CC2054 | Erasmus University | Fien Dubbeldam
Week 1
Robertson (2017) – What is sustainability?
+ slides
In the world as it is nowadays, a bigger focus on planet-scale has existed. Crises as well as
opportuniFes can occur on a global scale
à sustainability has become an important subject in this new world
à But what is sustainability?
What is sustainability?
- Sustainability: enduring into the long-term future
- The study of sustainability involves understanding of complex interconnecFons between
different domains – environmental, social, economic
o 3 pillars of sustainability menFoned as:
§ Triple BoQom Line (TBL)
§ 3 E’s (environment, economics, equity)
§ planet, people, profit (in business context)
o We cannot fix one sustainability problem in isolaFon à all pillars are related
- Sustainable development: development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generaFons to meet their own needs
o Common definiFon of sustainability in Brundtland report
o Coined in 1987 by WCED
Sustainability and resilience
- Resilience: the capacity to cope with change
o Common traits of resilient systems:
§ Self-organizing, Diverse, Redundant, Connected
- Humanity and nature are connected in sustainability work
o Social-ecological systems: linked system of humans and nature
- Resilience and sustainability overlap but are not the same
o Both have the goal to enable social-ecological systems to persist in the future
o Sustainability prioriFzes outcomes and resilience prioriFzes process
- Systems science
o Study of sustainability has everything to do with interconnected systems within
the Earth
o Complex adapFve systems (CAS): the many systems that make up the earth
§ Impossible to change one part of such a system without affecFng another
§ Emergent behavior: unpredictable and able to operate in various forms
• Tipping point of natural systems: unknown thresholds which can
be crossed with unknown results à such as temperature
1
, CC2054 | Erasmus University | Fien Dubbeldam
- Limits to Growth report 1972: shows how economic growth, consumpFon, and populaFon
growth would cause humans to exceed the limit of the earth’s carrying capacity
à PosiFve note: ‘Man can create a society in which he can live indefinitely on
earth if he imposes limits on himself and his producFon of material goods’
o Carrying capacity: maximum number of individuals an environment can support
o Overshoot: when the carrying capacity is surpasses and resources for future
generaFons are used
o Ecological footprint: demand placed on nature for resources consumed and
wastes absorbed
o Natural capital: resources and services provided by ecosystems
o Eco-system services: biological funcFons that support life
- 4 condiFons for avoiding overshoot
o To live sustainably according to the Earth’s carrying capacity, humans need to
maintain the health of ecosystems
o Use renewable sources at a rate no faster than they can be regenerated
o Use nonrenewable sources at a rate no faster than they can be replaced by the
discovery of renewable subsFtutes
o Emit wastes and pollutants at a rate no faster than the rate at which they can be
safely assimilated
- Earth overshoot day marks the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for
the year
From Holocene to Anthropocene
- Holocene: Fme of all wriQen history unFl now, a stable Fme wherein civilizaFon was able
to develop
- Anthropocene: a Fme wherein humanity has become such a powerful force that it has
global impact on climate and any living system
o New geological epoch
o Supposed to have started during the industrial revoluFon around 1800
o From 1945 the great acceleraFon:
§ The dramaFc, conFnuous, and roughly simultaneous surge across a large
range of human acFvity.
§ Humanity started to have an exponenFal impact on the environment,
which for example has outed itself in global temperature rise
§ Especially populaFon increase and resource use play a part in the
existence of the great acceleraFon
- Planetary boundaries: boundaries that could ensure that the planet remains stable
1. Climate change
2. Biodiversity loss
3. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus producFon
4. Stratospheric ozone depleFon
5. Ocean acidificaFon
6. Freshwater consumpFon
2
, CC2054 | Erasmus University | Fien Dubbeldam
7. Land-use change
8. Air polluFon
9. Chemical polluFon
- First 3 boundaries have already been exceeded à result in wicked problems:
o problems that are difficult to solve as they are complex, interconnected and
conFnually evolving
§ A turn away from fossil fuels needs to be realized: this will not only be
done by technological adaptaFons but social and poliFcal as well à
stability of the Holocene needs to be realized again
Recent history of Sustainability (based on the slides, not on the arFcle)
- 18th – 19th Century
à Fme wherein first publicaFons on the human impact on environment appeared
o 1713: Hans Carl von Carlowitz menFoned “Nachhaligkeit” in a book that was
about deforestaFon and what effect this could have.
o 1798: Thomas Maltus, he blamed populaFon for all climate change in “an essay on
the principle of populaFon”.
