As presented in the previous post, a systemic approach is needed to tackle complex sustainability issues. But what does this mean? In short, a systemic approach is a general definition applied to all methods that aim to look at complex systems without breaking them down too much into separate parts and looking at those parts one by one. 

An insightful way to present the power of systemic thinking is to apply it to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the moment, the definition and implementation of sustainable development is mainly guided by the UN Agenda 2030 (United Nations General Assembly 2015) published in 2015. The Action Plan consists of 17 main objectives related to sustainable development (Figure 1), and learning these objectives can be considered an important global goal for education.

However, presenting the 17 goals as a one level system structure, in a form of a “Christmas calendar” as shown in Figure 1, does not support systemic thinking. This way of presenting the Agenda 2030 goals does not take into account the interconnections between the goals, but sees complex sustainability issues as detached from each other. In reality many of the SDGs do interact with each other for example some goals may have an intensifying or restraining effect on other goals. Moreover, this type of illustration gives us an idea that the issue of sustainable development can be solved, so to speak, one door at a time. 

A better and more systemic way to structure the Agenda 2030 goals is the so-called wedding cake model, originally presented by Johan Rockström and Pavan Sukhdev (Figure 2). This model emphasizes that ecosystem services are the basis and the most important aspect of the entire system of sustainability and a prerequisite for social sustainability, and the economy is seen only as a tool to implement social sustainability. This idea is an integral part of the foundations of ecosocial civilization, which is also emphasized in the school curriculum and seeks to identify interdependencies between different dimensions of sustainability and emphasizes understanding of the systemic whole and experiencing compassion.

To conclude, instead of observing the 17 goals separately, a systems based approach focuses on how we might achieve the SDGs as a unit. There is a need to recognize that progress on one goal, can either undermine or enhance progress on other goals. With systemic thinking we can look beyond specific SDGs and recognize that systems are more than just the sum of their ecological, economic or social parts. 

Would you prefer the Christmas calendar or wedding cake model approach?

Have you used any systems thinking tools to tackle sustainability? Comment and share your best practices with our community, we want to hear from you!

Sources

Rockström, J. & Sukhdev, P. 2016. How food connects all the SDGs. Keynote speech at Stockholm EAT Food Forum, 13.5.2016. https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2016-06-14-how-food-connects-all-the-sdgs.html

United Nations General Assembly, 2015. Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. Resolution adapted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015. A/RES/70/1. https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N15/291/89/PDF/N1529189.pdf