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Understanding and Leading Sustainable Development: Shifting to Stakeholder Focus in Sustainable Housing
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Technology, Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8008-7913
2024 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Description
Abstract [en]

The systematic degradation of social and ecological systems’ ability to support human well-being is causing existential threats, this demands society to undergo a radical transition. Examples of these demands include biodiversity loss, climate change, inequality, and a decline in trust, highlighting the urgent need to adopt practices for sustainable development. This thesis explores the organisational process of Leading sustainable development.

The work starts with a linear logic where the Leading process is related to a chain starting with Understanding, Defining, Measuring, Communicating and ending with Leading sustainable development. The logic is used to conduct maturity assessments in the value chain for building in Sweden and globally where the results are used to indicate that there is a lack of understanding sustainability and sustainable development. With these empirical results research results, insights and theories are combined in a conceptual development using both abductive and retroductive inferences to describe the relation between the processes Understanding, Defining, Measuring, Communicating and Leading.

The conceptual development results in a new model – the LUnDeMeCo model which underlying mechanisms are described from a critical realist perspective. The conceptual development is positioned in the sub-theme of Quality Management research which suggests further integration between quality thinking and system thinking. The proposed goal of this theme in Quality Management is contributing to sustainable development through a shift from customer focus to stakeholder focus. Further results are derived through relating the shift from customer focus to stakeholder focus to the underlying system contexts and is informed by second-order critique guided by Critical Systems Thinking.

Main result is the proposed LUnDeMeCo model and the related system methodologies, in the form of principles, practices, and tools, which are context dependent. Where the context is related to a typology of sustainability challenges developed in one of the appended papers, and the System of System Methodologies grid used in Critical Systems Thinking.

The results contribute to the field of Quality Management where there is ambitions to support sustainable development, but confusion about the implications from the shift from customer focus to stakeholder focus. Results also contribute to organisations looking to engage in Leading sustainable development in understanding how different principles, practices and tools can support their organisational capabilities for Leading, Understanding, Defining, Measuring and Communicating.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2024. , p. 126
Series
Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology, ISSN 1651-6214 ; 2452
Keywords [en]
Sustainable Housing, Quality Management, Systems Thinking, Strategic Visions, Sustainable Development
National Category
Other Engineering and Technologies
Research subject
Engineering Science with specialization in Civil Engineering and Built Environment
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-538600ISBN: 978-91-513-2236-0 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-538600DiVA, id: diva2:1898737
Public defence
2024-11-06, B51, Uppsala universitet - Campus Gotland, Cramérgatan 3, Visby, 10:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2024-10-16 Created: 2024-09-18 Last updated: 2024-10-16
List of papers
1. Understanding building sustainability: The case of Sweden
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Understanding building sustainability: The case of Sweden
2020 (English)In: Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, ISSN 1478-3363, E-ISSN 1478-3371, p. 1-15Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

