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Social innovation has gained increased attention as a mechanism for sustainable development. As the Brundtland Commission highlights, the improvement of present conditions should not compromise future generations’ needs. So far, (social) sustainable development has mostly focused on the amelioration of contemporary people’s wellbeing, relegating its duties towards future generations to second place. Given this, I consider it necessary to (re-)direct social innovation towards the promotion of the wellbeing of future people. I propose the concept of irreplaceable goods, a notion deriving from a strong sustainability perspective, which could then be integrated into social innovation practices related to sustainable development. Focusing on guaranteeing, at least, sufficient fruition of certain goods and resources, I devise this concept as a governance tool for steering development actions towards intergenerational justice, driven by social innovation action. In this article, we firstly delineate the relations between sustainable development and social innovation, while focusing on ‘value-driven’ social innovation. Afterward, I shortly introduce strong sustainability as support for future generations’ wellbeing. Furthermore, I develop the concept of irreplaceable goods as a governance tool in social innovation practices and finalize with a discussion on the application of irreplaceable goods in the assessment of sustainable development strategies.
Rita Vasconcellos Oliveira. Social Innovation for a Just Sustainable Development: Integrating the Wellbeing of Future People. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9013 .
AMA StyleRita Vasconcellos Oliveira. Social Innovation for a Just Sustainable Development: Integrating the Wellbeing of Future People. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):9013.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRita Vasconcellos Oliveira. 2021. "Social Innovation for a Just Sustainable Development: Integrating the Wellbeing of Future People." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 9013.
The rapid growth of human population and associated industrialisation creates strains on resources and climate. One way to understand the impact of human activity is to quantify the total environmental pressures by measuring the ‘footprint’. Footprints account for the total direct and/or indirect effects of a product or a consumption activity, which may be related to e.g. carbon, water or land use, and can be seen as a proxy for environmental responsibility. Footprints shape climate and resource debates, especially concerning environmental strategies. However, in general, footprints hold a dichotomous producer–consumer perspective that is not unanimously accepted. In addition, the current footprinting system transmits a simplistic message about environmental responsibility that taints the justice debate and jeopardises the validity of policies based on them. Consequently, it is crucial to question who is (and should be) accountable for adverse environmental effects. It is also critical to investigate how the methodological characteristics of footprints shape and affect the efficacy of policies on climate and natural resources. This article examines these challenges, focusing on negative justice and policy implications resulting from assigning environmental responsibility to a sole agent. The article proposes, and morally justifies, the development of a footprinting method that includes justice parameters in an attempt to render fair results that are more meaningful for environmental action. The second objective is to establish the potential of this new framework to promote environmental responsibility and justice while facilitating policymaking. The suggested justice elements aim at turning footprints into a concrete environmental policy instrument framed under the value of environmental fairness.
Rita Vasconcellos Oliveira. A Methodological Framework for Developing More Just Footprints: The Contribution of Footprints to Environmental Policies and Justice. Science and Engineering Ethics 2019, 26, 405 -429.
AMA StyleRita Vasconcellos Oliveira. A Methodological Framework for Developing More Just Footprints: The Contribution of Footprints to Environmental Policies and Justice. Science and Engineering Ethics. 2019; 26 (1):405-429.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRita Vasconcellos Oliveira. 2019. "A Methodological Framework for Developing More Just Footprints: The Contribution of Footprints to Environmental Policies and Justice." Science and Engineering Ethics 26, no. 1: 405-429.
The establishment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) bolstered momentum to achieve a sustainable future. Undeniably, the welfare of future generations is a fundamental value of sustainable development since the publication of the Brundtland report. Nevertheless, SDGs and their targets are meagre on intergenerational justice concerns. The 15-year target horizon of the SDGs might be beneficial for implementation reasons. However, such a short-term perspective is far from innocuous in justice terms. It jeopardises the establishment of long-term goals, which protect both present and future people. This article advocates for clearer stances on intergenerational justice. What type of distributive principles could and should dictate the present socio-economic development? Looking at intragenerational justice principles contained in SDGs does not provide a full answer since they express conflicting visions of what constitutes a fair development. Furthermore, a fair distribution of the development benefits and burdens among present and near future people does not necessarily guarantee the wellbeing of more distant generations. I propose an intergenerational sufficientarian perspective as a way of extending the beneficial impacts of SDGs to both close and distant future generations. Hopefully, it facilitates the translation of the SDGs into policies that promote fairer implementation strategies.
Rita Vasconcellos Oliveira. Back to the Future: The Potential of Intergenerational Justice for the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainability 2018, 10, 427 .
AMA StyleRita Vasconcellos Oliveira. Back to the Future: The Potential of Intergenerational Justice for the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (2):427.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRita Vasconcellos Oliveira. 2018. "Back to the Future: The Potential of Intergenerational Justice for the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals." Sustainability 10, no. 2: 427.
Climate change mitigation effort is being translated into several actions and discourses that make collateral benefits and their rationale increasingly relevant for sustainability, in such a way that they are now a constant part of the political agenda. Taking a border and consensual perspective, co-benefits are considered here to be emerging advantages of the implementation of measures regarding the lowering of greenhouse gases.Departing from the analysis of policy documents referring to two European urban transportation strategies, the emergent co-benefits are problematized and discussed to better understand their moral aspect. Further ethical reflection is conducted after an analysis of some unintended consequences of co-benefits rationale coming from the mentioned examples. The focus is primarily on the challenges of an integrative moral justification for co-benefits and also for their role in the climate change mitigation effort. We also discuss the limitations of the current normative models that frame co-benefits rationale, from a moral viewpoint and in relation to the overall climate change mitigation strategy.In this article, we propose the concepts of well-being and freedom, as portrayed by Capabilities Approach, as possible guiding notions for the moral and social evaluation of goodness of these emergent benefits and their rationale too. Additionally, some preliminary conclusions are drawn regarding the potential of the presented concepts to favour the climate change mitigation action. Finally, a scenario is drawn where Capabilities Approach is the moral guideline for co-benefits rationale showing this way its potential in terms of enhancing climate change mitigation strategy.
Rita Vasconcellos Oliveira; May Thorseth. Ethical implications of co-benefits rationale within climate change mitigation strategy. Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics 2016, 10, 141 -170.
AMA StyleRita Vasconcellos Oliveira, May Thorseth. Ethical implications of co-benefits rationale within climate change mitigation strategy. Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics. 2016; 10 (2):141-170.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRita Vasconcellos Oliveira; May Thorseth. 2016. "Ethical implications of co-benefits rationale within climate change mitigation strategy." Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics 10, no. 2: 141-170.