A Sustainability Lighthouse—Supporting Transition Leadership and Conversations on Desirable Futures
Division Physical Resource Theory, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
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Sustainability 2018, 10(11), 3842; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10113842
Received: 9 July 2018
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Revised: 4 October 2018
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Accepted: 20 October 2018
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Published: 23 October 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leading Sustainability Transitions)
Central in leadership for sustainability transitions is the capability to create transformative momentum in a sustainable (desirable) direction, calling for meaningful conversations on sustainable futures. The aim of this study is to develop a conceptual framework to inspire and support such conversations. A qualitative literature review of sustainability conceptualizations was conducted, followed by a thematic analysis. The resulting framework consists of an overarching question and an accompanying set of categories for four sustainability dimensions: the social, the economic, the ecological, and ‘human needs and wellbeing’. Furthermore, the framework is visualized as a lighthouse for pedagogical reasons. We foresee that the lighthouse might be of value in processes guiding socio-technical transitions towards sustainability in three different ways: (1) by attempting to bridge the issue of ‘transition’ with that of ‘sustainability’; (2) as part of a backcasting process; and (3) modes of transdisciplinary research where relevant actors take part in the conversation. The study is related to over 20 years of experience from working with a backcasting approach engaging with sustainability transitions in a variety of processes. We invite further dialogue on how one may approach the concept of sustainability to inspire and support conversations on sustainable futures.
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Keywords:
sustainability; Agenda 2030; leadership; transitions; futures; backcasting; transdisciplinarity
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MDPI and ACS Style
Holmberg, J.; Larsson, J. A Sustainability Lighthouse—Supporting Transition Leadership and Conversations on Desirable Futures. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3842. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10113842
AMA Style
Holmberg J, Larsson J. A Sustainability Lighthouse—Supporting Transition Leadership and Conversations on Desirable Futures. Sustainability. 2018; 10(11):3842. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10113842
Chicago/Turabian StyleHolmberg, John, and Johan Larsson. 2018. "A Sustainability Lighthouse—Supporting Transition Leadership and Conversations on Desirable Futures" Sustainability 10, no. 11: 3842. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10113842
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