| 1. |
- Gould, Rachael
(författare)
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Integrating sustainability into concept selection decision-making
- 2015
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The audience for this research is fellow researchers and others helping product developers to start including sustainability when they are selecting product concepts.The aims of the research were to understand the needs of product developers integrating sustainability into concept selection and what might be done to help them.The research approach was to iterate between the three studies of design research methodology. The first study focused on understanding the challenges that product developers face when integrating sustainability into concept selection. The aim of the second study was to identify potential support to help product developers to deal with the challenges. And the third study was to try out the potential support to see if it actually helps product developers address the challenges they face. These studies were executed through reviewing literature and exploring two cases.The results led to a focus on supporting the decision-making process and supporting analysing with respect to social sustainability. Selecting concepts is a complex decision made under challenging conditions. Bringing in the complex, new and unfamiliar aspects of sustainability can make good decision-making even more challenging. When integrating sustainability, two particular barriers to good concept selection decision-making are errors due to illusory correlation and confirmation bias.Despite the challenges, how good you are at making decisions matters. And a good decision-making process drives good decisions. This is especially relevant when bringing in complex and unfamiliar aspects, such as sustainability. A likely candidate for helping product developers achieve a good decision-making process when integrating sustainability is active, value-focused decision-support. In other words, structuring the process into bite-sized steps and using particular techniques to avoid bias. At each step, decision-makers’ focus is anchored by the things that stakeholders value as important. Further research is required to investigate the details of how to employ these process-support approaches in the particular context of integrating sustainability into concept selection decision-making.In addition to a process, complicated selection decisions demand analysis. Support for analysing concepts with respect to social sustainability was identified as a gap. We explored a potential approach that might contribute to this analysis, but found that it was not useful for the particular decision in hand. This opened up some interesting questions for further research.
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| 2. |
- Sanzetenea Ramirez, Wendy Sofia, 1986-
(författare)
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FOSTERING INCLUSIVE INNOVATIVE PROCESSES WITHIN A BOLIVIAN CLUSTER INITIATIVE
- 2021
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The main theme in this licentiate thesis is the focus on strengthening institutional capacities to promote cooperation within a cluster initiative between public and private sectors in Latin American contexts, especially in Bolivia. The argument is the need to generate spaces for interaction through participatory practices in order to incorporate different points of view, academic and non-academic, which can lead to a more critical production and appropriation of knowledge. In the particular case of Bolivia, the pilot development of cluster initiatives was used as an interaction mechanism between the university, industry and government, which means developing skills in innovation among stakeholders, instead of starting immediately with the search for solutions.This licentiate thesis focuses on practices based on collective and dynamic interactions generated in an emerging cluster based on the Triple Helix framework in the leather productive sector in Bolivia. This as a result of seven years of participatory action research participating in cluster initiatives promoted by a public university, the case of the Universidad Mayor de San Simon - UMSS (trans. San Simon University).In the case of the Leather Cluster Cochabamba experience presented in this licentiate thesis, I found that the introduction of concepts such as cluster development, Triple Helix and knowledge production in Mode 2 as fieldwork by a public university (UMSS), participation is a positive ingredient and contributor to the improvement of democratizing innovation.The generation of collaborative relationships on a participatory and democratic basis is a time-consuming process that needs to begin with reflection and accountability of researchers to their direct involvement in participatory processes and practices.
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| 3. |
- Bratt, Cecilia
(författare)
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Assessment of Eco-Labelling and Green Procurement from a Strategic Sustainability Perspective
- 2011
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Efforts to reduce negative impacts from consumption and production include voluntary market-based initiatives. Examples are the concept of eco-labelling and the concept of green procurement. These have emerged as policy instruments with great potentials to steer product innovation and purchasing decisions in a sustainable direction. This potential has been recognized by the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and national governments through, e.g., various programmes and schemes. The aim of this thesis is to assess current criteria development processes within eco-labelling and green procurement from a strategic sustainability perspective and to describe possible improvement potentials from such a perspective to make these instruments more supportive of sustainable product and service innovation. A previously published framework for strategic sustainable development, including a definition of sustainability and generic guidelines to inform strategies towards sustainability, is adapted and used for this purpose. Criteria development processes in two Swedish eco-labelling programmes and at a governmental expert body for green procurement are studied. This includes interviews with criteria developers, studies of process documents and a case study at the governmental expert body for green procurement in which two criteria development processes were shadowed. The result reveals several strengths but also gaps and thus potentials for improvement. The criteria development processes and the resulting criteria mostly concern the current market supply and a selection of current environmental impacts outside the context of long-term objectives. Neither sustainability nor any other clearly defined long-term objective is agreed upon, and the criteria are not structured to support procurers, suppliers and product developers in a systematic and strategic stepwise approach towards sustainability. Recommended improvements include a more thorough sustainability assessment, communication of clearer objectives, broader competence in the criteria development groups and more emphasis on the dialogue and interaction between key actors. This includes an extended view on both the product concept and actors involved. Based on this, a new criteria development prototype is suggested, which aims at widening the scope from some currently known product impacts to the remaining gap to sustainability. During its further development and implementation, the criteria development prototype will be tested in successive iterations of action research together with experienced practitioners within eco-labelling and green procurement.