Sustainability reports constitute a good source to check how companies have understood sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to interpret how building sustainability has been understood, defined and measured, using sustainability reports from the building value chain in Sweden. Sweden has been chosen since it is rated as a sustainability leader and could therefore be expected to be a benchmark. The analyses are based on how sustainability has been defined and what the level of reporting maturity has been. A maturity grid that assesses if the most important impacts have been considered in the entire value chain has been used. Also, it has been checked if there are indicators measuring sustainability with externally set goals. Results indicate that there seems to be no common agreement on what building sustainability is. Most studied companies have not presented a clear definition of how they have interpreted sustainable development and there is no clear focus on key issues such as climate and affordability. Sustainable building could, based on the deduced main sustainability impacts, be seen as affordable with zero carbon footprint. Fundamental Key Performance Indicators for residential building sustainability could be such as m2 living per carbon footprint and per price.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2020
Keywords
building sustainability, sustainable development, definition, performance indicators, maturity grid, value chain
National Category
Construction Management
Research subject
Engineering Science with specialization in Civil Engineering and Built Environment
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-442034 (URN)10.1080/14783363.2020.1853520 (DOI)000600747600001 ()
Available from: 2021-05-07 Created: 2021-05-07 Last updated: 2024-09-18Bibliographically approved
2. How Is Building Sustainability Understood?-A Study of Research Papers and Sustainability Reports
Open this publication in new window or tab >>How Is Building Sustainability Understood?-A Study of Research Papers and Sustainability Reports
Show others...
2022 (English)In: Sustainability, E-ISSN 2071-1050, Vol. 14, no 19, article id 12430Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The global process of providing shelter plays an important role in sustainable development. Buildings are estimated to be responsible for up to 50% of global carbon emissions, which makes building a major issue for climate change. The common saying is that what "we cannot measure, we cannot improve". This assumes that we know what to measure, which requires that we have a common understanding. The indication is that there could be problems in how we understand building sustainability, which, if true, will reduce change towards sustainable building. The purpose of this paper is to assess how building sustainability is understood in building research and building practice. The research approach is to review how building researchers and building companies have interpreted sustainability in leading articles and in leading sustainability reports. These are assessed by studying how sustainability is described and then in more detail applying two maturity matrices on the articles and the reports. The preliminary results indicate that there could be a major problem in understanding sustainability among both building researchers and building company managers, which could constitute a significant obstacle to improving building sustainability. This might not only be related to building sustainability but could be a general problem.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI, 2022
Keywords
building value chain, defining building sustainability, measuring building sustainability, sustainable construction, understanding building sustainability
National Category
Environmental Analysis and Construction Information Technology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-487310 (URN)10.3390/su141912430 (DOI)000867197400001 ()
Available from: 2022-10-27 Created: 2022-10-27 Last updated: 2024-09-18Bibliographically approved
3. Strategic visions for local sustainability transition: measuring maturity in Swedish municipalities
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Strategic visions for local sustainability transition: measuring maturity in Swedish municipalities
2023 (English)In: Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, ISSN 1523-908X, E-ISSN 1522-7200, Vol. 25, no 5, p. 539-553Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The use of strategic visions based on concepts like climate-neutrality, net-zero emissions and energy efficiency is important to align action and build momentum. The agency of transition actors requires clear definitions and explanations of visions, enabling operationalization for action, monitoring and measuring of results. This paper develops a maturity scale for climate-related strategic visions among local governments. Further, the maturity of Swedish municipalities’ climate-related strategic visions is reviewed. The results show that out of Sweden’s 290 municipalities, 256 shows overall low maturity in their strategic visions, not supporting their local, regional and national system actors sufficiently. Furthermore, results from workshops indicate that the roles, mandate and process for working with municipal strategic visions are not clear. There is an ambiguity around visions that is hindering aligned action and progress.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2023
Keywords
Climate policy, local governance, sustainable transitions, climate neutrality, strategic visions
National Category
Engineering and Technology Public Administration Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-518060 (URN)10.1080/1523908x.2023.2218273 (DOI)001000173100001 ()
Available from: 2023-12-15 Created: 2023-12-15 Last updated: 2024-09-18Bibliographically approved
4. Focus on processes contextualised: How QM process tools and practices can support sustainable development
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Focus on processes contextualised: How QM process tools and practices can support sustainable development
2024 (English)In: The TQM Journal, ISSN 1754-2731, E-ISSN 1754-274X, Vol. 36, no 9, p. 94-113Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Purpose: Quality management (QM) can support organisations in contributing to sustainable development. As a result of an expanding focus from customers towards stakeholders within QM, the perspectives to consider multiply. Understanding how practices and tools for process management are specifically affected by this increase in perspectives is key to creating the right conditions for improvement initiatives that support sustainable development.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper constructs a typology wherein the use of process management practices and tools is described in nine distinguished system contexts. Inductive discrimination is used to differentiate the system contexts and different use cases for process practices and tools.

Findings: Using the system of systems grid (SOSG), mainstream business process management (BPM) practices are positioned in a simple unitary context, whilst sustainability challenges also involve more complex contexts. Addressing these challenges requires integrating new tools and methods from paradigms outside of traditional functionalist business process management practices.

Research limitations/implications: This paper highlights the necessity to consider system contexts when developing feasible practices and tools for effective process management.

