Strongly Sustainable Societies Organising Human Activities on a Hot and Full Earth Routledge Studies in Sustainability Series

The response of the international community to the pressing socio-ecological problems has been framed around the concept of ?sustainable development?. The ecological pressure, however, has continued to rise and mainstream sustainability discourse has proven to be problematic. It contains an instrumental view of the world, a strong focus on technological solutions, and the premise that natural and human-made ?capitals? are substitutable. This trajectory, which is referred to as ?weak sustainability?, reproduces inequalities, denies intrinsic values in nature, and jeopardises the wellbeing of humans as well as other beings.

Based on the assumptions of strong sustainability, this edited book presents practical and theoretical alternatives to today?s unsustainable societies. It investigates and advances pathways for humanity that are ecologically realistic, ethically inclusive, and receptive to the task?s magnitude and urgency. The book challenges the traditional anthropocentric ethos and ontology, economic growth-dogma, and programmes of ecological modernisation. It discusses options with examples on different levels of analysis, from the individual to the global, addressing the economic system, key sectors of society, alternative lifestyles, and experiences of local communities.

Examining key topics including human?nature relations and wealth and justice, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental and development studies, ecological economics, environmental governance and policy, sustainable business, and sustainability science.

List of Figures

List of Tables

Notes on contributors

Acknowledgements

1 The call for strong sustainability

Karl Johan Bonnedahl and Pasi Heikkurinen

PART I

Roots of unsustainability

2 The long history of unsustainability: Inter-species relations since the 1850s

Tarja Ketola, Tuomas Räsänen and Taina Syrjämaa

3 Rethinking economic ontologies: From scarcity and market subjects to strong sustainability

Teppo Eskelinen and Kristoffer Wilén

PART II

Ethical foundations

4 Rights of nature as a prerequisite for sustainability

Pella Larsdotter Thiel and Henrik Hallgren

5 The energy ethic and strong sustainability: Outlining key principles for a moral compass

Giovanni Frigo

PART III

Public policy and urbanisation

6 Ecosystem infrastructure for sustainability: Revaluating nature through community-based water and land policies in Brazil

Mohammad Al-Saidi and Renata Buriti

7 Urban ecosystem services and stakeholders: Towards a sustainable capability approach

Anna Heikkinen, Hannele Mäkelä, Johanna Kujala, Jere Nieminen, Ari Jokinen and Hanna Rekola

8 Meat consumption and the environmental unsustainability of economic growth: The case of China

Jennifer Rivers Cole and Suzanne K. McCoskey

PART IV

Business management and investment

9 Business models based on strongly sustainable entrepreneurship: Insights from a systemic literature review

Herman Stål

10 Biodiversity as integral to strongly sustainable supply chains: Review and exemplars in the natural resources sectors

Anne Quarshie, Asta Salmi, Joanna Scott-Kennel and Anni-Kaisa Kähkönen

11 Sustainable investment and degrowth

Tommi Lehtonen

PART V

Identity, needs and wellbeing

12 Strongly sustainable consumption and a case of mistaken identity: A qualitative study on environmentally concerned individuals

Kristoffer Wilén and Tiina Taipale

13 Being matters: A holistic conception of wellbeing in the shift towards strongly sustainable societies

Tuula Helne

PART VI

Reconnect to the Earth

14 Relearning with permaculture: Exploring knowledges of innovation for strong sustainability

Maxim Vlasov and Zsuzsanna Vincze

15 Redesigning community as an ecovillage: Lessons from Earthaven

Todd Levasseur and Lee Warren

PART VII

Conclusion

16 Dead ends and liveable futures: A framework for sustainable change

Pasi Heikkurinen and Karl Johan Bonnedahl

Index

Karl Johan Bonnedahl, Senior Lecturer / Associate Professor, Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics, Sweden.

Pasi Heikkurinen, Lecturer, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, UK.