o 1854: Henry David menFoned in “Walden: or life in the woods” how natures
resources aren’t inexhausFble
o 1864: George Perkins Marsh menFoned in “Man and Nature” that the impact of
humanity on the environment is not only economic but ethical as well
- 20th century
à That we think of as sustainability as a field of study got its start with the
environmental movement in the 1960’s and 70’s
o 1908: Chemist Arrhenius warns about climate change
o 1962: Biologist Rachel Varson’s seminal book “Silent Spring”: about the destroying
use of pesFcides
o 1968: Ecologist Odum: earth as a network of interconnected ecosystems and
Apollo 8 mission provided photograph of the earth called “Earthrise”
§ Created global awareness of the fact that the earth is our only source of
resources and that we need to treat it kindly
o 1970: 22 April first Earth Day
§ Followed by rise environmental acFvist NGO’s such as Greenpeace raising
awareness for environmental issues
o 1972: Apollo 17 mission’s photograph “Blue marble”, “Limits to Growth”
publicaFon by Club of Rome (systems science), UN conference on the human
environment
o 1987: WCED report, Brundtland report wherein the common definiFon of
sustainable development was coined
o 1997: Elkington’s triple boQom line framework (environment, economics, society)
3
, CC2054 | Erasmus University | Fien Dubbeldam
- 21st century
à Sustainability will prove to be the most consequenFal discipline of the 21st century
o 2000: “Anthropocene” concept coined by Crutzen & Stoermer, UN Millenium
Conference where 8 Millennium development goals (MDGs) were listed
o 2002: “cradle to cradle” book by McDonough & Braungart’s
o 2008: Ecuador first country to recognize Rights of Nature in its consFtuFon
o 2009: Planetary boundaries framework by Rockström et al.
o 2015: Paris agreement on climate change and UN sustainable Development
summit which brought about the SDG’s (sustainable development goals)
o 2017: Kate Raworth’s book “Doughnut Economics”
o 2019: European green deal
How do culture & art relate to sustainability?
- Culture and the cultural sector as enablers and/or drivers of sustainability – but how
exactly?
o Culture as values, ways of life, norms, behaviors but also consumpFon pracFces
o Cultural creaFvity as a way to express, shape, contest our relaFonship to the world
4
Week 1
Robertson (2017) – What is sustainability?
+ slides
In the world as it is nowadays, a bigger focus on planet-scale has existed. Crises as well as
opportuniFes can occur on a global scale
à sustainability has become an important subject in this new world
à But what is sustainability?
What is sustainability?
- Sustainability: enduring into the long-term future
- The study of sustainability involves understanding of complex interconnecFons between
different domains – environmental, social, economic
o 3 pillars of sustainability menFoned as:
§ Triple BoQom Line (TBL)
§ 3 E’s (environment, economics, equity)
§ planet, people, profit (in business context)
o We cannot fix one sustainability problem in isolaFon à all pillars are related
- Sustainable development: development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generaFons to meet their own needs
o Common definiFon of sustainability in Brundtland report
o Coined in 1987 by WCED
Sustainability and resilience
- Resilience: the capacity to cope with change
o Common traits of resilient systems:
§ Self-organizing, Diverse, Redundant, Connected
- Humanity and nature are connected in sustainability work
o Social-ecological systems: linked system of humans and nature
- Resilience and sustainability overlap but are not the same
o Both have the goal to enable social-ecological systems to persist in the future
o Sustainability prioriFzes outcomes and resilience prioriFzes process
- Systems science
o Study of sustainability has everything to do with interconnected systems within
the Earth
o Complex adapFve systems (CAS): the many systems that make up the earth
§ Impossible to change one part of such a system without affecFng another
§ Emergent behavior: unpredictable and able to operate in various forms
• Tipping point of natural systems: unknown thresholds which can
be crossed with unknown results à such as temperature
1
, CC2054 | Erasmus University | Fien Dubbeldam
- Limits to Growth report 1972: shows how economic growth, consumpFon, and populaFon
growth would cause humans to exceed the limit of the earth’s carrying capacity
à PosiFve note: ‘Man can create a society in which he can live indefinitely on
earth if he imposes limits on himself and his producFon of material goods’
o Carrying capacity: maximum number of individuals an environment can support
o Overshoot: when the carrying capacity is surpasses and resources for future
generaFons are used
o Ecological footprint: demand placed on nature for resources consumed and
wastes absorbed
o Natural capital: resources and services provided by ecosystems
o Eco-system services: biological funcFons that support life
- 4 condiFons for avoiding overshoot
o To live sustainably according to the Earth’s carrying capacity, humans need to
maintain the health of ecosystems
o Use renewable sources at a rate no faster than they can be regenerated
o Use nonrenewable sources at a rate no faster than they can be replaced by the
discovery of renewable subsFtutes
o Emit wastes and pollutants at a rate no faster than the rate at which they can be
safely assimilated
- Earth overshoot day marks the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for
the year
From Holocene to Anthropocene
- Holocene: Fme of all wriQen history unFl now, a stable Fme wherein civilizaFon was able
to develop
- Anthropocene: a Fme wherein humanity has become such a powerful force that it has
global impact on climate and any living system
o New geological epoch
o Supposed to have started during the industrial revoluFon around 1800
o From 1945 the great acceleraFon:
§ The dramaFc, conFnuous, and roughly simultaneous surge across a large
range of human acFvity.
