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.

Organised community seed banks (OCBSs) are one of the main tools to preserve crop diversity at a local level and therefore constitute an important driver for local resilience, as well as an important tool to move society towards sustainability. Agriculture is a fundamental leverage point for society: it fulfils a basic survival need as well as being one of the causes of humans’ unsustainable impact on the environment. It also holds the key to the preservation of biodiversity, which is increasingly important in the face of climate change and extreme weather conditions, and the reduction in use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, which is necessary to move towards sustainability. Organised community seed banks have the potential to be a tool for this preservation of biodiversity, however, there is currently a lack of literature, resources and guidelines to position them as such. This research set out to identify the challenges that OCSBs face that could affect their success in contributing to a sustainable society, and the gaps between what management resources are available to them and their current management practices. With the aid of organised seed bank representatives and experts from around the world, the result was the design of a strategic approach to help OCSBs address their challenges and allow them to better contribute to the provision of food sovereignty, food security and socio-ecological sustainability.

In this thesis, the need for the step by step transformation of industry towards sustainability is emphasized. This work involves looking at the Olive Oil Industry (OOI) from a systems perspective through the lens of Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) and applying backcasting from a principled view of socio-ecological sustainability. A specific project is also looked at, the Integrated Waste Management Project (IWMP), which aims at contributing to the sustainability of this particular industry. The OOI was analysed through the ABCD methodology, a tool used in planning for SSD, and measures were drawn up to guide the industry’s transformation. Following this analysis, the IWMP was examined within the context and results of the OOI research. Overall, the industry is transitioning and the IWMP is a good opportunity and contributor to the evolution of the Olive Oil Industry towards sustainability. At the same time, OOI and other industries would benefit greatly from embracing a systems perspective and a strategic approach for sustainable development.

This thesis investigates the potential of User-Centered Design (UCD) and Agile to support Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) practice in product and product-service system (PSS) design. UCD tools and concepts are used to support stakeholder and needs research. Agile provides process support for collaboration and resilience. SSD tools and concepts are used to define and work within the system boundaries for sustainability. All three practices are combined in an innovation approach that supports collaborative and cross-functional design teams as they develop products and PSS. Design teams using this approach will work to satisfy the needs of customers while considering the needs of all non-customer stakeholders and the ecosphere. The full-systems context emphasized in the approach will support innovation and encourage design teams to consider services as complements to, or substitutes for, physical products.

The purpose of this thesis is to design an organisation attempting to facilitate cross-sectoral, action-oriented collaboration to influence systemic change towards sustainability, and to create a Design Guide for achieving this objective. To answer this, we conducted a participatory action research with Smart Urbanism: London (SU:LDN) as a case study. This is a start-up organisation whose goal is to introduce the paradigm of complexity thinking to the planning, design and delivery of cities in order to create a new, responsive and sustainable urban fabric. They intend to faciitate a mass collaboration across the relevant sectors. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) was used as a lens for the overall research, the analysis of SU:LDN and the construction of the Design Guide.

Professional sporting events draw staggering crowds to stadia on a yearly basis. This combined, with the prosocial psychological effects of attending professional games and the cultural meaning of stadia to a community, provide excellent opportunities for municipalities to use their stadia in a movement towards global socio-ecological sustainability. While these opportunities are available, the industry is not well established to realize their potential. Our research, through application of the framework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD), offers measures to facilitate such a move. In application of the framework, however, a key threat of professional team monopoly power was identified, putting into question the perpetuation of public ownership over facilities with professional teams as tenants. If a solution is to be reached within this model, a multi-stakeholder approach is endorsed, where reduction of team monopoly power is conceded for the long-term benefits to municipalities. / <p>Cristhian G. +46 733 -572918</p>

There is an overall consensus that the poor governance and corruption plaguing many developing nations are main inhibitors to progress. These inhibitors also lead to the overwhelming feelings of desperation, apathy, and determinism. International development assistance programs utilizing capacity building have been created to deal with sustainable development issues in the developing world. Often these programs are fragmented and address results, not the causes, of problems. This study assesses how existing community development approaches could be aided through a strategic sustainable development perspective. A majority of the research involved creation of a holistic innovative community development approach, which encourages transformational change and effective leadership, and comparison of that to an existing community development approach. Strengths and limitations were observed through this comparison and generic recommendations were created to support current approaches. The study found that existing development assistance strategies are effective at building capacity and helping communities, but encompassing a more holistic perspective could align planning and decision-making with socio-ecological sustainability and thereby support mid- and long-term progress.

The primary intent of this thesis was to determine if and how the practice of Art of Hosting, a dialogue–based, participatory process architecture, could foster social capital in communities and other large, complex social systems working to address a variety of complex challenges, in order to draw conclusions that could contribute, in a meaningful way, to the advancement of strategic sustainable development (SSD). We hoped to gain useful insights by examining and interpreting the results from two case study systems existing within very different social contexts and with very different organizational structures: Columbus, Ohio and the European Commission. Based on the results of our research, strategic recommendations, guidelines and tools were developed for SSD practitioners wishing to assess the level of social capital in the systems in which they operate and take strategic steps to increase it. These same recommendations, guidelines and tools should also be helpful for Art of Hosting practitioners working to address complex societal challenges in general. Overall, the authors of this thesis believe that these results hold particular significance for any collaborative or multi-stakeholder effort to build support for adoption, and ensure the successful implementation, of sustainability goals and programs. This could include Eco-Municipalities, Transition Towns, Agenda 21 Communities, Smart Cities, and large complex organizations such as multi-national corporations or universities, to mention but a few. / <p>daly.elaine2013@gmail.com</p>

This research explores one avenue for achieving sustainability within the fashion industry; which as it exists today is unsustainable. The Slow Fashion movement has an existing foundation in the larger fashion industry and is already making strides towards sustainability. The authors used this opportunity to examine a strategic approach, as its current approach is ad hoc. First, the authors assessed the Slow Fashion movement using the 5 level Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. To analyze the Slow Fashion movement further, the concept of Leverage Points was used to provide a focused lens to assist the author’s in navigating through the fashion industry’s complex system. Findings were synthesized into thirty strategic recommendations that target various players in the Slow Fashion movement. Three key recommendations will provide the most leverage in strengthening the Slow Fashion movement: 1) Co-create Slow Fashion Principles to represent the values of the movement and a shared definition of sustainability 2) Establish an overarching global network and local chapters for the Slow Fashion movement 3) Harmonize global garment and textile labelling initiatives under a Slow Fashion label.

Building capacities of sustainability change agents is primordial to increase the effectiveness and to accelerate the process towards a sustainable society. This research investigates the current challenges and practices of sustainability change agents and analyses current research in the field of leadership development. A Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development is described as a means to overcome and address the complex challenges that society faces today. Furthermore the development of leadership capacities of sustainability change agents is suggested as a strategic factor for the process of sustainable development. A literature study highlights the new dimension to leadership development and defines its characteristics. Interviews and focus groups with sustainability practitioners and students are analysed. From this analysis a set of methods and approaches to professional and personal development is derived. The research points to the need of developing leadership capacities, of sustaining them and of having the ability to be self-aware. It is mentioned that the development of these capacities will depend on the supporting environment, the methods employed and on the candidate itself in order to achieve best results.