Universities are needed in sustainability work

Karin Bäckstrand, Jonas Ebbesson and Åsa Wikforss in the first panel discussion. Photo: Jens Lasthein

Stockholm University has previously arranged the Sustainability Forum in Aula Magna on three occasions. The forum is a way to highlight the role academia, together with industry and other societal actors, can play in the transition to a more sustainable society. Last year's event was made together with colleagues from the university alliance Stockholm Trio (which includes Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University) and Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). It was called Sustainable planet, sustainable health – how science-based solutions can drive transformative change and was held at the new university campus Albano.

This year, the Stockholm Trio drew attention to sustainability issues with a major conference on 4 October 2023, once again in Aula Magna at Stockholm University. This year called Sustainability Forum and entitled "Universities and the 2030 Agenda: taking stock and moving forward". Around 450 visitors attended on site, and at least as many followed the event digitally during the day.

Halfway to the year 2030

Actor Hannes Meidal from the Royal Dramatic Theatre started the day by reading Stig Dagerman's essay "Our need for comfort is insatiable" (Vårt behov av tröst är omättligt) from 1952. Pivotal in this work is faith – or lack of faith – about the future. The ability to believe that we will be able to achieve the 17 sustainability goals (and targets) that the UN set in 2015 in the hope that they will be achieved by 2030 was also a recurring theme during the day.

In his welcome speech, Stockholm University's Deputy President Clas Hättestrand reminded the audience that there are only seven years left until 2030. Åsa Persson, Head of Research at SEI, then presented the status of the work to achieve the sustainability goals. She is one of 15 researchers commissioned by the UN to produce the Global Sustainable Development Report 2023 which is an evaluation of the global status of the work to achieve the sustainability goals.

Small progress to achieve the SDGs

Åsa Persson from SEI talked on the status of the Sustainable Development Goals. Photo: Jens Lasthein

Åsa Persson gave a gloomy picture. Only 15 per cent of the targets are being met according to plan. These are mainly the goals related to health and well-being and infrastructure (such as access to electricity and internet). Almost half (48 per cent) of the goals are expected to progress only partially according to plan, and in 37 per cent of the goals, the work is considered to have stagnated or gone in the wrong direction.

The goals Åsa Persson believes should be focused on and develop are Reduced inequalities (Goal 10) and Peace, justice and strong institutions (Goal 16). As the different goals are linked to each other, focusing on these goals can also have positive effects on the other goals. Åsa Persson emphasized that it is a major challenge to achieve the goals by 2030 – and that there is a need to increase the pace of the work. But she still sees positive signs, such as an increased awareness of the problems that exist and that there is interest among the business community to participate in the transition.

“In order to achieve success, there must be a capacity for transition, there must be foresight and a willingness to promote innovations and investments that lead to sustainability," said Åsa Persson.

According to her, the main contribution of science to this process may be to diagnose the problems, identify the main obstacles that need to be removed, and to find appropriate and cost-effective ways forward – but also to critically examine both the work with the goals and the goal framework itself.

Shortcomings in global sustainability policy

The first panel discussion of the day was entitled "Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: Compliance, Implementation and Legitimacy". The participants were Karin Bäckstrand, Professor of Environmental Social Science; Jonas Ebbesson, Professor of Environmental Law and Åsa Wikforss, Professor of Theoretical Philosophy – all at Stockholm University. Karin Bäckstrand spoke about the shortcomings in the design of global sustainability policy, such as governance, legitimacy and implementation. She also talked about how our dependence on coal complicates the transition to sustainability and how the decline in the number of democratic regimes in the world has a negative impact.

Jonas Ebbesson reflected on legislation, rules and norms in the area of sustainability. The SDGs themselves are not legally binding, but they still have a major political impact. And when they are translated into legislation at national or international level, they become crucial to achieving the SDGs.

Distinguish between the roles of researchers and decision-makers

Åsa Wikforss spoke about science and policy work. She emphasized that it is important to distinguish between the roles of researchers and decision-makers, in a democracy it is not researchers who set the goals or make the decisions. She also talked about fact resistance and how special interests try to politicize and question facts.

In the following discussion, issues such as how researchers should reach out to politicians with their message and the role of researchers were addressed. Karin Bäckstrand emphasized that science is only one of the politicians' decision-making criteria, "experts give advice and governments decide". The participants also agreed on the need for more transdisciplinary element in research and education.

Transdisciplinarity and "wicked problems"

Stefan Swartling Peterson, Kevin Noone and Nina Wormbs diskcussed transdisciplinarity. Photo: Jens Lasthein

Transdisciplinarity was also the theme of the second panel discussion – "Transdisciplinary Approaches to a Sustainable Future". The participants were Stefan Swartling Peterson, Professor of Global Health at Karolinska Institutet; Kevin Noone, Professor of Chemical Meteorology at Stockholm University, and Nina Wormbs, Professor of History of Technology at KTH.

Kevin Noone began by talking about "wicked problems". These are problems that are difficult or impossible to solve. They have no clear definition, no end state or end-goal, and often more than one cause. According to him, the Anthropocene, the era we are in now, which has great human impact on our planet, is filled with "wicked problems" without structures to deal with these problems. Kevin Noone also pointed out that universities are generally bad at rewarding employees who devote themselves to teaching and collaborating with the surrounding community – as the merit and reward systems are mainly focused on the research part.

Nina Wormbs added that climate issues are a "super-wicked problem".  Those who created the problem must solve it, but there is no central authority and it is urgent. She also emphasized the importance of researchers being able to communicate research results by translating them into scales and examples that affect them. In response to a question from the audience about how students can think about getting active in sustainability issues, Nina Wormbs answered:
"Knowledge is important, but it is possible to get involved in different ways. Join the group or context you feel most attracted to and work from there.”

Stefan Swartling emphasized the importance of civil society – but also that universities must have a more active role in the struggle for a sustainable society.

Culture important in sustainability work

The conversation ended with a question from a student about the importance of culture in sustainability work. All the panelists confirmed that culture has an important role to play. They also highlighted several examples from the universities within the Stockholm trio of initiatives where issues of culture and sustainability meet.

During the afternoon, four parallel seminars were arranged. These were:

• SDG 3 – Dimensions of sustainable health within planetary boundaries
• SDG 4: Knowledge for sustainability: education, enduring engagement and life-long learning
• SDG 11 – 2030 In sight: Towards sustainable cities here and now
• SDG 12 – Post fashion

Watch the video from the Sustainability Forum
Learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals at globalgoals.org