Thesis-2012-Monteiro-de-Barros.pdf (26.1 MB)
Creating sustainabilty: an exploration of innovation through dialogues
thesis
posted on 2012-04-12, 12:55 authored by Margarida Monteiro-De-BarrosOver the next 40 years industrialised economies will need to change the way in which
they use resources by a Factor of 10: this equates to a 90 per cent increase in
resource productivity and will require a radical shift in our thinking and practice. This
research explores what such change may mean and how it may be facilitated. Such a
change resonates with the growing need for industrial systems to operate within the
Earth s natural limits and fundamentally challenges business-as-usual responses to
sustainability.
This research addresses how people can begin to create sustainability. It is qualitative
in nature, follows a constructivist grounded theory methodology and is strongly based
on dialogues as a process to enable deeper understanding and a creative participatory
approach. Dialogues were conducted with ten sustainability experts, three sustainability
consultants and six organisations that are already shifting ways of thinking and practice
towards creating sustainability. Early dialogues with sustainability experts and
organisations were central in understanding mindsets and personal experiences and
the research shows that individuals and their values, beliefs and motivations are
essential in challenging the business-as-usual paradigm. Dialogues were further
cultivated in three workshops conducted with a broad audience to explore the early
research findings and to help refine the development of the main output of the
research, SuCo. SuCo is a methodology to address innovation for sustainability that
addresses both Sustainable Cultural and Operational transformations. In the latter
stage of the research two organisations were approached to apply SuCo to better
understand its validity and usability.
SuCo addresses innovation for sustainability from a radical perspective to promote an
approach towards sustainable cultures and outputs. It is a useful beginning to an
ongoing and much needed dialogue about sustainable-oriented futures.
History
School
- Design and Creative Arts
Department
- Design
Publisher
Loughborough UniversityRights holder
© Margarida Monteiro-De-BarrosPublication date
2011Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.EThOS Persistent ID
uk.bl.ethos.559217Language
- en
Supervisor(s)
Emma DewberryQualification name
- PhD
Qualification level
- Doctoral
This submission includes a signed certificate in addition to the thesis file(s)
- I have submitted a signed certificate