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| 4. |
- Bryant, Jayne
(författare)
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Learning as a Key Leverage Point for Sustainability Transformations
- 2021
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The global challenges of our time are unprecedented and urgent action is needed. Transformational learning and leadership development are key leverage points for supporting society’s transition towards sustainability. Many even claim that learning on an individual, organisational and societal scale is required for society’s successful transitioning towards sustainability. However, in this relatively new field, practitioners, scholars and educators grapple with what best promotes transformational learning and with how to best design and operate learning experiences that truly build capacity for leadership for sustainability. The aim of this work was to establish an improved understanding of this and to find recommendations for practitioners and educators with ambitions to create systems change for sustainability by building the capacity of people to be sustainability leaders.As an educator and facilitator of sustainability work for over a decade, working at the crossroads of local government and community change, lecturing on leadership for sustainability in Australia and currently being embedded within the faculty of the Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability (MSLS) program in Sweden, I have rested this thesis firmly within an action-oriented transformations research paradigm in which the only way to understand a system is through a comprehensive collaborative attempt to change it. One case of action research explored an organisational change for sustainability program that spanned over five years in a local government in Perth, Western Australia and the learning and policy interventions that supported this change. Participant observation with field notes, interviews, surveys and document analysis were particular methods used in this case. Two further cases focused on the MSLS program and its practices and specific components that support such leadership development and transformational learning. Feedback surveys from students and an open question survey to alumni were key methods used in these cases.The findings suggest that community and relationships are essential for supporting and growing sustainability leadership capacity; that hope and agency are irreplaceable components for leading sustainability change; that self-reflection and dialogue are skills that will help sustainability leaders navigate complex and uncertain futures and that these can be learned. Findings also indicate that creating a shared language for sustainability work helps bridge disciplinary divides and practitioner silos, and that skills of dialogue are required to capitalise on participation. Also, the integration of the components of community, place, content, pedagogy and disorientation with hope and agency can help support transformation in sustainability leadership education and provide synergistic reinforcement of the sustainability transformation required.This thesis provides added evidence that learning can be a key leverage point for sustainability transformations in an organisation and suggests how such learning can be most effectively achieved through a conscious design of learning environments, including the use and integration of the mentioned components to improve sustainability leadership for impact in society.
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| 5. |
- Byggeth, Sophie
(författare)
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Integration of Sustainability Aspects in Product Development
- 2001
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Integration of sustainability aspects into the product development process has been difficult to achieve, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. The main reason is that existing tools are experienced to be too detailed and as a result too demanding in terms of time and resources. This Licentiate Thesis presents a method for sustainable product development (MSPD). The method is intended to be a complement to existing overarching sustainability management tools and detailed quantitative product analysis tools. The objectives of the MSPD are: (i) identification of potential problems of present or planned products caused by substances and activities during the product life cycle that are critical with regard to principles for sustainability; (ii) guidance in finding solutions to the potential problems by modifications of present or planned products, and (iii) promotion of new products and business ideas based on sustainability aspects. A method suitable for most enterprises, irrespective of product type or background knowledge, has been sought. The MSPD includes: (1) a management tool which supports the user with information about, and instructions for applying, the method; (2) a flexible model for an integrated product development process, including checklist questions concerning traditional aspects of product development; (3) a modular system of guiding questions concerning aspects of sustainability, and (4) a prioritisation matrix for evaluation and choice of proposals in each product development phase. A MSPD prototype has been developed and tested in six small and medium- sized enterprises to study the usability of the basic structure of the method, and to obtain ideas for improvements and further development.
