Sustainability Transformations and Society

Under this theme, research teams analyse challenges and developments in society that enable or hinder transformations towards sustainability. This research seeks to gain a better understanding of the societal structures, interrelationships, and dynamics relevant to sustainability and investigates strategies to foster sustainable social well-being. The social, political, and institutional dimensions of sustainability transformations and the democratic governance of these transformations within the multi-level political system are central to this research.

The questions addressed under this theme include: How can the collaborative development and sharing of knowledge improve sustainability governance at the regional, national, and international levels? Which stakeholders play a crucial role in decision-making? How must participatory processes be designed in order to involve diverse interest groups in the co-production of knowledge and strengthen marginalised voices so that transformations are both democratic and just?

Researchers examine these issues in the context of transformations underway in different sectors, including: energy, mobility, food systems, industrial production, and the social sector. Sociotechnical design options and innovations, such as new energy technologies and the digitalisation of production, as well as political processes and asymmetries of power are a particular focus of this work. The scope of this research extends to the analysis of individual and collective positions and perceptions of justice, agency, and resilience as well as normative conflicts of objectives in the context of sustainability transformations. Researchers analyse the social conditions and their interactions with consideration to these aspects because understanding these processes is and will be essential for efforts to shape transformations towards sustainability.