Prospective Stakeholder Engagement:
Toward Finding a Voice for the Future in
Sustainability Science
(or, Is there a Sustainability Theory?)
Mark W. Anderson
School of Economics
School of Forest Resource Seminar
September 9, 2011
Acknowledgements to…
• Mario Teisl & Caroline Noblet
Collaborators on this and so much more…
• SSI, Maine EPSCoR, NSF for material
support
• Tim Waring for asking the right question
Sustainability:
All things to all people?
Null Set?
Operational?
Are These Sustainability?
1. Sustainability ? rests on the principle that
the needs of the present must be met without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their needs. Wyman’s
core belief is that Economic Profitability,
Environmental Health and Social &
Economic Equity are mutually compatible
and imperative. Success at this, we believe,
will be a process of continuous improvement
in our stewardship of natural and human
resources.
2. Sustainability ?
At Walmart, we know that being
an efficient and profitable
business and being a good
steward of the environment are
goals that can work together…
Our efforts have been
recognized through numerous
awards, which would not be
possible without the support of
our customers, associates and
communities around the world.
3. Sustainability ? Launched in
1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability
Indexes are the first global indexes
tracking the financial performance
of the leading sustainability-driven
companies worldwide. Based on the
cooperation of Dow Jones Indexes
and SAM they provide asset
managers with reliable and objective
benchmarks to manage
sustainability portfolios.
SSI working definition of sustainability science
from PNAS:
An emerging field of research dealing with the
interactions between natural and social systems,
and with how those interactions affect the
challenge of sustainability: meeting the needs of
present and future generations while substantially
reducing poverty and conserving the planet's life
support systems.
http://www.pnas.org/site/misc/sustainability.shtml
Hence, My Cynicism
1. Sustainability has moved little beyond
Brundtland definition
•
“Development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.”
2. There is no meaningful operational definition
3. If it is good and I like it (and it somehow
relates to community, economics, &
environment), it must be sustainability
Into the Void:
Toward an Operational Theory of
Sustainability
• Based on Rawls’ A Theory of Justice
(1971)
• Extended by…
– Page (1977) Conservation and
Economic Efficiency -- “permanent
livability”
– Norton (1989) in Ecological Economics
The Argument: A Meander
#1
S.D. as
I-G. Equity
Sustainability as
an Inter-temporal Equity Problem
• Satisfy the needs of today
• Without diminishing ability of future to
satisfy its needs
• Needs = Wants? Wellbeing? Net Benefits?
• Assumes the future’s wants and needs
knowable
• One agreement: sustainability is an
intergenerational issue
Norton & Toman (1997)
• “If sustainability means anything…it
represents a concern for the future,
especially including horizons beyond the
length of a human generation” (p. 560).
or Pearce (2002)
• “…the definition (of sustainable
development) involves the notion of an
economic system in which well-being per
capita increases over time on a sustained
basis” (p. 62).
or UNESCO
• Declaration on the Responsibilities of the
Present Generations Towards Future
Generations (1997)
• “Each generation inheriting the Earth
temporarily should take care to use natural
resources reasonably and ensure that life is not
prejudiced by harmful modifications to the
ecosystems and that scientific and
technological progress in all fields does not
harm life on Earth.” (Article 4)
• …among many others
But we have an epistemology
problem…
•“…the tastes, the preferences, of future
generations are something we don’t know
about” (Solow, 2000, p. 181).
•“…the essential problem of sustainability arises
from the absence of knowledge about what
those in the future would wish for us to do”
(Bromley, 1998, p. 234)
•Can we “know” future wants & needs?
The Argument: A Meander
#2 Future
as Stakeholders
#1
S.D. as
I-G. Equity
What is this really?
• …a stakeholder engagement problem.
• Importance of stakeholder engagement in
Sustainability Science (van Kerkoff and Lebel,
2006)
• Largest group of stakeholders for
sustainability science?
– Future generations
• Can we engage them prospectively?
The Argument: A Meander
#2 Future
as Stakeholders
#1
S.D. as
I-G. Equity
#3
Rawls
Rawlsian Approach
• An application of social contract theory, used to
develop “justice as fairness” concept
• Used Original Position to define justice
• Imagine:
– No one knows class, status, gender, race,
nationality, capabilities, generation
• “veil of ignorance”
– All know how the world works, “…the general
facts about human society” (Rawls, 1971)
• Could we use to define sustainability?