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| 6. |
- Levy França, César
(författare)
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Introductory Approach to Business Model Design for Strategic Sustainable Development
- 2013
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The interrelated challenges of systematic degradation of ecosystems, social inequalities, financial instability and resource constraints are redefining the overall conditions for business in the twenty-first century. Addressing these challenges both demands and brings great opportunity for innovation. An important but sometimes neglected aspect of innovation is the design or redesign of business models. This has been identified as a greater source of lasting competitive advantage than new products and services per se. The majority of managers among those who say that their company´s sustainability activities have added to profits also say that these activities have led to business model changes. However, integrating business model design and sustainable innovation practices is a relatively underexplored area of research. The aim of this work is to develop an approach to business model design that supports the realization of sustainability-driven strategies. In this thesis, it is argued that a major barrier to sustainable innovation is the usual unawareness of an operational definition of sustainability and of guidelines for how an organization can support sustainable development while strengthening its own competitiveness. Therefore, a Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), which includes such an operational definition of sustainability and such strategic guidelines, is used as an overarching methodology for this work. Specific research methods include literature reviews, data collection, data and document analysis, explorative workshops and action research, mainly with partners in the district heating sector. To be able to design a business model that supports a sustainability-driven strategy, it is necessary to have, or to be able to develop, such a strategy. The literature review revealed that there is currently no business model design tool that in itself includes support for developing sustainability-driven strategies. However, as regards business model design as such, a tool known as the Business Model Canvas (BMC) is frequently referenced and by many seen as a kind of de-facto standard support tool for business model design. A combination of the FSSD (bringing the sustainability perspective) and the BMC (bringing the generic building blocks of business models) is therefore explored. Depending on the context it is necessary to also combine this with other methods and tools; in this work specifically with methods and tools for energy systems modeling and simulation. Both as a way to develop a combined approach and as a way to start validating it, a prototype of a handbook for sustainable innovation in the district heating sector was developed and tested iteratively. The use of early versions of this handbook preliminary indicates that the combined approach helps organizations to, e.g., self-assess their maturity in terms of strategic sustainability work, clarify strengths and weaknesses of current business models from a strategic sustainability perspective and generate of new solutions, including mutually supportive actions and business models within their wider value network.
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| 7. |
- Lindahl, Pia
(författare)
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Approaching Strategic Sustainable Materials Management
- 2013
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Society’s sustainability challenges relatedto materials management have been an area of concern for policymakers, industry and the public for decades. However, if those challenges are managed in a strategic way, they are not only aproblem, but could also bring in new opportunity for companies and other organizations to improve their competitiveness through developingproduct-service systems that promote sustainable development of society. The overall aim of this thesis is to explore how aframework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD) can support the development and design of sustainable materials management strategies in product innovation. This is achieved by four studies investigating howsustainability considerations are, or could be, integrated in decisions regarding materials selection. The studies are informed by the FSSD, Maxwell’s model for qualitative research design and the design research methodology. The first study is a theoretical discussion which provides a base for the following three exploratory studies. The exploratory studies have, through literature reviews and semi-structured interviews, investigated general sustainabilityconsiderations in companies, made a comparison of the strategic potential of two product improvement strategies and finally studied what considerations that are in focus and what types of solutions that are revealed when companies apply a strategic sustainability perspective to materials management. The studies have shown that decisions regarding materials management often arebased on compliance with legislation and on avoiding substances with characteristics commonly considered problematic (such as toxicity, persistency, etc.), and that decision support regarding how materials could be managed in a sustainable way are lacking. However, the results also include some examples from companies that have successfully developed pro-active strategies towards sustainable materials management. They have approached this through managing materials in closedtechnical loops, enabled material substitution through value chain collaboration and reduced material flows through new and innovative design. Most importantly, they have assessedactions not only regarding their potential to reduce a selection of current socio-ecological impacts but also regarding their potential to link toforthcoming actions towards the full scope of socio-ecological sustainability. Through this approach, they have found several ways by which materials with characteristics that are commonly considered problematic can be. The results highlight the possibility of enabling sustainable materials management practices by using a strategic sustainability perspective in combination with material characteristics knowledge and that a static division of “sustainable” vs. “unsustainable” materials (e.g., through lists of forbidden and allowed materials) is not necessarily serving the purpose in the best way. More subtle considerations are needed. By not applying a strategic sustainability perspective to materials management, organizations risk using “sustainable” materials in unsustainable ways or phasing out “unsustainable” materials that, managed differently, could be helpful for sustainable development. Developing decision support for materials management that integrates this new way of thinking will be the focus of future work.
