplifying the contributions the voluntary carbon markets hold for cutting down carbon emissions. They also acknowledge that the blockchain-carbon credit application does not directly address upstream issues of carbon emission but serves as a mechanism to accelerate decarbonization.

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.

With the increasing population and development of cities, addressing urban transportation is predicted to become a greater challenge. Cycling presents the opportunity to address urban mobility demands without the same degree of environmental, economic and social costs associated with conventional motorized transportation. The intent of this paper is to identify the commonalities and differences between cycling organisations, and what some examples of actions that take advantage of opportunities between these organisations could be. Backcasting from scientifically derived sustainability principles within the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development was used to validate our research topic. Qualitative research proceeded in four phases. Methods included: literature reviews, field visit, interviews, five-level and SWOT analyses, brainstorming and prioritisation. Research found communication and knowledge transfer within and between cycling organisations could be improved, but doing so requires leadership and resources that are usually lacking. Research also found that there is a desire to present cycling in an inspiring way, but there is a lack of expertise in doing so despite the current unprecedented increase in interest, initiatives and resource allocation related to cycling. As cycling gains more support, it will likely encourage a progressive shift throughout the entire transportation sector toward more sustainable development. This ultimately can play a significant role in moving toward a sustainable society.

Society today faces unprecedented social and environmental challenges that are both complex in nature and require immediate and severe action. The financial system is a complex system that has an important impact on the sustainable development of society. Currently, however, the role of the finance system in sustainability is ambivalent, as it invests both in the causes of the sustainability challenge as well as its potential solutions. As the finance system is a complex system collaboration is needed to make change possible. Relationships are a key component of collaboration, and this research looks closer at how relationship building can enable effective collaboration aimed at finance systems change. Research draws on Literature, and a case study of the Finance Innovation Lab including 19 qualitative interviews. In order to build collaborative relationships for a sustainable finance system the results point to: 1) the importance of the individual being present in the initiative rather than the organization they represent, and the importance of connecting on personal level; 2) the complexity of relationship building, with different processes and key elements interrelating; and 3) collaborative relationships being only one part of systemic transformation, requiring also a diversity of people and a clear structure and common strategy to be effective in achieving their goals.

Globalization and rapid urbanization in the developing world have been contributing greatly to a current unsustainable reality. In order to move towards a sustainable society, the strength of people working collectively as a community must be recognized and harnessed to begin making changes from the bottom up. This thesis will examine how a common participatory space has the potential to become a community hub, and to foster participatory dialogue, negotiation and decision-making within urban communities of poverty. After examining the current reality, including present development practices, this research strives to find universal elements for a common participatory space where vision building and strategic community action can flourish. This study also examines the processes needed to engage community members in the cultivation, creation and maintenance of a common participatory space.

Climate change is happening, presenting threats and opportunities for society as a whole and business in particular. The transition to a low carbon economy as a result of climate change offers opportunities for business; it also represents an opportunity to create a more sustainable society. This paper considers how a business response to the climate change challenge can be used as a leverage to move towards sustainability. The focus is on adaptation strategies adopted to address the threats and opportunities presented by climate change. The tool for strategically planning for adaptation, developed herein, seeks to ensure that measures taken by business to adapt to climate change are also contributions towards a sustainable future.

This research investigates how capacity-building interventions might be designed and implemented to enhance strategic sustainability work in municipal contexts and address institutional capacity deficits hindering effective sustainability transitions. Drawing from a blend of secondary and primary data sources, including semi-structured interviews and surveys, our study employs a conceptual framework to identify considerations crucial for effective, responsive, and transformative capacity-building efforts. Results reveal the significance of fostering a robust capacity-building culture, understanding context-specific engagement styles (learner archetypes), and utilizing a combination of approaches tailored to context-specific needs. This study also suggests the interdependence of goals and values across the four levels of strategic sustainability action and transformation (individual, organizational, network and systems level), emphasizing the importance of accounting for all four levels in the cultivation of a supportive capacity building culture and promoting a strategic approach to capacity building planning and implementation, balancing short-term objectives with the pursuit of long-term transformative outcomes. Findings contribute valuable insights for capacity-building planners and interveners involved in the design and implementation of continuous capacity building efforts aimed at enhancing strategic work of diverse actors engaged in sustainability efforts.

Climate change is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time, as it threatens the survival of human civilisation. With the increasing number of initiatives trying to address climate change, it is important to examine how effective they are and what other roles these initiatives can serve in transitioning society towards sustainability. This thesis investigates the role of one such initiative, carbon neutrality, within a strategic approach to sustainable development, based on the case study of the North American Credit Union (NACU). A scientific understanding of climate change and sustainability provide a strict evaluation of the carbon neutrality concept with its benefits and challenges, including the role of carbon offsets. Within this context, recommendations are provided for roles and actions that a financial organisation such as NACU can take in order to set high standards in this new and still evolving market of voluntary carbon offsets, while striving for full sustainability and leadership within the community.

