When outdoor recreational activities are restricted, where can we find solitude, exploration and self-reliance? Endangered Experiences in Nature is a project that creates disruptive scenarios to question the relationship we have now with landscapes. A forecast in which stargazing is replaced by watching cyborg fireflies in the sky, food is genetically engineered and getting lost can only happen with the aid of special devices. The thesis uses the tools of experience design and future studies to explore the meanings and values of nature. I analyze the experiential perspective of access to nature and outdoor recreation by focusing on experiences that will likely become inaccessible in the near future. This thesis is not about preservation but stands aspiring for recreating values humans got until now from the close relationship with natural settings. In doing so, I aspire to generate new experiences. My work therefore focuses not on what nature is but what it means to perceive something as being natural, wild, unexplored, in an age where every part of nature has been explored and exploited. My original contribution focuses on using nostalgia as an active method to create new relationships with our environment. Certain things will need to be “artificial” in order to achieve “real” experiences.   The project will focus on three scenarios placed in the near future (2040). Each case study extrapolates on a particular endangered experience in wilderness (solitude, exploration and self-reliance) and is set in 3 distinct landscapes located in The Netherlands, Sweden and Romania. By doing so, I touch upon different cultural and natural influences on my design process. All scenarios encompass artificial (engineered) surrogates that question the inaccessibility to experiences in natural landscapes. With the goal to create counter-experiences in the future and therefore formulate a new way to deal with our relationship with nature conceptually and physically.

This thesis discusses development of a future visioning system model that can be adopted to create new product concepts for consumer electronics companies operating in a highly competitive business environment. The research work investigates consumer electronic product companies and their market environment to identify problematic issues and indicates that a proactive new product strategy which opens new markets through developing concept-led products is a strategic priority, thus the concept development stage in new product development process is in need of improvement. An evaluation of existing concept development tools for the purpose of proactive product strategy is presented and concludes that future visioning procedure is the most appropriate tool. To develop a future visioning system model as a concept development tool, the theoretical future visioning system models are analysed and mapped to extract essential structure and contents of future visioning procedure. The consequent future visioning system model is then revised according to the findings and suggestions from the field research work which investigated four major consumer electronics product companies in practice. The findings also validates the necessity of adopting a proactive product strategy and evaluates acceptability of the future visioning system model for practical use. The final future visioning system model is defined after the opinions of the design managers are considered and applied. The major suggestions from the research findings are: (1) Executing proactive product strategy can be a valuable strategic tool (2) A new process is necessary for the companies to create one-step-ahead product (3) Future visioning system is recommended as an advanced approach that creates new product concept. (4) Future visioning system model should consist of eight stages: project initiation, environmental scanning, future visioning, generating product concepts, scenario planning, concept testing, concept visualisation, and finalized concepts. (5) Product concepts can be generated from future vision by applying backcasting. (6) Scenario planning should be used in the future visioning system model as a concept testing tool providing objective validating criteria. (7) Executing a future visioning system model creates new roles for the designer such as information integrator, process moderator, and futurist.

The tourism industry has continuously grown in the last fifty years, promoted economic growth and created jobs (UNWTO, 2017). Nevertheless, this industry is impacting and greatly stressing natural environments and societies inciting a transformation towards a more sustainable form of tourism practices (Williams & Ponsford, 2009). The United Nations General Assembly declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development (UNWTO, 2016). The purpose of the declaration was to position the tourism industry as a tool to address the Universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UNWTO, 2016). A backcasting participatory approach was used to explore the roles of the SDGs in creating future sustainable tourism destinations, using Swedish Lapland as a reference. The study uses backcasting as a method together with a literature review and semi-structured interviews to key stakeholders. The study concludes that SDGs are good parameters to describe current scenarios in order to develop desired ones. It also finds that sustainable future tourism destinations are highly connected with environment and society as part of the core experience, resecting traditions and culture. In order to achieve sustainable future destinations legislation, better practices and alternative methods of transportation need to be implemented alongside creating an experience that is based on responsibility towards nature and societies.

