Sustainability Mindshift: Incorporating the Systems Perspective

Abstract

AbstractThe pursuit of sustainability is a noble undertaking and unarguably ‘a good thing’. The concept can hardly be denied as something good for future societal well‐being. However, beyond a superficial acknowledgment of the inherent ‘goodness’ of sustainability, there is much to be gained through reframing sustainability as an engineered byproduct, subject to trade‐offs, from an underlying system as opposed to a ‘development goal.’ A Mindshift is a change in assumptions, beliefs, and ways of thinking about something. In pursuit of a sustainability Mindshift, following an introduction and discussion of the sustainability landscape, three challenges for sustainable systems development are explored. The first Mindshift challenge examines sustainability as a byproduct of an underlying system. Thus, the focus is shifted from sustainability as a goal to sustainability as a purposefully designed outcome from an engineered system. The second Mindshift challenge explores sustainability through the lens of Systems Theory. Systems Theory is a set of axioms (taken‐for‐granted ‘truths’) and propositions (system concepts, laws, and principles) that govern systems’ behavior, structure, and performance. The implications of Systems Theory have profound implications for how we view sustainability. The third Mindshift challenge suggests that sustainability can be enhanced through the purposeful identification, assessment, and resolution of violations of system propositions (pathologies) spanning system design, execution, and development. Thus, sustainability is a ‘systems‐engineered byproduct’ resulting from an underlying system and developed by addressing systems‐based disparities (pathologies) in the system. The paper closes with a capsule of Mindshift challenges for sustainability and their implications for supporting the INCOSE SE Vision 2035.