More than half the world’s population now lives in urban areas putting the city on the frontline of the social and environmental challenge and yet, city planning presents many opportunities to move a city towards sustainability. The city development plan (DP) is a powerful vehicle for change. This research seeks to understand the gaps between an ideal catalytic development planning process and current reality, and provide recommendations to support the attainment of a city’s sustainability objectives. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) was used to define a generic “Golden Standard” planning process to help the local authority better leverage its internal resources and refine governance systems to achieve long-lasting cultural change from within to accelerate the city’s progression towards sustainability. A case study with the Dublin City Council’s Planning Department in Ireland provided valuable insight and limited practical application of the Golden Standard.

Increasing environmental and social pressure caused by human activity requires action toward a sustainable society. As our population grows and the proportion living in urban areas increases, cities are in a unique position to affect change. This has led to Circular Economy (CE) gaining momentum in municipalities as a tool for their city. Despite this momentum, there is lack of clarity about what CE is, how it can be most effectively implemented, and its relationship to strategic sustainable development (SSD).

This research synthesized definitions of CE used in the field and investigated 21 cities worldwide to see how their municipalities have implemented CE practices. Using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), the implemented actions were critically examined for their strategic contribution toward a sustainable society.

The findings suggest that CE is defined broadly, and interpreted differently by different users. In some cases, this presents challenges for its strategic use. The CE actions examined are concluded to be within the boundaries of a sustainable society, as defined by the FSSD. Their strategic approach is determined to be largely positive, with some exceptions. Depending on its application, CE is concluded to be a useful, albeit insufficient, tool for municipalities working toward SSD.

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.  

This thesis project extends current research on how Product-Service/Systems (PSS) increase the competitiveness of what businesses provide to society. In particular, when the significant stakeholders who create value, structured as a network, are also involved in the co-development of the value proposition. Applying the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), this study looks at how the early stages of a strategic planning process for sustainability could improve this co-development of PSS. The field research helped to understand the particularities of co-developing PSS and how the planning process could be adapted using the FSSD. As a result, theoretical dimensions, and general guidelines to put these into practice, are recommended in a model. The theoretical dimensions were field tested and refined. It was discovered that when creating the aspirational goals of the network, including other perspectives, in addition to companies and the customer’s, could expand the perception of value available to be provided. To do so is proposed a systematic understanding of the situation, and its socio-ecological context, where the activities of the value-based network of stakeholders are performed.

Both a Master's thesis and an introductory guide, as a supplement to the thesis, are included.

This research explores how the web‘s collaborative potential can be harnessed strategically towards sustainability. With the success of web-scale collaborations such as Wikipedia and Linux in mind, we sought to understand how web-enabled collaborations could be used strategically, particularly to support innovation for sustainability. Building on Peter Gloor of MIT‘s research into collaborative innovation networks (COINs), a framework for collaborative organizational networks supporting innovation, we evaluated COINs‘ strategic potential for sustainability utilizing the framework for strategic sustainable development and the approach of backcasting. We found that COINs can provide a strategic and effective way to work towards sustainability because they harness collective intelligence towards innovation and support distributed working styles. Additionally they provide an organizational framework that supports socially sustainable modes of working. However, COINs can amplify the impact of unsustainable innovations, so a strong systems perspective based on principles of sustainability is required to use COINs strategically. The final product of this research is a set of recommendations for people considering utilizing COINs for sustainability.

The current global economic system is driving an unsustainable society. The planet has limited resources, and the economic system exists within these limits. To move society towards sustainability, one must consider how to provide necessary services to a growing population while decreasing dependencies on resource consumption. This research aims to show that Collaborative Services offer one solution to communities by providing a platform for sharing and exchange of resources through innovation and participation. Collaborative Services are designed and utilized on a local scale, to meet specific community needs and have been found to provide Social, Natural, Human, Political, Cultural, Built and Financial Community Capital returns on investment. Successful Collaborative Services have certain ‘ingredients’ that guide them which include: leadership and vision, strategies to involve key stakeholders, organizational resilience considerations as well as financial, technical and physical supports for Collaborative Services. This research shows the benefits and ingredients of successful Collaborative Services, in order to promote their emergence and provide support for communities working with Collaborative Services. Using a strategic sustainable development lens this research suggests that Collaborative Services can act as a tool to pull communities towards sustainability.