Considering the lack of clear guidance regarding the way business could include social sustainability into their operations, the objective of this research project was to study the functionality of social sustainability tools which are used worldwide by business practitioners and assess how useful these tools are to overcome barriers related with social aspects of sustainability as they are described in the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD): health, influence, competence, impartiality and meaning-making. A qualitative method analysis was selected, based upon direct content analysis. Elements from the 5 Level Framework (5LF) and the FSSD were used for designing two review processes to analyse selected social sustainability tools. The 5LF is useful for planning in complex systems, while the FSSD is designed to address complex challenges and recognize opportunities which aim to sustainability. The findings from the research show which tools, based on their functionality, can help a company move towards sustainability and illustrate how they address different social sustainability aspects. Based on these findings, recommendations were developed which included key features of the selected social sustainability tools. These recommendations could help business practitioners to choose the most appropriate tool for specific business context depending on the company’s needs.

The aim of this research is to discover ways that multi-stakeholder platforms for collaboration can be instrumental in the efforts of the media industry to achieve compliance with sustainability. Industries have gained awareness of their responsibilities towards environmental, social and economic welfare, and the media has a powerful role within society. The media industry's behavior is reflected both through its impacts of business operations as well as media products. The premise of this research suggests that an effective platform model fosters interpersonal, stimulating and energizing conversations amongst stakeholders in a neutral and friendly environment. In collaboration with various media stakeholders and showcasing an existing UK-based platform, the Media CSR Forum, and in investigating its structure and membership dynamics, it was possible to gain insight of common challenges for media companies. We identified the potential for platform models to help media companies plan strategically with the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. Strategic planning for sustainable development can help the media industry to face the challenge that their current contribution to un-sustainability represents and become a key player for sustainable societies.

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Shifting towards sustainability in environmental, social and economic systems is an urgent concern for society today. In order to contribute to this, the thesis focuses on behaviour orientated social marketing campaigns, which can complement the broader changes required. This study adds knowledge to communication design for social marketing campaigns to improve the conversion of information to action helping move society towards a more sustainable future. Results, drawn from the literature, case studies and interviews, demonstrated the need for a shared vision, detailed knowledge of both the audience and behaviour, development of a network to support the campaign and better use of behavioural psychology and social media. Overall it was found that a more strategic approach is needed during the design and implementation of social marketing campaigns. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) was used to structure findings and provide context for campaigners. In practice the FSSD would be used to inform The Strategic Planning Process (SPP), proposed for development of social marketing campaigns that move society towards sustainability.

Shelter poses global sustainability challenges, as the population increase accelerates and resources dwindle. It is crucial for initiatives addressing the growing housing demand to incorporate a sustainability perspective. Open source, a form of Internet information-sharing, is being utilised by various housing initiatives worldwide. However, a sustainability perspective is not always included in a robust and holistic way, despite the negative impacts for human needs and ecosystems resulting from many aspects of current housing practices. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development includes basic conditions for a sustainable society and a planning and decision-making methodology to move systematically towards sustainability. It provides a robust method for organizing, evaluating and using tools to aid in handling sustainability challenges effectively. This thesis aims to contribute to the development of affordable, sustainable design solutions, by modelling the incorporation of the FSSD into open source housing initiatives. A case study of a housing project under development in Ghana is used. Despite the complexity of the system under study, the research concludes that bringing a strategic sustainable development perspective to open source approaches can act as leverage for housing to move towards sustainability. Within this context, guidance is provided for approaching open source housing to contribute to SSD. / <p>charcolatebar@live.ca</p>

There is an increasing acknowledgement in Eco-municipalities – cities using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) as a tool for their planning process – of the need for Cross-Sector Collaboration, but the necessary expertise is often lacking. The purpose of this study is to better understand effective CSC in Eco-municipalities through indicating potential leverage points and inform the use of the FSSD in this specific context. An 'effective CSC' lens is constructed from general CSC literature and documents from Eco-municipalities. 187 barriers and enablers to effective cross-sector collaboration are identified from interviews with experts and interviews from the In-depth Case Study in the city of Eindhoven. An 'Importance Index' defined by alignment with Lens Factors is developed to select key indicators. These key indicators are clustered into 45 potential leverage points for effective CSC in Eco-municipalities. The use of these potential leverage points is checked in an In-depth Case Study through a Causal Loop Diagram in which nine leverage points were identified. Interrelations between these leverage points, unexpected results and methodology are discussed, conclusions are drawn, and further research is suggested.