Företags och andra organisationers konsumtion av produkter och tjänster bidrar till miljöpåverkan i alla dess faser. Det är enklare för ett producerande företag att identifiera sina mest kritiska upphandlingsområden, till skillnad från organisationer som huvudsakligen upphandlar varor och tjänster. Med upphandling avses i det här fallet en organisations inköp av varor och tjänster. Upphandlingen av varor och tjänster bidrar till indirekt miljöpåverkan och den upphandlande organisationen har ofta svårt att påverka produktions- och slutfas av varor och tjänster. Syftet med studien är att utveckla ett arbetssätt för att kunna bedöma en icke-producerande organisations miljöpåverkan av dess upphandling av varor och tjänster. Detta arbetssätt kommer att testas och utföras som en fallstudiestudie på Linköpings Universitet (LiU), där syftet är att identifiera kritiska upphandlingsområden. Denna fallstudie bygger på en tidigare studie på LiU där miljöpåverkan har bedömts i produktionsfasen med hjälp av miljöexpanderad inputoutputanalys (MIOA). Denna metod inkluderar inte en varas eller tjänsts miljöpåverkan i användnings- och slutfasen. För att få en helhetsbild kommer backcastingmetoden att användas som ett ramverk. Backcasting som är en visionär scenariemetod kommer att kompletteras med MIOA, ett livscykelperspektiv och en värderingsmetod. Slutsatserna av fallstudien är att datorer och tillbehör samt konsulttjänster är de mest kritiska upphandlingsområden ur ett miljöperspektiv. Dessa två upphandlingsområden har sin största miljöpåverkan i användningsfasen.

The world is facing energy supply challenges. Rising prices and finite reserves of fossil fuels, combined with necessary reductions in their use in order to mitigate anthropogenic climate change, will dramatically reshape the future energy supply. Among the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions are the energy systems that power transportation, heating and cooling, and industrial processes. It is imperative that energy planning is sustainable, secure and effectively implemented for local development. The aim of our research is to enhance the planning process that can aid authorities moving towards sustainable local energy systems. Local energy systems refer to the supply, distribution and use of energy within a municipality. In this study, we advocate applying a strategic sustainable development framework based on 'backcasting from principles of sustainability'. We analyzed global, European Union and Swedish energy objectives, as well as the results of a survey of beacon European cities to inform strategic planning guidelines for authorities moving towards sustainable local energy systems. Our research suggests that the strategic sustainable development framework provides structure to inform strategic and critical decision points for planning and implementing local energy systems.

As the global sustainability challenge intensifies, food has emerged as a critical issue in sustainable development. Growing food within city limits, or urban agriculture (UA), is one way to help increase access to fresh, local, healthy food for everyone while simultaneously reducing environmental impacts. While UA is increasing on a global scale, it is not always being supported in a strategic manner. This thesis explores the opportunity of how UA can be supported to help move cities towards sustainability. Current UA practices were evaluated based on information from literature and interviews using the five-level framework method. As a way to help provide guidance in strategic planning, the framework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD) was utilized, introducing the concepts of a full-system perspective, a principle-based definition of sustainability, and backcasting. Combining current UA success principles, stakeholder input, and the FSSD, an enhanced planning guide was created as a tool to help cities better plan for UA.

Recreational events gather large numbers of people in concentrated areas for brief periods of time. Effects of these events extend far beyond their spatial and temporal boundaries; a music festival is one such event. This paper asks, “What are some measures that can move music festivals strategically toward sustainability?” A framework for strategic sustainable development based on backcasting from sustainability principles is applied. Research draws on pertinent literature, interviews with festival organizers and an in-depth case study with International Music Concepts. Results indicate that critical flows and management routines upon which music festivals depend contribute to systematic undermining of social and ecological systems. Festival organizers sit at the centre of these flows, and are crucial to changing them. Education to inspire behavioural change of festival organizers and other stakeholders, notably suppliers, audience and artists, appears critical to shifting music festivals toward sustainability. This can be underpinned by building in-house ‘sustainability capacity’ of festival organisations; creating strategic alliances between festival organizers; and scaling up organisational efforts to include lobbying governments for financial and other support to authenticate a high-level commitment to true sustainable development. Music festivals may then leverage their role in society to move society itself toward sustainability. A template and guidebook are presented to facilitate this shift.

