The role of governance in realising the transition towards sustainable societies

Abstract

It is widely known that governance is central to the successful implementation of sustainable development policies and measures. Yet, there is a paucity of research which explore the links between governance and sustainability. This paper attempts to address this research need by providing an analysis of the role of governance in enabling e and to some extent e fostering a transition towards sustainable societies. A set of indicators for assessing the capacity for and willingness and commitment to transition to a more sustainable society is presented, enabling identification of direction of change. This paper presents the results of a study, in the context of which sustainability governance has been comparatively investigated in a sample of European countries with, by methodological purpose, very different economic, environmental, political and social conditions (Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland). Lessons learnt and examples of good practice e which may be replicable elsewhere-are outlined. For instance, it is discussed that limited knowledge about sustainable development amongst municipal development planners and decision-makers, deficiencies in policy integration, intersectoral cooperation, municipality and stakeholder cooperation and urban management practices are major reasons for weak governance practices in sustainable development. Furthermore, some recommendations on the role of sustainability governance are made, so as to allow the integration of the principles of governance into sustainability practice and hence provide a more general basis upon which a transition towards sustainable societies may become a reality in different types of European countries and societies. The scientific value of this paper lies in identifying opportunities for integrating principles of governance into sustainability practice, as well as outlining the basis for sustainability transitions, providing a general picture of required policy measures. The paper offers a unique comparative analysis of sustainability governance in the Baltic Sea countries, outlining some of the challenges in sustainability governance in the Baltic Sea region. .

Critical reflections on the theory and practice of social sustainability in the built environment – a meta-analysis

“…This 'classic formulation', however, has been subject to challenge and critique. Some scholars accept the triad structure but underline the urgency of providing a balance between the three components and integrating them as the prerequisite for achieving sustainability (Neuman 1998, Berke 2002, Winston and Eastaway 2008, Dale and Newman 2010, Peterson 2016, others from a revisionary standpoint propose alternatives and challenge the accuracy and sufficiency of the proposed triad framework (Hawkes 2001, Godschalk 2004, Duxbury and Jeannotte 2010, Burford et al 2013, Soini and Birkeland 2014, Leal Filho et al 2016). Here we reflect on a number of key critiques that will help us gain a more nuanced understanding of the debate.…”

“…To address this deficiency, he proposes a 'sustainability/liveability prism' which combines values of equity, economy, ecology, and liveability, and the connecting axes represent the interaction between them. Leal Filho et al (2016) propose governance as a key element for successful implementation of sustainable development policies and measures. They argue that a weak governance practice at the local and national level jeopardises achieving sustainable societies and recommend integrating principles of governance into sustainability practice.…”

PLS and OPLS Discriminatory Analyses on Political Sustainability in Taiwan

“…As far as the measurable indicators of the political sustainability are concerned, Filho et al (2016) elucidate that some indicators are comprised of the existence of social justice and accepted ethical values, as well as attention to economic and ecological values of natural resources, and the degree of recognition by the citizens [9].…”

Responsibility, inequality, efficiency, and equity in four sustainability paradigms: Policies for a shared sea from a multi-country analytical model

“…Alternative feasible sustainability paradigms (i.e., weak sustainability and de-growth) could reduce the intra-generational inequality in welfare with respect to strong sustainability. However, this will require a change of environmental perception (Lundberg, 2013), which in turn will require a larger stakeholder capacity, willingness, and commitment to transition to a more sustainable society (Leal Filho et al, 2016) as well as a tighter agreement among the stakeholders on participation, legitimacy, and top-down vs. multi-stakeholder approaches to governance (Hassler, 2016) Appendix A α F : the future preference for consumption α i : the current preference for consumption in country i β i : the degree of current concern for nature in country i γ i : the degree of current concern for future generations in country i δ i : the degree of current concern for less-developed current generations in country i ε: the degree of aversion to intra-generational inequality ζ: the degree of aversion to inter-generational inequality η: per capita equilibrium use of the environment consistent with the current relevant population θ i : the current use of the environment for each consumption unit for the country i θ F : the use of the environment for each consumption unit for the future generation EC: weighted per capita use of the environment by the current generation EF: per capita use of the environment by the future generation E i : per capita use of the environment by the current generation in country i p i : proportion of the total population in country i U: overall utility as a function of consumption UC: weighted utility for the current generation as a function of consumption UF : utility for the future generation as a function of consumption U i : utility for the current generation in country i as a function of consumption W: overall welfare as a function of environment use WC: welfare of the current generation as a function of environment use XC: weighted per capita consumption by the current generation XF: per capita consumption by the future generation X i : per capita consumption in country i…”