| 1. |
- Bai, Xuemei, et al.
(författare)
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Translating Earth system boundaries for cities and businesses
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature Sustainability. - 2398-9629. ; 7, s. 108-119
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Operating within safe and just Earth system boundaries requires mobilizing key actors across scale to set targets and take actions accordingly. Robust, transparent and fair cross-scale translation methods are essential to help navigate through the multiple steps of scientific and normative judgements in translation, with clear awareness of associated assumptions, bias and uncertainties. Here, through literature review and expert elicitation, we identify commonly used sharing approaches, illustrate ten principles of translation and present a protocol involving key building blocks and control steps in translation. We pay particular attention to businesses and cities, two understudied but critical actors to bring on board.
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| 2. |
- Maniatakou, Sofia, et al.
(författare)
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A science-based heuristic to guide sector-level SDG investment strategy
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment. - 2043-0795 .- 2043-0809. ; 14:2, s. 258-282
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aligning investments with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been a longstanding ambition for many private investors. The assessment of corporate impact on the SDGs is not a trivial task, and most present-day attempts often overlook SDG interactions, and lack scientific anchoring and transparency. We present an evidence-based review approach for investors to assess sector-level impacts on individual SDGs, and score these using a traffic-light system. Our initial review documents impacts of 81 economic sectors on SDGs 1-16. Results show that environmental SDGs are impacted negatively by most economic sectors, and that primary sector activities negatively impact the highest number of SDGs. Using the agricultural sector as a case, we draw on Causal Loop methodology to illustrate spillovers resulting from SDG interactions. Our findings point to three key considerations of relevance for sustainable investment strategies; the necessity to capture ‘impact shadows’, spillovers across SDGs, and the hierarchical nature of the SDGs.
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| 3. |
- Tunón, Håkan, et al.
(författare)
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Forskare: Skapa inte mer polarisering mellan människa och natur, Moderaterna
- 2024
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Ingår i: Alltinget.
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Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Viljan att skydda växter och djur får ibland orimliga effekter. Det skriver flera företrädare för Moderaternas arbetsgrupp för en kommande miljöpolitik på DN debatt.Farlig polariseringDe tar bland annat upp viktiga frågor om ”människans plats i naturen”. Men konflikten mellan utveckling och miljö är en återkommande missuppfattning. Frågan om naturvården främst bör utgå från människans eller naturens behov bidrar till en farlig polarisering. I själva verket är vi beroende av biologisk mångfald för mat, energi, kläder, byggnadsmaterial, rent vatten, fungerande jordbruksmark, ren luft, skydd mot epidemier, pandemier, andra katastrofer och framtida läkemedel.
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| 4. |
- Wassénius, Emmy, 1991-, et al.
(författare)
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Essential environmental impact variables : A means for transparent corporate sustainabilityreporting aligned with planetary boundaries
- 2024
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Ingår i: One Earth. - 2590-3330 .- 2590-3322. ; 7:2, s. 211-225
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite numerous pledges to the contrary, corporate activities are inflicting environmental harm and are pushing the Earth system toward and beyond planetary boundaries. Several sustainability accounting frameworks exist, designed to track corporate environmental impacts through corporate reporting, and there is currently a push toward standardization of these. However, most sustainability accounting frameworks still fail to fully capture the connections between corporate activities and impacts, as they depart from what is important for the companies (materiality assessments) and often rely on relative metrics. Here, we propose 15 essential environmental impact variables (EEIVs), applicable to all sectors, based on absolute metrics and what is essential for staying within the planetary boundaries. We argue that standardization must rather depart from these underlying premises. By designing EEIVs for seven primary industries with large environmental footprints and demonstrating the operationality via the aquaculture sector, we show how EEIVs efficiently identify the most important corporate impact information while increasing transparency between companies and stakeholders, thus enabling external assessment of corporate sustainability.