§ Humanity started to have an exponenFal impact on the environment,
which for example has outed itself in global temperature rise
§ Especially populaFon increase and resource use play a part in the
existence of the great acceleraFon
- Planetary boundaries: boundaries that could ensure that the planet remains stable
1. Climate change
2. Biodiversity loss
3. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus producFon
4. Stratospheric ozone depleFon
5. Ocean acidificaFon
6. Freshwater consumpFon
2
, CC2054 | Erasmus University | Fien Dubbeldam
7. Land-use change
8. Air polluFon
9. Chemical polluFon
- First 3 boundaries have already been exceeded à result in wicked problems:
o problems that are difficult to solve as they are complex, interconnected and
conFnually evolving
§ A turn away from fossil fuels needs to be realized: this will not only be
done by technological adaptaFons but social and poliFcal as well à
stability of the Holocene needs to be realized again
Recent history of Sustainability (based on the slides, not on the arFcle)
- 18th – 19th Century
à Fme wherein first publicaFons on the human impact on environment appeared
o 1713: Hans Carl von Carlowitz menFoned “Nachhaligkeit” in a book that was
about deforestaFon and what effect this could have.
o 1798: Thomas Maltus, he blamed populaFon for all climate change in “an essay on
the principle of populaFon”.
o 1854: Henry David menFoned in “Walden: or life in the woods” how natures
resources aren’t inexhausFble
o 1864: George Perkins Marsh menFoned in “Man and Nature” that the impact of
humanity on the environment is not only economic but ethical as well
- 20th century
à That we think of as sustainability as a field of study got its start with the
environmental movement in the 1960’s and 70’s
o 1908: Chemist Arrhenius warns about climate change
o 1962: Biologist Rachel Varson’s seminal book “Silent Spring”: about the destroying
use of pesFcides
o 1968: Ecologist Odum: earth as a network of interconnected ecosystems and
Apollo 8 mission provided photograph of the earth called “Earthrise”
§ Created global awareness of the fact that the earth is our only source of
resources and that we need to treat it kindly
o 1970: 22 April first Earth Day
§ Followed by rise environmental acFvist NGO’s such as Greenpeace raising
awareness for environmental issues
o 1972: Apollo 17 mission’s photograph “Blue marble”, “Limits to Growth”
publicaFon by Club of Rome (systems science), UN conference on the human
environment
o 1987: WCED report, Brundtland report wherein the common definiFon of
sustainable development was coined
o 1997: Elkington’s triple boQom line framework (environment, economics, society)
3
, CC2054 | Erasmus University | Fien Dubbeldam
- 21st century
à Sustainability will prove to be the most consequenFal discipline of the 21st century
o 2000: “Anthropocene” concept coined by Crutzen & Stoermer, UN Millenium
Conference where 8 Millennium development goals (MDGs) were listed
o 2002: “cradle to cradle” book by McDonough & Braungart’s
o 2008: Ecuador first country to recognize Rights of Nature in its consFtuFon
o 2009: Planetary boundaries framework by Rockström et al.
o 2015: Paris agreement on climate change and UN sustainable Development
summit which brought about the SDG’s (sustainable development goals)
o 2017: Kate Raworth’s book “Doughnut Economics”
o 2019: European green deal
How do culture & art relate to sustainability?
- Culture and the cultural sector as enablers and/or drivers of sustainability – but how
exactly?
o Culture as values, ways of life, norms, behaviors but also consumpFon pracFces
o Cultural creaFvity as a way to express, shape, contest our relaFonship to the world
4