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| 8. |
- Missimer, Merlina
(författare)
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The Social Dimension of Strategic Sustainable Development
- 2013
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sustainable development most prominently entered the global political arena in 1987 in a report from the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development, also known as the Brundtland report. In response to the concept of sustainable development, a vast array of ideas, concepts, methods and tools to aid organizations and governments in addressing the socio-ecological problems has been developed. Though helpful in many contexts, the multitude of such support also risks creating confusion, not the least since there is no generally endorsed overriding and operational definition of sustainability. Thus, there is a growing need for such a definition and for an understanding of how these ideas, concepts, methods and tools relate to sustainability and to each other. A framework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD) has been developed over the last 20 years to create such a unifying structure. The aim of this research is to contribute specifically to the social sustainability definition of this framework. The research follows the Design Research Methodology. First, the social dimension of the FSSD as it stands currently was examined and described as was the general field of social sustainability. Then, a new approach to the social side of the FSSD was created. The studies revealed that the field of social sustainability, in general, is vastly under-theorized and under-developed, and that a clear framework is important and desired. They also laid out in which ways specifically the structure of the FSSD could be used to further develop the social dimension of strategic planning and innovation, and that currently this aspect of the FSSD is relatively under-developed. This assessment was followed by a first attempt at a clearer definition of social sustainability. Based on these explorations, this research suggests five principles as a hypothesis to be used as a definition of social sustainability, the key-terms of which being ’integrity’, ‘influence’, ‘competence’, ‘impartiality’ and ‘meaning’. For validity purposes the results were cross-checked with other approaches and theories. The validity check shows that similar key-terms have been found by other researchers. In conclusion, this research contributes with a hypothesis for a clearer definition of social sustainability, which is general enough to be applied irrespective of spatial and temporal constraints, but concrete enough to guide decision-making. This is a contribution to systems science in the sustainability field and it is a step to creating an enhanced support for strategic planning and innovation for sustainability. Further testing and refinement of this theoretical foundation, and bringing it into practical use, will be the subject of the continued studies.
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| 9. |
- Molin, Rebecka
(författare)
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A Sight/Site for Transparency or Opacity? Notes on Knowledge Production and Feminist Technoscience
- 2011
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The objective for my research has been to put forward and discuss some aspects of knowledge production in relation to the epistemological positions of feminist technoscience, which lay emphasis on the contextual and the social embeddedness of both research and technology. My main inquiry has been how the relation between the subject and the surrounding context can be perceived epistemologically and how this in turn can be connected to and found relevant to the supposed new mode of knowledge production termed Mode 2. The licentiate thesis is built on three essays which together form my main arguments around the epistemological questions of if and how it is possible to gain and attain knowledge, and how its value might be ascertained. In the three essays I have attempted to illustrate some aspects of and possible hindrances to understanding and knowledge, while addressing what a feminist technoscience epistemology could signify for knowledge production. My intention in these three essays has also been to emphasize the ideological foundation of epistemological understandings, its implications both on what is viewed and valued as knowledge, and on what purpose knowledge production and research should have for and in society. In relation to these discussions I have tried to underline how feminist technoscience, as a research field, should be open to ongoing discussions about its own methodological, epistemological and ideological stances and its effects on research and society.
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| 10. |
- Ny, Henrik
(författare)
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Strategic Life-Cycle Modeling for Sustainable Product Development
- 2006
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Decision makers are challenged by complex sustainability problems within the socio-ecological system. In response, a vast range of sustainability-related methods/tools have been developed, each focusing on certain aspects of this challenge. Without a unifying theory it is, however, unclear how these methods/tools can support strategic progress towards sustainability and how they relate to each other. This need for clarity and structure urged some sustainability pioneers to start develop an overarching framework for strategic sustainable development (SSD), often called “The Natural Step (TNS) framework”, from the NGO that has facilitated its development and application, or the “backcasting from sustainability principles (BSP) framework” from its main operational philosophy. The aim of this thesis is to study if, and in that case how, this framework can aid coordination and further development of various sustainability-related methods/tools, specifically to increase their capacity to support sustainable product development (SPD). Life-cycle assessment (LCA), “templates” for SPD and systems modeling and simulation (SMS) are the methods/tools in focus. A new strategic life-cycle management approach is presented, in which the main sustainability aspects, LCA “impacts”, are identified through socioecological sustainability principles. This creates new opportunities to avoid the reductionism that often follows from traditional system boundaries or from a focus on specific impacts. Ideas of how this approach can inform the studied tools are given. This may eventually lead to a whole integrated toolbox for SPD (a “Design Space”). As part of such a Design Space, a new “template” approach for SPD is developed. A case study of a sustainability assessment of TVs at the Matsushita Electric Group indicates that this approach can create a quick overview of critical sustainability aspects in the early part of the product development process and facilitate communication of this overview between top management, product developers, and other stakeholders. A potential integration between BSP and SMS is also discussed. It is suggested that this should start with BSP to create lists of critical presentday flows and practices, ideas of long term solutions and visions, and a first rough idea about prioritized early investments. After that, SMS should be applied to study the interrelationships between the listed items, in order to create more robust and refined analyses of the problems at hand, possible solutions and investment paths, while constantly coupling back to the sustainability principles and guidelines of the BSP framework. v Decision makers seem to need more of an overview and of simplicity around sustainability issues. A general conclusion is, however, that it is important that this is achieved without a loss of relevant aspects and their interrelations. Over-simplifications might lead to sub-optimized designs and investments paths. Combining the BSP framework with more detailed methods/tools seems to be a promising approach to finding the right balance and to get synergies between various methods/tools.
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