Sustainability Transitions

Purpose and Scope

Elementa’s Sustainability Transitions domain welcomes contributions that advance knowledge on shifting society-environment interactions to sustainability — to a world in which human beings and other life flourish in diverse social and environmental contexts. Transitions to sustainability entail changes in people’s interactions with each other and with the environment at local to global scales. Societies have insufficient knowledge of changes that can effectively promote sustainability transitions, and of the causal mechanisms involved. Navigating these transitions involves different sectors of society, ways of knowing, research approaches, and forms of creative expression. Therefore, a primary purpose of this domain is to bridge boundaries among disciplines, geographies, cultures, and institutions, and between scholars and practitioners. We encourage submissions from scholars in the social and natural sciences and humanities, and practitioners, innovators, and leaders who are forging ahead with strategies to shift towards sustainability.

We welcome contributions that develop innovative approaches in concepts, theory, methods or analysis and have deep or broad implications to inform transitions to sustainability, and that use observational, experimental or theory-driven modes of inquiry. Contributions may focus primarily on concepts, models and hypotheses, on empirical approaches, or both. To meet the boundary-bridging goal of this domain, submissions to Sustainability Transitions should clearly, specifically and logically present the larger context of the work, both in framing the question or opportunity addressed, and in discussing implications of findings. Articles must be written in clear and direct language, with a minimum of technical, specialist terminology and without sacrificing rigor.

Sustainability Transitions has no disciplinary constraints on articles. Contributions may be grounded primarily in a single discipline in the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, professional fields, or the arts; may involve an interdisciplinary field or collaboration; or may be problem-oriented investigations or experiences that do not stem directly from a particular discipline. In keeping with this disciplinary and methodological pluralism, the peer-review process will be attentive to the appropriateness of different epistemologies, methodologies, and ways of writing for different submissions.

Finally, we welcome submissions on a broad range of topics, as long as each contribution clearly advances knowledge on a transition to sustainability. Non-exclusive examples include: defining and evaluating goals of sustainability transitions, such as improving adaptive capacity of socio-ecological systems and fulfilling requirements of human well-being; research on specific systems of focus for sustainability transitions (e.g., coupled natural-human systems, systems producing food, energy, and other materials, systems of values and ethics); studies on analogs for sustainability transitions which might come from human history or nature; research on specific sectors of society where transitions occur (e.g., government, business, civil society, education, economies); studies on actors, agents and stakeholders in sustainability transitions (e.g., on voice, power or networks in promoting or resisting transitions); examination of creative expression, learning, knowledge or innovation involved in sustainability transitions; research on socio-environmental dynamics of transitions to sustainability (e.g., adaptive cycles, feedbacks, regime shifts, resistance, cooperation); forecasting transitions to sustainability (e.g., development and use of models, scenarios, or visioning processes); research on assessing transitions to sustainability, from methodologies (e.g., life cycle analysis, integrated assessment, metrics, big data analytics) to impacts of assessments on policy, business and other arenas of action; and studies on scales involved in transitions to sustainability (e.g. spatial and temporal scales, cross-scale processes, inter-generational issues).

Sustainability Transitions accepts Research Articles, Reviews, Policy Bridge Articles, Practice Bridge Articles, Comments and Reply Articles, and submissions for Special Features. Authors are also invited to submit their work as cross-domain Articles, publishing in multiple domains and reaching a wider group of researchers. Sustainability Transitions will also publish Forums focusing on a specific opportunity for or challenge to a sustainability transition and led by guest editors. Forums start with invited articles intended to frame the topic, and then open for broad submission. All articles will undergo the same peer-review process.

Editor-in-Chief Anne Kapuscinski contributes to NHPR discussion on women in the sciences

December 7, 2015

“Women tend to bring a diverse set of perspectives to the actual approach of doing the research…”

Editor-in-Chief Anne Kapuscinski contributed to a NHRP discussion on the role and opportunities for women in science, tech, engineering, and math. She is joined by Michelline Dufort, the Director of Business Relations and Programs at the New Hampshire High Tech Council; and Melissa Jurkoic, Technical Product Manager and Newmarket International. The full podcast cast be accessed here.

Anne Kapuscinski, Editor-in-Chief of Sustainability Transitions, contributes to climate change talks at COP21

December 7, 2015

“Between now and the next 15 years we have to have made the pivot in our policies.”

In an interview with Vermont Public Radio, which aired on December 7th, Editor-in-Chief Anne Kapuscinski, who is also the new Union of Concerned Scientists Board Chair, explains how she contributed to the climate change talks at COP21 in Paris last week. The full interview is available for download here.

Editor-in-Chief Anne Kapuscinski is named as the new Union of Concerned Scientists Board Chair

October 30, 2015

	“Anne is a pioneer in her field and we are thrilled she will be channeling her vast intellect and creativity into this position,”

Press release published by Union of Concerned Scientists, October 28, 2015.

Washington (October 28, 2015)—Anne Kapuscinski, Sherman Fairchild distinguished professor of sustainability science in the Environmental Studies Program at Dartmouth College, assumed the chairmanship of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) board of directors today. 

“Anne is a pioneer in her field and we are thrilled she will be channeling her vast intellect and creativity into this position,” said UCS President Ken Kimmell. 

Kapuscinski is a leader in sustainability science, which studies the interactions between the natural world and social institutions such as economics and policy—and how those interactions support the goals of meeting present and future generations’ needs, reducing poverty, and conserving the planet’s life support systems. Kapuscinski’s research focuses on integrated food and energy systems.

She replaces Jim McCarthy, Alexander Agassiz professor of biological oceanography at Harvard University and past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, who served as UCS board chair for six years.

“Jim has led UCS through a remarkable period of growth,” said Kimmell. “We’ll miss his vision and unflagging energy but are glad he will continue his involvement on the board.” 

Kapuscinski has been a scientific advisor to the U.S. secretary of agriculture under three administrations, as well as to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization, European Union Food Safety Agency, and state of Minnesota. She has served on several U.S. National Academy of Sciences committees and received numerous awards for her work, including an honor award from former U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and a distinguished service award from the Society for Conservation Biology. She joined UCS’s board of directors in 2002.

As a professor, Kapuscinski said, she’s excited to help connect UCS with a younger generation of scientists, whose enthusiasm for sustainability she witnesses firsthand in students’ research. “I’ve seen a major upswing of student involvement in these issues,” she said. “I feel I’m well-positioned to give feedback as UCS staff expands their reach to younger scientists.”

Overall, Kapuscinski said, she is honored to chair the UCS board. “I deeply value how effective UCS is—synthesizing the best science, conducting insightful analyses, communicating incredibly well, and making science-driven recommendations. It’s a combination that leads to significant, needed changes in the policy arena.”