Lecture 1: 10-11-2025
Interdisciplinary
as an intellectual pursuit, sustainable development
tries to make sense of interactions of three complex
systems: the world economy, the global society and
the Earth’s physical environment.
Sustainable development: not compromising the
needs of future generations
Limits to growth: without substantive changes to consumption patterns
“the most probable result will be a rather sudden and uncontrollable
decline in both population and industrial capacity.
The Brundtland report: sustainable development is development that
meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs (Word Commission on Environment
and Development, 1987).
Brundtland definitions stresses two aspects
1. The concept of ‘needs’, particularly the essential needs of the
world’s poorest people, which should be given overriding priority.
2. The idea of limitations which are imposed by the state of technology
and social organization on the natural environment’s ability to meet
both present and future needs.
Un world summit on sustainable development: the integration of the three
components of sustainable development – economic development, social
development and environmental protection – as interdependent and
mutually reinforcing pillars.
Holistic definition:
Drops the aspect of intergenerational justice
Is both normative and analytical
Draws implicitly on systems thinking
Sustainable development is analysed as a wicked problem
Wicked problems = the elements are so interconnected that it is
impossible to identify a single cause or solution.
The tragedy of the commons describes a situation where individuals
acting in their own self-interest exhaust a shared, limited resource,
ultimately harming everyone.
,The tragedy of the horizon describes the risks of climate change are
tremendous, but they are long term, we are not taking it into account
because they are long term.
A system = a group of interacting components that together with the
rules for their interaction constitute an interconnected whole.
Systems thinking means paying attention to
Emergent properties
System dynamics
, System transformation
How systems thinking is different
Zooming out from individual case to wider context
Non-linear relations
Systems science, which underpins Corporate Sustainability, views change
and evolution differently from the traditional Darwinian paradigm in
several keyways:
Interconnectedness and Holism vs. Competition: Systems science
emphasizes that various species or components within an ecological
system "support" each other through interlocks that create complex
adaptive systems. This contrasts with Darwinian natural selection,
which focuses on competition and survival of the fittest. Systems
science favours symbiosis over competition, suggesting that the
survival of systems depends on the interdependence and mutual
support among species rather than on individual species
outcompeting others.
Self-Organization and Multiple Equilibria: Systems theory posits that
order, structure, and patterns arise spontaneously from internal
dynamics within a system, a process called homeostasis,
autopoiesis, or self-organization. Systems tend to self-organize
around multiple equilibria rather than a single equilibrium state as
assumed in Darwinian theory. This means systems can be stable in
multiple configurations, adapting flexibly to internal and external
changes.
Nonlinearity and Complexity vs. Linearity and Simplicity: Systems
science assumes nonlinearity, complexity, multi equilibrium, and
nondeterminism in system behaviour, in contrast to the linear,
simple, equilibrium-based, and deterministic views of traditional
science, including the Darwinian paradigm.
Focus on System Survival vs. Species Survival: While Darwinian
theory focuses on species survival through natural selection,
systems science focuses on the survival of the system, emphasizing
the interactions and interdependencies that sustain the entire
ecological or organizational system.
Emergent properties
Interactions produce something that is more than the sum of its
parts
Often the distinction is made between whole system and its
subunits
All companies are part of the social-ecological systems; companies
themselves can also be viewed as a system made up of different
sub-systems (marketing or operations etc.)
Emergence = things coming together, essentially the ways larger systems
emerge from smaller elements
Interdisciplinary
as an intellectual pursuit, sustainable development
tries to make sense of interactions of three complex
systems: the world economy, the global society and
the Earth’s physical environment.
Sustainable development: not compromising the
needs of future generations
Limits to growth: without substantive changes to consumption patterns
“the most probable result will be a rather sudden and uncontrollable
decline in both population and industrial capacity.
The Brundtland report: sustainable development is development that
meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs (Word Commission on Environment
and Development, 1987).
Brundtland definitions stresses two aspects
1. The concept of ‘needs’, particularly the essential needs of the
world’s poorest people, which should be given overriding priority.
2. The idea of limitations which are imposed by the state of technology
and social organization on the natural environment’s ability to meet
both present and future needs.
Un world summit on sustainable development: the integration of the three
components of sustainable development – economic development, social
development and environmental protection – as interdependent and
mutually reinforcing pillars.
Holistic definition:
Drops the aspect of intergenerational justice
Is both normative and analytical
Draws implicitly on systems thinking
Sustainable development is analysed as a wicked problem
Wicked problems = the elements are so interconnected that it is
impossible to identify a single cause or solution.
The tragedy of the commons describes a situation where individuals
acting in their own self-interest exhaust a shared, limited resource,
ultimately harming everyone.
,The tragedy of the horizon describes the risks of climate change are
tremendous, but they are long term, we are not taking it into account
because they are long term.
A system = a group of interacting components that together with the
rules for their interaction constitute an interconnected whole.
Systems thinking means paying attention to
Emergent properties
System dynamics
, System transformation
How systems thinking is different
Zooming out from individual case to wider context
Non-linear relations
Systems science, which underpins Corporate Sustainability, views change
and evolution differently from the traditional Darwinian paradigm in
several keyways:
Interconnectedness and Holism vs. Competition: Systems science
emphasizes that various species or components within an ecological
system "support" each other through interlocks that create complex
adaptive systems. This contrasts with Darwinian natural selection,
which focuses on competition and survival of the fittest. Systems
science favours symbiosis over competition, suggesting that the
survival of systems depends on the interdependence and mutual
support among species rather than on individual species
outcompeting others.
Self-Organization and Multiple Equilibria: Systems theory posits that
order, structure, and patterns arise spontaneously from internal
dynamics within a system, a process called homeostasis,
autopoiesis, or self-organization. Systems tend to self-organize
around multiple equilibria rather than a single equilibrium state as
assumed in Darwinian theory. This means systems can be stable in
multiple configurations, adapting flexibly to internal and external
changes.
Nonlinearity and Complexity vs. Linearity and Simplicity: Systems
science assumes nonlinearity, complexity, multi equilibrium, and
nondeterminism in system behaviour, in contrast to the linear,
simple, equilibrium-based, and deterministic views of traditional
science, including the Darwinian paradigm.
Focus on System Survival vs. Species Survival: While Darwinian
theory focuses on species survival through natural selection,
systems science focuses on the survival of the system, emphasizing
the interactions and interdependencies that sustain the entire
ecological or organizational system.
Emergent properties
Interactions produce something that is more than the sum of its
parts
Often the distinction is made between whole system and its
subunits
All companies are part of the social-ecological systems; companies
themselves can also be viewed as a system made up of different
sub-systems (marketing or operations etc.)
Emergence = things coming together, essentially the ways larger systems
emerge from smaller elements