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| 5. |
- Wassénius, Emmy, 1991-
(författare)
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Sustainability Risk : A social-ecological systems perspective
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Today’s world is characterised by new levels of complexity; however our societies remain deeply embedded in and dependent on a functioning biosphere. A biosphere that is increasingly being degraded by human activities. In this complex and intertwined world, acute shocks as well as chronic pressures of unsustainable activities have therefore become a prevalent feature. Together these shocks and chronic pressures create a complex risk landscape that we need to navigate with inter- and transdisciplinary solutions. However, the study of risk and the risk assessment tools in use, are siloed into scholarly disciplines and mismatched with the complexity at hand. In this thesis I tackle this mismatch, by using a social-ecological systems perspective and a variety of methodological approaches. Together the four papers of the thesis develop the interdisciplinary concept of sustainability risk and start to operationalise it through the application to national food systems and corporate sustainability risk assessment. Paper I introduces the concept of sustainability risk that I use and develop through-out the thesis. The paper also summarises some of the key definitions of risk within different disciplines and proposes five key dimensions that need to be adapted and developed in order for the existing risk assessment methods to fully capture risks in a complex world. Papers II-IV all represent applications of the concept of sustainability risk to different contexts. Paper II addresses national food supply risks and highlights how diverse risks to national self-sufficiency can come from low self-sufficiency (resulting in risk from trade disruptions) and low production diversity (resulting in risk from production shocks). Paper III addresses the data limitations we encounter when attempting to assess corporate sustainability risk and aims to overcome some of these limitations by developing fifteen novel reporting variables. These variables also contribute to the ongoing efforts to standardise corporate sustainability reporting. Paper IV builds on Paper III and develops an initial framework for assessing the risks to long-term natural resource production emanating from the impacts of corporate activities, thus broadening the conceptualisation of what risk is and how we assess it in the corporate sphere.
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| 6. |
- Crona, Beatrice, et al.
(författare)
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Four ways blue foods can help achieve food system ambitions across nations
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 616:7955, s. 104-112
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Blue foods, sourced in aquatic environments, are important for the economies, livelihoods, nutritional security and cultures of people in many nations. They are often nutrient rich1, generate lower emissions and impacts on land and water than many terrestrial meats2, and contribute to the health3, wellbeing and livelihoods of many rural communities4. The Blue Food Assessment recently evaluated nutritional, environmental, economic and justice dimensions of blue foods globally. Here we integrate these findings and translate them into four policy objectives to help realize the contributions that blue foods can make to national food systems around the world: ensuring supplies of critical nutrients, providing healthy alternatives to terrestrial meat, reducing dietary environmental footprints and safeguarding blue food contributions to nutrition, just economies and livelihoods under a changing climate. To account for how context-specific environmental, socio-economic and cultural aspects affect this contribution, we assess the relevance of each policy objective for individual countries, and examine associated co-benefits and trade-offs at national and international scales. We find that in many African and South American nations, facilitating consumption of culturally relevant blue food, especially among nutritionally vulnerable population segments, could address vitamin B12 and omega-3 deficiencies. Meanwhile, in many global North nations, cardiovascular disease rates and large greenhouse gas footprints from ruminant meat intake could be lowered through moderate consumption of seafood with low environmental impact. The analytical framework we provide also identifies countries with high future risk, for whom climate adaptation of blue food systems will be particularly important. Overall the framework helps decision makers to assess the blue food policy objectives most relevant to their geographies, and to compare and contrast the benefits and trade-offs associated with pursuing these objectives.
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| 7. |
- Crona, Beatrice, et al.
(författare)
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Going beyond carbon : An Earth system impact score to better capture corporate and investment impacts on the earth system
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 429
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Corporations are responsible for a significant portion of observed impacts on the Earth system, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but also water extraction, landuse change and other pressures on nature. These nature-related impacts are essential to consider and capture because they have local impacts on a range of ecosystem functions on which companies and economies depend, but they also fundamentally affect our ability to mitigate and adapt to a changing climate. Furthermore, climate, land and water interact and affect each other in various ways, such that climate change can be exacerbated by degraded ecosystems, which in turn are dependent on water. This paper tests a novel metric developed to capture corporate Earth system impact (ESI) beyond merely direct GHG emissions and explores how such a tool could be used to improve assessments of corporate environmental impacts and support decisions on where to direct public and private investments. We use the mining sector as a test case to illustrate the applicability of the ESI score and examine the impact of the the five largest (by market cap) mining companies in the precious metal mining sector and the top five in the non-precious metal mining sector. We find that many of the mining assets have non-negligible impacts on land and water, and we show that the ESI metric identifies a different set of asset for targeted action than conventional carbon intensity scores would do.
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| 8. |
- Shellock, R. J., et al.
(författare)
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Building leaders for the UN Ocean Science Decade : a guide to supporting early career women researchers within academic marine research institutions
- 2023
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Ingår i: ICES Journal of Marine Science. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1054-3139 .- 1095-9289. ; 80:1, s. 56-75
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Diverse and inclusive marine research is paramount to addressing ocean sustainability challenges in the 21st century, as envisioned by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Despite increasing efforts to diversify ocean science, women continue to face barriers at various stages of their career, which inhibits their progression to leadership within academic institutions. In this perspective, we draw on the collective experiences of thirty-four global women leaders, bolstered by a narrative review, to identify practical strategies and actions that will help empower early career women researchers to become the leaders of tomorrow. We propose five strategies: (i) create a more inclusive culture, (ii) ensure early and equitable career development opportunities for women ECRs, (iii) ensure equitable access to funding for women ECRs, (iv) offer mentoring opportunities and, (v) create flexible, family-friendly environments. Transformational, meaningful, and lasting change will only be achieved through commitment and collaborative action across various scales and by multiple stakeholders.