Practical implications: Practical implications are that quality practitioners aiming to exploit the potential in process management to support sustainability get support for planning and conducting process improvement initiatives aiming to consider several stakeholder perspectives.

Originality/value: This paper presents a new typology for understanding the context of QM process initiatives and BPM in light of a contemporary sustainability focus.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2024
Keywords
Quality Management, Processes, Stakeholder Focus, System of systems, Sustainability, Quality, Sustainable development
National Category
Civil Engineering
Research subject
Quality Technology and Management (HGO); Engineering Science with specialization in Civil Engineering and Built Environment; Engineering Science with specialization in industrial engineering and management
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-537914 (URN)10.1108/tqm-11-2023-0378 (DOI)001222341700001 ()
Available from: 2024-09-06 Created: 2024-09-06 Last updated: 2024-09-18Bibliographically approved
5. Exploring opportunities for sustainable housing: The case of East Africa
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Exploring opportunities for sustainable housing: The case of East Africa
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This paper contributes to the development of a problem structuring method for exploring sustainability opportunities in systems. It presents a case of designing the plane while flying it, using an action research methodology to develop the Sustainability Opportunity Study over a period of 2 years. The problem structuring method was applied and developed in the context of a research and development network for improving sustainability of housing in East Africa through alternative binders in block-based building. The resulting method consists of the three main stages Diagnosing, Analysing, Solving, where activities are informed by critical systems thinking and insights derived from experience and reflections from the case. The method uses different types of workshops to derive specific project proposals for further implementation and realisation of the identified sustainability opportunities. Results also suggest four types of evaluation of the Sustainability Opportunity Study based on the main focus of the intervention: Focus on effectiveness (number of relevant project proposals), focus on creating shared understanding (perceived learning among participants), focus on ensuring fairness (level of engagement among marginalized stakeholders), or focus on commitment to Critical Systems Thinking (breadth and depth in Diagnosing, Analysing and Solving).

Keywords
Sustainability opportunities, problem structuring method, critical systems thinking, sustainable housing, workshop, sustainability opportunity study
National Category
Other Civil Engineering
Research subject
Engineering Science with specialization in Civil Engineering and Built Environment; Engineering Science with specialization in industrial engineering and management
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-537918 (URN)
Available from: 2024-09-06 Created: 2024-09-06 Last updated: 2024-09-18Bibliographically approved
6. Space of Challenges (SOC) Framework: Problems, Issues and Dilemmas in Sustainable Housing
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Space of Challenges (SOC) Framework: Problems, Issues and Dilemmas in Sustainable Housing
2024 (English)In: Systemic Practice and Action Research, ISSN 1094-429X, E-ISSN 1573-9295Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

In pursuit of global sustainable value creation, the conceptual ambiguity inherent in sustainability poses a challenge for goal-seeking problem-solvers. This paper addresses this challenge by introducing a typology for distinguishing among nine types of sustainability challenges that could be faced in systemic intervention. To navigate the complexity and vagueness inherent in sustainability, the Space of Challenges (SOC) is utilized as a tool for second-order systems thinking, grounded in the fundamentals of critical systems thinking. The paper aims to support system thinkers seeking to organise a systemic intervention for improved sustainability performance of systems. The support is developed to contribute to the alignment of sustainability challenges with suitable systems methodologies in multimethodological systemic interventions. A typology is proposed to differentiate sustainability challenges, and then integrated with the Cynefin sense-making framework to categorise challenges as simple, complicated or complex. The Space of Challenges framework is then applied to a case of sustainable housing in East Africa exploring alternative binders in block-based building, to highlight the differences among the nine types of proposed sustainability challenges.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2024
Keywords
Sustainability, Sustainable development, Critical systems thinking, Critical systems practice, Sense-making, Cynefin
National Category
Other Engineering and Technologies not elsewhere specified
Research subject
Engineering Science with specialization in Civil Engineering and Built Environment; Engineering Science with specialization in industrial engineering and management; Quality Technology and Management (HGO)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-537916 (URN)10.1007/s11213-024-09678-y (DOI)001242180000001 ()
Funder
Uppsala University
Available from: 2024-09-06 Created: 2024-09-06 Last updated: 2024-09-18

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