Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS)

It was great to get to know people from University of Jyväskylä (JYU.wisdom), LUT University and University of Lapland (LOST -Law, Technology and Sustainable Transition) to learn what kind of projects and perspectives on sustainability research they are emphasizing at the moment. 🙏 Huge thanks to Corinna Casi for taking action to initiate this event! ❣️

Some more highlights (2/2) from Viikki Sustainability Research Seminar talks by Jani Salminen (Syke), Annukka Vainio (HELSUS) and Linda Rosengren (Luke)! Jani Salminen explained why quantitative modelling of sustainability transition is needed. 📊 System level changes are needed, and quantitative modelling can help to understand complex systems (such as food systems and energy systems) and interdependencies, trade-offs etc. within them. It helps to find leverage points by differentiating relevant from irrelevant. Annukka Vainio presented examples of sustainability transformation mindset barriers. 🚢 There are three mindset barriers: beliefs ("systemic transformation is not possible"), worldviews (such as individualism) and self-efficacy. 💭 “Sustainability mindset should be studied as part of policy transformation – all sustainability researchers as change agents should be minding the mindsets and also be critical on their own mindsets. We should remember to talk also of the solutions, not only the problems”, Vainio concluded. Linda Rosengren presented findings from a study about leverage points and resilience building in the context of food systems in western Nepal 👻 There is a high rate of migration, men are moving to other countries leaving women in Nepal – some villages already turned to “ghost villages.” 🌾 There is a lot of fields that are abandoned; therefore, people have started import cheap rice – it creates heavy reliance on imported food which makes the country vulnerable to political and natural shocks. 🔍 The study combines leverage point framework by Donella Meadows with resilience capacities (coping capacity, adaptive capacity and transformative capacity). 🏔 The frameworks are heuristic tools that are possible for politicians and practitioners to approach, understand and apply. Learn more about sustainability transition research & watch the seminar 📽 🤩 https://lnkd.in/eqUNMeKU

Are you wondering "what on earth are sustainability-aligned values?" If so, see new paper on "Sustainability-aligned values: exploring the concept, evidence, and practice" led by Prof. Adrian Martin. This paper builds on the evidence collated during the IPBES Values Assessment. https://lnkd.in/g-R6MCgC In the future, we will create a digest of papers co-created by my team at the new Human-Nature Transformations Research Group page.

🦟🌍 Improving the Sustainability of Malaria Cessation: Lessons from Cyprus 🌍🦟 Khalil Avi Betz-Heinemann, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, will be presenting his work on what we can learn from Cyprus, the first country to successfully achieve malaria cessation and sustain it. 🦟The presentation will look at what lessons were and were not learnt from the case of malaria cessation in Cyprus and why. Specifically, how explicit attention in the Cyprus programme to addressing structural determinants of health was dismissed as irrelevant by the academic evaluators of the programme's success visiting from the preeminent malariology institution of the time. This presentation will conclude with discussing how this and other lessons about malaria are acted on today or if forgotten how we might go about learning them. Khalil Avi Betz-Heinemann's research brings a unique perspective, combining anthropology and a (more-than) One Health approach to mosquito-borne diseases. He also contributes to the RESET, promoting transdisciplinary research. 💡 HELSUS-RESET Brown Bag Lunch 📅 21.11. at 11:30-12:30 @HELSUS Hub Lounge and Zoom. Zoom link & more info: https://lnkd.in/ewDvgjRT

Some highlights (1/2) from Viikki Sustainability Research Seminar talks by Paula Kivimaa (Syke) and Riina Bhatia (VTT, HELSUS)! Paula Kivimaa (Syke) delved deeper into what sustainability transition research is: 🌍 Sustainability transition research originated in 1990s Netherlands and is still primarily, but not only based in Europe. It aims to tackle environmental sustainability challenges with the focus on socio-technical system change. 🧠Sustainability transitions are highly complex and uncertain processes that essentially are not about technological changes, this is also about actors doing things in new ways, changing their mind-sets and routine practices and underlying institutional rules of the system. 👩🏫 Examples of new and expanding orientations in the research field: disruption, decline and destabilization, deep and multi-systems transitions, justice, security and geopolitics (watch the whole seminar to learn more!) Riina Bhatia (VTT, HELSUS) talked about the importance of feminist and decolonizing approaches in sustainability transition: 🚀 Traditionally, sustainability transitions research focuses on socio-technical change from a capitalist perspective, lacking gendered and post-colonial applications. ☝ Without taking into consideration the feminist and decolonial aspects, sustainability transitions are in the risk of leaving marginalized out, these perspectives are important to create a truly sustainable transition. 👩👧👦 Now mainstream sustainability transitions are based on and threat to deepen existing gender and colonial inequalities. Epistemological and ontological diversity – pluriversality is needed! Learn more about sustainability transition research & watch the seminar on Youtube 📽 🤩 https://lnkd.in/eKxaVVNe

🏙 🌳"As Europe strives for climate neutrality, architecture demands a paradigm shift—one that moves beyond techno-solutionism, accounts for climate justice, questions the extractive undercurrents of “ecological modernization", and more." We are happy to have Gytis Dovydaitis from Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania, presenting his project "Laboratory for [Living] Tree [as] Architecture" on 21.11. at 14-15 at HELSUS Hub Lounge and Teams. "How can we grow the path towards climate neutrality by accounting for diversity of perspectives and inter-species wellness as key elements in sustainable futures?", Dovydaitis asks. Read more & join us https://lnkd.in/eXt7rY_f

