Challenges in Sustainability | 2013 | Volume 1 | Issue 1 | Pages 27–28

DOI: 10.12924/cis2013.01010027

Editorial

Sustainability Science: Progress Made and Directions Forward

Barry Ness

Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS), P.O. Box 170, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden;

E-Mail: barry[email protected]; Tel.: +46 462224809

Submitted: 17 May 2013 | Published: 21 May 2013

I am honored to contribute an editorial for the inaug-

ural issue of Challenges in Sustainability (CiS). It has

provided the opportunity for me to take a step back

and reflect on both the developmental progress in the

field of sustainability science since its formal launch,

now over twelve years ago [1,2], and where the field

might head in coming years. While it may always feel

that the field is changing too slowly to keep up with

the challenges it addresses, the developments have

been noteworthy, especially in academia. I will discuss

three areas: education, research and institutional

development.

The growing offering of sustainability (science)

educational programs at all levels has been an import-

ant part of the field’s evolution. Individual areas of

concentration can include business and management,

leadership, engineering, or policy management, to

name a few. Flagship programs are now found

throughout the world, including Arizona State Univer-

sity, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, and the

University of Tokyo. In addition, programs at smaller

academic institutions such as Furman and Kean

Universities in the U.S. have arisen to meet the

increasing demand for sustainability education. In

Sweden, where I am based, there are international

master’s programs in sustainability at Uppsala,

Stockholm, Malmö, and Lund Universities, as well as

Blekinge Institute of Technology. These programs and

their different foci, seek not only to increase student

knowledge to understand the complexities of

sustainability challenges, but also aim to strengthen

key competency development [3] in areas such as

facilitation and strategic leadership.

In addition to sustainability education, the nature

of research projects and programs in the field has also

changed. The changes have been driven by both top-

down funding priorities to finance research that is

more relevant to society, and bottom-up desire from

scholars to carry out more integrated work. This has

led to the slow evolution from a focus on descriptive-

analytical research, with emphases on understanding

the effects of environmental change, to transitional

(or transformational) research agendas that embrace

working in closer collaboration with societal stake-

holders. Such research may concentrate on, for

example, envisioning and scenario exercises, or

problem-solving strategies beyond change strict policy

change [4,5]. Transitional sustainability science re-

search is being carried out by individuals in innovative

Ph.D. projects focused on single case studies using

particular theories and approaches, and by networks

of researchers in longer-term programs, such as the

Earth System Governance project (www.earthsystem

governance.org), united by common sustainable de-

velopment themes.

To operationalize the education and research

agendas in sustainability science, new organizational

constellations have developed. Changes have ranged

from the creation of new faculty structures at a

number of universities, to the establishment of inter-

disciplinary research schools and programs. The Lund

University Centre of Excellence for Integration of

Social and Natural Dimensions of Sustainability

(www.lucid.lu.se) is just one example of a longer-term

program that unites senior and junior staff and Ph.D.

candidates from disciplinary backgrounds including

under a Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

Economics and Economic History, Philosophy, Physical

Geography, Human Geography, Political Science, and

Human Ecology. The frequent interactions via discus-

sions, debates, and joint publications have the goal

of, amongst others, fostering new professionals who

are capable of and accept working with the theoretical

and empirical multiplicities [6] often inherent in

sustainability education and research.

Despite the advancements over the past decade,

there is still much to be done. Continued creativity in

restructuring academic disciplines, departments, and

funding and tenure incentives are necessary to pro-

mote the interaction needed to achieve the interdis-

ciplinary goals of sustainability science. Sustainability

issues must also be strengthened in other areas such

as the arts and humanities utilizing alternative forms

of knowledge dissemination. In the area of education,

additional sustainability programs are still needed, but

more importantly, there must also be increased efforts

in mainstreaming sustainability into all educational

programs at different levels. Finally, the field must

also continue to place strong emphases on reaching

outside of academia in addressing pressing societal

challenges.

The launch of Challenges in Sustainability repres-

ents an important step in further strengthening the

field. The journal’s broad aims that focus on systemic

analyses of sustainability challenges, solutions and

transition processes, and associated trade-offs within

socio-ecological systems, will create an important

publishing outlet for scholars involved in integrative

research. Furthermore, because Challenges in Sus-

tainability is open access, it will mean that the know-

ledge produced in it can reach a wider range of stake-

holders, adding one more attribute in a sustainability

science we want to create.

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Mabogunje A, Matson P, Mooney H. Sustainability

science. Science. 2001;292(5517):641–642.

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