What would rules of sustainability
be?
• Perhaps easier to say what not
• Not Benefit/Cost analysis
– Whose benefits?
– Discounting
• The real problem: how to imagine
sustainability from under the “veil of
ignorance”
– How to put ourselves in that space?
• A baby step towards answering this…
The Argument: A Meander
#2 Future
as Stakeholders
#4
Past as
Future
#1
S.D. as
I-G. Equity
#3
Rawls
Towards a Rawlsian Approach
• Retrospective stakeholder engagement
• Think of yourself as a stakeholder in past
decisions
• Exercise in retrospective regrets and
gratitude
• Thinking back to learn how to think
forward (Heilbroner, 1960)
Modeled After Retrospective
Technology Assessment (TA)
• 1970’s NSF Research Applied to National
Needs (RANN) program (Tarr, 1976)
• Part of larger Futures Research
movement
• Using tools of T.A. to “backcast” as a
means of learning how to better
“forecast”
The Argument: A Meander
#2 Future
as Stakeholders
#4
Past as
Future
#1
S.D. as
I-G. Equity
#3
Rawls
#5 Practice for
Prospective
Engagement
INFORMED CONSENT FORM
You are invited to participate in a research project being conducted by Mark Anderson, Mario Teisl,
and Caroline Noblet, faculty members in the School of Economics at the University of Maine. The purpose of
the research is to better understand how past decisions made in our society affected your perceptions of
sustainability. You must be at least 18 years of age to participate
What Will You Be Asked to Do?
If you decide to participate, you will be asked to answer four questions with a brief narrative
response. It will take approximately ten minutes to participate.
Risks
Except for your time and inconvenience, there are no risks to you from participating in this study.
Benefits
While this study will have no direct benefit to you, this research will help us learn more about the
way in which people think about intergenerational effects
Compensation: There is no compensation for your participation.
Confidentiality:
This study is anonymous. Please do not write your name on the questionnaire. There will be no
records linking you to the data. Forms completed will be kept in a locked cabinet in the School of Economics for
five years and then destroyed.
Voluntary
Participation is voluntary. If you choose to take part in this study, you may stop at any time. You
may skip any questions you do not wish to answer.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about this study, please contact Mark Anderson at (207) 581-3198 or
marka@maine.edu If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact Gayle
Jones, Assistant to the University of Maine’s Protection of Human Subjects Review Board, at 581-1498 (or e-mail
gayle.jones@umit.maine.edu).
Copy available if you wish.
Retrospective Stakeholder
Engagement – 5 minute exercise
•
Think about the decisions (policies,
technological developments, social
innovations, etc.) for as far back you
would like. With sustainability in mind…
1. Write a sentence about one that you
regret, … and why.
2. Write a sentence about one for which
you are grateful … and why.
Bridge to Rawls—Learning to Think
like the Future – Learning System for
Prospective Stakeholder Engagement
Learning how to give voice to future
stakeholders
Retrospective Sustainability Assessment to
practice Prospective Stakeholder
Engagement
Partial Reference List
• Bromley, Daniel W. (1998). Searching for sustainability: The poverty of spontaneous
order. Ecological Economics, 24, 231-240
• Heilbroner, Robert. (1960). The Future as History. New York: Harper.
• Hubacek, Klaus and Volker Mauerhofer. (2008). Future generations: Economic, legal
and institutional aspects. Futures, 40, 413-423.
• Norton, Bryan. (1989). Intergenerational Equity and Environmental Decisions: A
Model Using Rawls’ Veil of Ignorance. Ecological Economics, 1, 137-159.
• Norton, Bryan & Michael Toman. (1997). Sustainability: Ecological and Economic
Perspectives. Land Economics, 73, 553-568.
• Page, Talbot. (1977). Conservation and Economic Efficiency. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press.
• Pearce, David. (2002). An Intellectual History of Environmental Economics. Annual
Review of Energy and the Environment, 27, 57-81.
• Rawls, John. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge: Belknap Press.
• Solow, Robert M. (2000). Sustainability: An Economist’s Perspective. In. R.N. Stavins
(Ed.), Economics of the Environment. New York: WW Norton.
• Tarr, J.A. (1976). Retrospective Technology Assessment. Technology and Culture, 18(4),
655-658.
• van Kerkof, L. and L. Lebel. (2006). Linking knowledge to action for sustainable
development. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 31, 445-477.