Large-scale planning initiatives can present major long-term environmental and social consequences. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is one type of approach to integrating environmental considerations into many large-scale plans and programs, and was established in the European Union by Council Directive 2001/42/EC. Practical and theoretical limitations remain, and this research considers “How can SEA be carried out for plans and programs to better support strategic decision-making toward sustainability?” Information is compiled from an extensive literature review, interviews with SEA experts, and a case study SEA. An analysis is conducted around a framework for strategic sustainable development, based on backcasting from sustainability principles. Results indicate that SEA plays an important role in mitigating environmental impacts of planning, but also faces many weaknesses relative to a truly strategic approach to sustainable development. To help fill these gaps, generic recommendations are developed for SEA practice. Built on a principle-based definition of sustainability, they are relevant to any individual SEA situation. Hypothetical applications of the recommendations are illustrated with a case study. By adopting these recommendations, SEA practitioners can enable planners to better integrate strategic sustainable development into the decisions and upstream design of plans and programs.

The purpose of this study was to explore how organizations can apply the Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) Framework (Robèrt et al. 2006) as a lens and filter to a Knowledge Management Framework to move an organization towards sustainability. A conceptual framework of Knowledge Management (KM) was developed and then utilized to conduct a sustainability assessment on The Natural Step (TNS) organization as a case study. The researchers explored how an understanding of KM can support SSD and aid an organization in leveraging their existing knowledge. To achieve the objective, the most commonly accepted KM frameworks were summarized through a literature review. Then the researchers’ understanding of a conceptual KM Framework was developed. The SSD lens was used to identify gaps within the KM frameworks when an organization’s ultimate goal of success is sustainability. The conceptual KM Framework viewed through the SSD lens was utilized in conducting a sustainability assessment on TNS as a case study. The authors attempted to illustrate how using SSD as a lens could assist any organization, not just NGO’s with a sustainability mandate, to enhance any Quality Management System, such as KM, to tackle global issues. The scope of the analysis was focused on understanding the role of KM as it relates to an organization’s journey towards sustainability. Specifically a strengths and weaknesses assessment was conducted. The assessment was used to identify gaps and successes in the following areas: knowledge sharing, sharing methodology and sustainable practices. / <p>norm.tyler@community.royalroads.ca</p>

This thesis examines community energy planning in Sweden and Canada with the aim of revealing strategies that move communities towards energy sustainability. Unsustainable energy activities are identified as major threats on both local and global levels. The challenges for energy systems are discussed and a possible scenario of a future community with sustainable energy production and consumption is presented. The literature review examines community energy planning guidebooks and key theoretical and methodological concepts including ingenuity, soft energy paths and backcasting from socio-ecological principles of sustainability. Following an analysis of energy supply and demand in a broad systems context, and a review of policies and programs supporting or hindering community energy planning, energy plans from eleven Swedish and eleven Canadian communities are evaluated. Characteristics of progressive energy planning as uncovered in the literature review form a framework for evaluating the visions, strategies and actions described in the plans. Sweden is recognized as an early player in community energy planning. Although Swedish energy plans do not contain all of the identified progressive strategies, national leadership and funding have played a role in Sweden’s successes. More recent Canadian plans are found to be highly progressive, suggesting that Canadian communities who follow their plans can too be successful in transforming their energy systems towards sustainability. / <p>Kerly Acosta, email: kerly_a@yahoo.com Arash Sangari, email: arash@stechpartner.com Jessica Webster, email: jess_violet@hotmail.com</p>