Sustainable Business Practices and Models by Arnim Wiek
Business Strategy and Development, 2020
International food supply is often associated with negative externalities including injustices ac... more International food supply is often associated with negative externalities including injustices across the economic value chain favoring trade over production and processing, significant transport-related greenhouse gas emissions, and poor working conditions in the regions where food is being produced or processed. Relevant proxies for this situation seem to be large distances, specifically, large
Journal of Marketing Management, 2021
Creating connections between consumers and producers (relational proximity) seems a promising app... more Creating connections between consumers and producers (relational proximity) seems a promising approach to foster sustainable consumption behaviour in international food supply. In this intervention study, we tested three experiential marketing interventions to connect consumers to producers of an international communitysupported agriculture (CSA) partnership for coffee (Teikei Coffee). Consumers (N = 136), recruited at a fair for sustainable products and lifestyles in Germany, (a) watched a promotional video about the coffee CSA, (b) attended a presentation of the coffee CSA, or (c) participated in a mindful tasting experience of the CSA coffee. Findings indicate that experiential marketing tools, to varying degrees, indeed create connections from consumers to producers, thereby fostering sustainable consumption behaviour. The findings can inform international food supply marketing efforts aimed at stimulating sustainable consumption.
Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 2020
Local grain economies are being developed in North America and Europe as alternatives to the glob... more Local grain economies are being developed in North America and Europe as alternatives to the global grain economy and its negative externalities. Little is known, however, about their size, structure, and sustainability, in particular as they evolve. This study offers such insights from a case study of the local grain economy in Arizona. The study uses an analytical framework that combines quantitative and qualitative data and a number of analytical methods to construct a multidimensional profile of the local grain economy. The findings indicate steady growth of the local grain economy in Arizona-in production quantities, range of businesses, diversity of products, and local economy benefits over a number of developmental stages. The findings also suggest that challenges of consolidation, transparency, and other growth
Sustainability challenges and the ambivalent role of the financial sector
Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 2014
ABSTRACT Over the past few decades, the financial sector has sought to positively contributing to... more ABSTRACT Over the past few decades, the financial sector has sought to positively contributing to sustainable development through innovative products and services. However, in its business-as-usual the financial sector continues to contribute to military interventions, environmental degradation, growing disparity of incomes, de-coupling of finance and real economy, and global economic crises. This article presents a framework of how to appraise the positive and negative contributions of the financial sector to sustainable development, from a systems perspective. On this base, the article proposes an approach for designing effective finance interventions to complex sustainability problems. Based on similar experiences from studies on water governance and technology development, the approach proposes a participatory procedure, first, to identify the role of the financial sector in complex sustainability problem constellations and, second, to develop intervention strategies for financial intermediaries interested in shifting their role and mitigating the identified problems. We discuss challenges of establishing causal links within the problem constellation, which is a prerequisite for successful intervention design, as well as in the cause–effect structure of the interventions themselves. The article concludes with outlining future research needs.
Journal of Industrial Ecology, Jan 1, 2005
Sustainability Science - Theory, Methodology by Arnim Wiek
From complex systems analysis to transformational change: a comparative appraisal of sustainability science projects
Sustainability …, 2012
There is emerging agreement that sustainability challenges require new ways of knowledge producti... more There is emerging agreement that sustainability challenges require new ways of knowledge production and decision-making. One key aspect of sustainability science, therefore, is the involvement of actors from outside academia into the research process in order to integrate the best available knowledge, reconcile values and preferences, as well as create ownership for problems and solution options. Transdisciplinary, community-based, interactive, or participatory research approaches are often suggested as appropriate means to meet both the requirements posed by real-world problems as well as the goals of sustainability science as a transformational scientific field. Dispersed literature on these approaches and a variety of empirical projects applying them make it difficult for interested researchers and practitioners to review and become familiar with key components and design principles of how to do transdisciplinary sustainability research. Starting from a conceptual model of an ideal-typical transdisciplinary research process, this article synthesizes and structures such a set of principles from various strands of the literature and empirical experiences. We then elaborate on them, looking at challenges and some coping strategies as experienced in transdisciplinary sustainability projects in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia. The article concludes with future research needed in order to further enhance the practice of transdisciplinary sustainability research.
