Search results for "Planet"

Local knowledge and global justice : From hegemonic development to planetary well-being

2024

This chapter discusses the relationship between critical development studies and planetary well-being, showing how the former can add insights to the latter to build a comprehensive theory. Critical development studies is introduced as a field of study, which provides tools to uncover hidden power dynamics and ecologically destructive patterns in contemporary development. Development is analysed as a particular model of the good life, a societal programme, an epistemological system of power, and a global governance system. Using insights from critical development studies, the chapter points out differences between sustainable development and planetary well-being, noting that sustainable dev…

Planetary well-being as a strategic goal : The University of Jyväskylä pursues Green Campus polices

2023

Towards cultural transformation : Culture as planetary well-being

2024

Culture covers myriad aspects of human life. Most often it is understood as intellectual or artistic practices, but in a broader view, culture covers the habits, lifestyles, traditions, beliefs, values, and worldviews that shape human lives and societies. Culture also undergoes continuous change and is affected by human actions. Current ecological and well-being crises caused by destructive cultural practices and actions pose an existential risk to both humans and nonhumans. This chapter argues that when challenging, preventing, and changing such destructive human practices and actions, the role of culture is indispensable. Building on and rethinking cultural sustainability, the chapter out…

Consumption and planetary well-being

2024

This chapter considers sustainable marketing and consumption from the perspective of planetary well-being (PW). While marketing is commonly associated with unsustainability, sustainable marketing can create, communicate, and deliver value to consumers in ways that ensure and restore the urgent needs of nature. Sustainable consumption at the acceptable threshold of disturbance on needs satisfaction globally requires critical reflection on the current norms and practices alongside thoughtful solutions for guiding action. The firstpart of the chapter presents the problematization of marketing and consumption against sustainability from the PW angle. It critically discusses the drivers of and b…

Eudaimonia and temperance : A pathway to a flourishing life

2024

The concept of planetary well-being rests on the idea that since human activities are among the root causes of the ecological crisis threatening the well-being of human and nonhuman nature, accordingly, solutions lie in transforming human behaviour and shifting the prevailing paradigm towards embracing enhanced visions of the “good life.” The ongoing ecological crisis has evoked profound questions regarding the nature of the good life, requiring consciousness and reflection of scholars’ paradigmatic worldviews. This chapter adopts the lenses of transformative consumer research (TCR) and positive psychology, emphasizing individual, societal, and environmental well-being—challenging the assum…

Planetary well-being and sustainable business : A work in progress

2024

Businesses have a significant impact on global environmental and social sustainability. To address the related issues, the concept of sustainable business has been introduced, which refers to the practices that businesses can adopt to minimize their negative economic, environmental, and social impacts. This chapter presents a critical analysis of selected sustainable business concepts and practices using planetary well-being as a conceptual framework. In terms of conceptual approaches, the chapter discusses circular economy (circulation of resources without creating waste), degrowth (shrinking of production and consumption to respect planetary boundaries), and sustainability transition (rad…

Introduction to interdisciplinary perspectives on planetary well-being

2024

This chapter gives an overview of the objectives of the book, presents its structure, and summarizes the content of each section and chapter. It introduces planetary well-being as a novel cross-disciplinary concept coined to foster global transformation to a more inclusive and equal expression of well-being for all. The chapter describes how researchers from different human, social, and natural sciences apply and reflect on the concept of planetary well-being in this book, demonstrating its value as an interdisciplinary and cross-cutting driver of change. The Introduction concludes that sustainability science and policy need a concept of well-being that is built on systemic and non-anthropo…

A landscape approach to planetary well-being

2024

“Landscape” refers to a perceivable spatial level shaped by socio-ecological interactions and represents the systems where people live. Human societies have globally transformed landscapes to meet their needs, e.g., nutrition or shelter, according to cultural preferences. This human domination of land has resulted in considerable competition for space with other lifeforms, driving biodiversity loss through land-use change and intensification, as well as coming into conflict with planetary well-being. Recent research has highlighted the relevance of the landscape level when articulating human activities with and in their environment and maintaining human and nonhuman cohabitation. Indeed, th…

The ecosocial paradigm in social work : Striving for planetary well-being

2024

This chapter focuses on the concept of planetary well-being from the perspective of social work. Social work is a practice-oriented profession and academic discipline that takes many different forms globally. We present an outline of the emerging ecosocial paradigm in social work. This rather new approach attempts to adjust the profession’s core emphasis on social problems of and between human beings, shifting it to a position that puts humanity’s dependence on the natural environment at its centre. The chapter discusses the similarities between the ecosocial paradigm and the concept of planetary well-being. It further asks what added value the concept of planetary well-being might bring to…

Financial system in steering the economy towards planetary well-being

2024

This chapter discusses the possible roles that financial system may play in steering economic production towards planetary well-being. The costs associated with using natural resources are seldom equal to the actual environmental costs incurred. The present chapter proposes linking Sir Partha Dasgupta’s Impact Equation and the standard asset pricing framework and discusses the roles that financial institutions and central banks as well as debt and equity funding play in supporting production that preserve planetary well-being via the incentives of those in need for and those willing to supply funding. It is proposed that the increasing costs of capital and the financial exclusion of non-env…