In the face of the complexity and the urgency of the sustainability challenge, communication of sustainability to the public to motivate behaviour change is found to be an urgent concern. Communication based on appealing to the values of the audience is particularly powerful in addressing social and ecological concerns. Previous research has shown that there is a positive correlation between appealing to intrinsic values and motivation for sustainable behaviours, as opposed to activation of extrinsic values which might lead to the counter outcome. This research seeks to investigate how values-based communication for sustainability can be applied strategically within the third sector based on the activation of intrinsic values. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) was used as a conceptual frame to enhance the contextualization of the topic and analyse the findings. Ten interviews were conducted with experts and practitioners in the field, aiming to capture the current application of the concept, the enablers, and barriers for implementing it as well as potential key factors for a successful and strategic practice of values-based communication. Interview findings indicated that a strategic approach is lacking when values-based communication is applied. Based on these findings, a set of recommendations were developed with the intention of serving practitioners and experts in the field. The primary aim of this study is to contribute to the enhancement of the strategic application of values-based communication for sustainability. / In this thesis it is discussed how values-based communication for sustainability can be applied strategically within the third sector, based on the activation of intrinsic values. Based on theoretical ground as well as the conducted research results a set of recommendations were developed with the intention of serving practitioners and experts in the field. The primary aim of this study is to contribute to enhancing the strategic application of values-based communication for sustainability.

This thesis aims to investigate what strategic guidance can be given to design transformative ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) programs in order to bring about the necessary shift away from our dominating mechanistic and transmissive educational model towards one that is transformative. ESD programs are of high importance when moving towards a more sustainable society, however, a lack of a strategic, full systems approach for planning in the field of complexity can be observed. This gap can be bridged by the use of the FSSD, the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, which is used as a conceptual framework throughout this paper. The field of transformative education was researched by using a mixed-methods approach, revealing what key elements and best practices are present that enable transformation to happen. The Cocoon model presented in this paper is derived from the results and intends to give strategic guidance for program designers on how to create a transformative ESD program. It is a process model that aids program designers to create the space for transformational learning to occur by strategically putting into place the elements that are conducive to transformation.

This thesis project extends current research on how Product-Service/Systems (PSS) increase the competitiveness of what businesses provide to society. In particular, when the significant stakeholders who create value, structured as a network, are also involved in the co-development of the value proposition. Applying the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), this study looks at how the early stages of a strategic planning process for sustainability could improve this co-development of PSS. The field research helped to understand the particularities of co-developing PSS and how the planning process could be adapted using the FSSD. As a result, theoretical dimensions, and general guidelines to put these into practice, are recommended in a model. The theoretical dimensions were field tested and refined. It was discovered that when creating the aspirational goals of the network, including other perspectives, in addition to companies and the customer’s, could expand the perception of value available to be provided. To do so is proposed a systematic understanding of the situation, and its socio-ecological context, where the activities of the value-based network of stakeholders are performed.

What other means of influence exist in business other than economic? That is the question we set out to answer in regards to the fashion industry and the specific supply chain of cashmere. The cashmere industry has been described as complex, therefore the research has taken a complex adaptive systems approach to investigate how relationships between parts give rise to the collective behaviours of a system and how the system interacts and forms relationships with its environment. This paper describes a qualitative case study research conducted to identify the potential influence that a small to medium enterprises can have on their supply chain actors to steer them towards sustainability. Looking specifically at the supply chain of one Scottish cashmere manufacturer within the luxury fashion industry we have assessed this company’s current reality to the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. This paper aims to present enablers and barriers towards influence, their correlations and complexity when looking at sustainability. In addition it will provide prescriptive thoughts for SMEs to support internal and external transition through sustainable development towards a sustainable cashmere supply chain.