⏳ 🌎 Ekokriisi syvenee ja biologinen kello tikittää - miten ympäristöhuoli vaikuttaa lapsihaaveisiin? HELSUSin johtaja Susanna Lehvävirta kommentoi lastensaannin ja ilmastonmuutoksen yhteyttä Ylen artikkelissa, jossa Anniina Valtonen ja Kerttu Kotakorpi avaavat omia näkemyksiään ja kokemuksiaan. "Lapsen saaminen ei välttämättä ole merkittävä ”ilmastosynti”. Helsingin yliopiston kestävystieteen instituutin tutkimusjohtajan Susanna Lehvävirran mukaan avainasemassa ovat jokaisen henkilökohtaiset kulutustavat – oli sitten lapsia tai ei. – Lapset ovat jokaisen ihmisen perusoikeus, sitä ei voi koskaan kontrolloida tai kieltää. Mutta emme saa kasvattaa kuluttajia, vaan hyviä yhteisön jäseniä, jotka tekevät järkeviä päätöksiä ympäristön ja ilmaston kannalta, Lehvävirta toteaa." ➡ Lue koko juttu https://lnkd.in/dfWsVH9P

Etsitkö asiantuntijaa kommentoimaan COP29 kokousta? Helsingin yliopisto kokosi listan tutkijoista, jotka ovat valmiita antamaan kommentteja tulevaan YK:n ilmastokokoukseen liittyen. ➡ https://lnkd.in/e6Az4xji

Ilmastonmuutos on jo täällä. Meidän täytyy samaan aikaan varautua lämpenemisen vaikutuksiin ja estää kriisiä pahenemasta. Tiedekulman Ympäristö nyt -sarjan keskustelut 7.–26.11. tarjoavat tuoreinta tutkittua tietoa ilmastonmuutoksen ja luontokadon torjunnasta. Tule paikan päälle, seuraa striimejä tai katso ja kuuntele jälkikäteen! 🌍 To 7.11. klo 15 Mitä väliä on luonto- ja ilmastokokouksilla? (yhteistyössä Ympäristöministeriö - Miljöministeriet - Ministry of the Environment of Finland) 🌍 Ke 13.11. klo 17 Miten maapallon käy? 🌍 Ti 19.11. klo 17 Miten ilmasto muuttaa turvallisuutta? 🌍 Ti 26.11. klo 18 Lepakkoilta (yhteistyössä Yle Luonto) Lue lisää: https://lnkd.in/gthJqjNH 🌍 Tutustu myös juuri ilmestyneeseen Mitä ilmasto muuttaa? -Tiedekulmapokkariin (Gaudeamus Oy), jossa eturivin tutkijat kertovat, millaisten murrosten keskellä elämme ja miten lämpenevä ilmasto muuttaa elämäämme: https://lnkd.in/g2bVam6C

As part of the post-fossil and post-capitalist futures workshop, it was a privilege to hear Kohei Saito's keynote at Tiedekulma, where he introduced a compelling new approach: Combining communism with degrowth! “I am combining two unpopular concepts”, he started the speech. Nevertheless, Saito thinks together the concepts may offer a powerful alternative to address our current ecological and societal crises. Here are some of Saito’s points: 🔴 Communism & Degrowth—two traditionally unpopular ideas—are being combined in a fresh, even positive light. As we face ecological collapse and societal stagnation, Saito challenges the current system’s ability to address these crises. 🌍 Polycrisis of the Anthropocene—Our current ecological and social crises will only worsen if we don't rethink the system. Pandemics, climate change, and ecological breakdown are symptoms of a deeper systemic problem. We’re overshooting climate goals, and Saito argues that capitalism's green solutions (like "green growth" or ecomodernism) aren’t enough. The current system simply can’t decouple economic growth from environmental damage. 📉 Why Degrowth Communism?—Saito updates Marx’s ideas from an ecological perspective. It's about reducing consumption and production in high-income nations, while creating a more sustainable, equitable future. It's not about going back to pre-industrial times but about living well without wasteful overproduction. Degrowth offers an alternative rooted in decolonization, eco-feminist values, mutual care, and even spirituality, moving away from productivism and extractivism. 💡 Challenging Capitalism and Ecomodernism—It's clear that the free market and private property need to be questioned. But simply embracing socialism isn't enough, socialism could worsen environmental collapse, too. Saito argues for scaling down resource use in wealthy nations and focusing on sustainability and well-being. Instead of focusing on profit we must ask what is actually useful for humanity. The myth of green capitalism is exposed - decoupling is not happening, and the rich are driving the planet towards destruction through extravagant consumption. 🔧 The Role of Technology—Technology is essential, but we need to reimagine it. Degrowth communism isn’t about rejecting modern life but creating new technologies that decarbonize without wasteful overproduction. A post-scarcity economy based on cooperation rather than exploitation. Saito's thought-provoking ideas challenge us to rethink our systems and embrace a future that prioritizes sustainability and equity over profit. 💬 What do you think about the intersection of communism and degrowth? 📽 Watch Saito’s keynote and other sessions of the Post-fossil & post-capitalist futures workshop here https://lnkd.in/eMcVVw2N