Sustainability Science, 2014
Sustainability science still struggles with transitioning from problem-focused to solution-orient... more Sustainability science still struggles with transitioning from problem-focused to solution-oriented endeavors that yield positive impacts on mitigating sustainability challenges. This article presents and compares three sustainability science studies on the reconstruction after the 2011 triple-disaster in Japan; limited energy and livelihood options in rural Africa; and toxic chemical dispersion in San Francisco. Research varied in design and conduct, with opportunities for improvement in transdisciplinary collaboration, institutional incentives and rewards, competency development in future researchers, articulation of relevant political economies, and orientation towards feasible solution options. Of particular interest are insights synthesized across the cases, mainly success factors and their transferability, sustainability science pedagogical opportunities, and potential future research areas. These insights emerged from presentations and breakout discussions of the three studies at the 2012 International Conference on Sustainability Science held at Arizona State University.
The role of transdisciplinary processes in sustainability assessment of agricultural systems
From Common Principles to Common Practice. Proceedings and Outputs of the first Symposium of the International Forum on Assessing Sustainability in Agriculture (INFASA). International Institute of Sustainable Development and Swiss College of Agriculture, Bern, 2007
Sustainability Science, 2012
Toward a methodological scheme for capturing societal effects of participatory sustainability research
Research Evaluation, 2014
Evaluation and Program …, Jan 1, 2007
A promising approach for addressing sustainability problems is to recognize the unique conditions... more A promising approach for addressing sustainability problems is to recognize the unique conditions of a particular place, such as problem features and solution capabilities, and adopt and adapt solutions developed at other places around the world. Therefore, research and teaching in international networks becomes critical, as it allows for accelerating learning by sharing problem understandings, successful solutions, and important con-textual considerations. This article identifies eight distinct types of research and teaching collaborations in international networks that can support such accelerated learning. The four research types are, with increasing intensity of collaboration: (1) solution adoption; (2) solution consultation ; (3) joint research on different problems; and (4) joint research on similar problems. The four teaching types are, with increasing intensity of collaboration: (1) adopted course; (2) course with visiting faculty; (3) joint course with traveling faculty; and (4) joint course with traveling students. The typology is illustrated by extending existing research and teaching projects on urban sustainability in the International Network of Programs in Sustainability, with partner universities from Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. The article concludes with challenges and strategies for extending individual projects into collaborations in international networks.
User engagement in sustainability research
Science and Public Policy, Jan 1, 2011
Abstract User engagement, stakeholder involvement, and public consultation in sustainability rese... more Abstract User engagement, stakeholder involvement, and public consultation in sustainability research have received increased attention over the last decade. Key driving factors behind this are that social outcomes, policy relevance, and user engagement have all become requirements for securing research funding. Many articles have provided compelling arguments for the need to reconsider why, when and how users are engaged within the research process. We propose a typology of user engagement strategies in ...
This whitepaper was originally drafted as background for a workshop for the National Climate Asse... more This whitepaper was originally drafted as background for a workshop for the National Climate Assessment (NCA) that focused on the use and development of scenarios. The paper is being published as a chapter in the report of the workshop because the authors and members of the organizing committee believe it conveys information of use to participants in the assessment process, and the broader research and user communities that work with scenarios in climate science.
… for Science and …, Jan 1, 2007
Journal of Cleaner Production, Jan 1, 2009
Ecological Economics, Jan 1, 2009
Challenges of Transdisciplinary Research as Interactive Knowledge Generation Experiences from Transdisciplinary Case Study Research
GAIA-Ecological Perspectives for Science and …, Jan 1, 2007
Abstract: There are already a variety of contributions focusing on the aspect of knowledge genera... more Abstract: There are already a variety of contributions focusing on the aspect of knowledge generation in transdisciplinary research. Along the same lines, this article analyses the features of knowledge generation in transdisciplinary case studies initiated at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and conducted in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Sweden. The article starts with the description of what kind of knowledge is generated when and how in transdisciplinary case studies. On this basis, the quality of the ...
Ecological Economics, Jan 1, 2004
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Sustainable Business Practices and Models by Arnim Wiek
Sustainability Science - Theory, Methodology by Arnim Wiek