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[interplayingforsustainability]

Can art help tackle climate change?

In a world struggling with the complex challenges of climate change, the concept of transdisciplinarity has gained attention, smashing the barriers between art and science to promote innovation and holistic understanding. The interplay of art and science becomes a powerful tool for untangling the complexities of climate-related issues. Foundations such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, which can be visited in my country's capital - Lisbon, Portugal - focus their work on "promoting the development of people and organisations, through art, science, education and charity, for a more equitable and sustainable society".

Artists bring a unique perspective to the scientific discussion on climate change. Without the restrictions of traditional scientific communication, they transform complex climate data into visual narratives that speak directly to the public's emotions and conscience. Learn more about it in this TEDx Talk by Thijs Biersteker.

Transdisciplinarity becomes a catalyst for deep insights and emotional responses. Breaking away from specialisation, this fusion of art and science serves as a link, promoting a deeper understanding of climate-related complexities and inspiring collective action. It reinforces the idea that interplaying between seemingly disparate fields can lead to a more comprehensive and impactful response to the urgent global issue of climate change.

[interplayingforsustainability]

Planning Xmas gatherings: decisions based on feedback

Organising Christmas gatherings is more complex than it sounds, and there are similarities in this process with the complexities of the politics of environmental knowledge. Much like decision-making for environmental issues, the event organisers navigate cultural diversity, stakeholder preferences, and logistics. And similar to environmental policies that rely on figures, planning and event involves considering the number of attendees, budget, and logistics.

Negotiation and inclusion become the organiser’s guiding stars, just like in political interaction in scientific fields. Choices, from location to cookie recipes to follow, reflect the processes of categorisation that guide the creation of scientific knowledge, and questioning traditional Christmas norms may reflect the ongoing critique of standardised categories in environmental governance, urging us to embrace diverse values.

The call for responsible science aligns with the organisers engaging the group in a meaningful experience. Unexpected twists and turns might occur in these events and navigating them reflects the contingent effects of classifications in science. During the process, the organiser might find himself stuck on his own Christmas traditions and trying to implement them in the gathering, which parallels the caution against blindly seeking impact in environmental knowledge.

Design thinking (DT), a dynamic problem-solving approach, is for some fundamental to meeting the challenges of sustainability-orientated innovation (SOI). Like the organisation of Christmas gatherings, where different preferences and logistics come into play, the development of SOI faces complexities. DT’s key principles - problem framing, user focus, diversity, visualisation, experimentation, and iteration - offer a flexible framework for both innovative Christmas celebrations and organisational SOI development. Much like adjusting Christmas event planning based on stakeholder feedback, DT’s iterative nature protects against the spectre of unsustainable results, highlighting inclusivity and flexibility in festive and innovative explorations.

Image source: own, 2023

[interplayingforsustainability]

Stakeholders, Sustainability Management... and football?

Nowadays, sustainability is the hottest topic - and rightly so - shaping the way organisations work. At the heart of organisations there is something else, the “stakeholders”. So what about these terms and how do they relate?

Stakeholder theory has to do with the idea that organisations don’t operate in a vacuum. Organisations reflect the teams playing in a football match, and then there’s all the fans who want to get involved in the action - they’re the stakeholders. And just like football fans, stakeholders can influence the organisation, be influenced by it, or both. But why is this relevant to sustainability management? Because stakeholder theory can be your key to a sustainability strategy. By getting everyone involved in your organisation to think and act sustainably, you create a united front.

Suppose that your favourite football team partners-up with specialists to install solar panels and energy-efficient lighting in your stadium. This partnership benefits both the environment, by reducing energy consumption, the team as an institution, by reducing costs and improving its reputation for sustainability and the partners, through a marketing strategy. Actually, if you’re a FC Porto fan like me, you don’t have to imagine 😊.

So stakeholder theory can be a game-changer in the quest for sustainability, since it is about creating shared interests that benefit everyone involved. Plus, it pushes old-school managed companies to work towards the current agenda of sustainability, to satisfy the stakeholder’s needs. It’s like bringing the best of both worlds to the table, and that’s how you get the ball rolling on a sustainable future – by interplaying.

Image source: own, 2022

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Interplaying - what happens when trandisciplanirity meets wicked problems?

What is transdisciplinarity? Say Say I’m trying to fix my old Renault Clio. Transdisciplinarity is when you don’t focus only on the engine or the tyres, but bring different specialists - the mechanic, the painter, the electrician. They all work together, breaking their usual rules and methods, to give you a car that works like a dream (bearing in mind the limitations of Renault Clio from 2000 😊). Transdisciplinarity consists of connecting the dots between different areas of specialisation.

And what about wicked problems? It’s those super difficult puzzles that keep you awake at night – things like global warming. These problems are a mess and no one can just snap their fingers and solve them because there are so many divergent opinions. It’s almost like trying to plan a car journey with friends who all want to go in different directions.

But here’s the great thing: transdisciplinarity and complex problems are like salted peanuts and beer for a Portuguese. When you interplay them, you’re getting experts from different fields to come together and solve these issues. So it’s like having the car repaired by the mechanic, the painter and the electrician, while at the same time trying to figure out how to make the car journey work for everyone. They’re finding creative solutions that break the old rules and lead to a better world.

It’s all about interplaying to make the planet a happier and sustainable place!