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| 9. |
- Dauriach, Alice, 1991-
(författare)
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Financial institutions, companies, and the biosphere
- 2022
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- International organisations, governments and civil society have become increasingly vocal in their demands that financial institutions take social and environmental responsibility for the companies they invest in. Some financial institutions have started to assume this responsibility in practice by building international alliances and standards, by reallocating their capital, and by trying to influence corporate policies towards environmental and social goals. Through their ability to allocate and price capital, financial institutions are sometimes believed to be a leverage point to enact rapid and large-scale change towards sustainability. The influence these financial institutions have is still under-researched, however, especially on companies in sectors associated with changes in the biosphere which pose severe risks to human development. In this thesis, I ask: to what extent can financial institutions advance biosphere-based sustainability through their investments in companies? I have three main aims. The first one is to identify key companies and financial institutions which can be linked to changes in the biosphere that pose severe risks to human wellbeing. I select the most critical commodity production sectors driving large-scale biosphere change using insights from social-ecological systems science. I focus on economic activities that result in anthropogenic land use changes that either affect known tipping points in the climate system (the Amazon rainforest), or that increase the risk of emergence and re-emergence of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. The second aim is to develop methods to assess the degree of influence that financial institutions have on corporate activities, drawing from finance research and management theory. I investigate the relationship between financial institutions and large companies, and especially to what extent companies are reliant on different financial flows for their operations, in order to determine through which mechanisms financial institutions could exert influence on them, if at all. Assessing the potential influence of financial institutions on companies requires combining existing methods and bringing together disconnected sources of data about environmental impact, business activity, investments, and financing sources. The third aim is to analyse what factors pose limits to financial influence.Paper 1 analyses the role played by financial institutions as owners in industries associated with anthropogenic land use changes and, as a result, increased zoonotic disease risks. We identify publicly listed companies present in nine regional case studies, as well as the financial institutions that invest in them. We analyse those financial institutions’ potential influence based on both their ownership size and their position in the network of owners.Paper 2 examines the origin of loans obtained by all companies operating in the high deforestation-risk sectors of mineral production, soy trade or cattle trade in the Brazilian Amazon. We assess to what extent companies rely on relatively unaccountable sources of credit, notably credit from secrecy jurisdictions and transnational intra-company credit, which may limit the potential for influence from financial institutions.In conclusion, I find that financial institutions have an important role to play in many sectors and regions analysed, but that this role is limited by a number of factors. These factors include the prevalence of non-financial shareholders in some companies, especially in case studies in the Global South, and the reliance of companies on internal finance and financial flows from secrecy jurisdictions. Companies themselves, and the inner workings of their corporate groups – their private owners, their subsidiaries in various countries, their ethical stance – seem to also be of great importance.
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| 10. |
- Downing, Andrea S., et al.
(författare)
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Unlocking the unsustainable rice-wheat system of Indian Punjab : Assessing alternatives to crop-residue burning from a systems perspective
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ecological Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-8009 .- 1873-6106. ; 195
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Crop residue burning in Indian Punjab emits particulate matter with detrimental impacts on health, climate and that threaten agricultural production. Though legal and technological barriers to residue burning exist – and alternatives considered more profitable to farmers – residue burning continues. We review black carbon (BC) emissions from residue burning in Punjab, analyse social-ecological processes driving residue burning, and rice and wheat value-chains. Our aims are to a) understand system feedbacks driving agricultural practices in Punjab; b) identify systemic effects of alternatives to residue burning and c) identify companies and financial actors investing in agricultural production in Punjab. We find feedbacks locking the system into crop residue burning. The Government of India has greatest financial leverage and risk in the current system. Corporate stakeholders have little financial incentive to enact change, but sufficient stakes in the value chains to influence change. Agricultural policy changes are necessary to reduce harmful impacts of current practices, but insufficient to bringing about sustainability. Transformative changes will require crop diversification, circular business models and green financing. Intermediating financial institutions setting sustainability conditions on loans could leverage these changes. Sustainability requires the systems perspective we provide, to reconnect production with demand and with supporting environmental conditions.
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