12.3.1.2 Integral theory & systems thinking

As change processes are difficult, interventions need to be carefully designed. The status quo of a market will not change if all actors continue doing what they are doing. Behavioural change is therefore necessary. One of the major challenges for the development of a more sustainable society is the point of ' perceived responsibilities'. When it comes to the state of the environment, everyone is responsible, which, unfortunately, often seems to boil down to the fact that nobody takes responsibility. In a traditional way of doing business, negative impacts on the environment are externalised, i.e. the costs are not reflected in the financial returns. In a traditional view, financial returns are the only thing that count. In order to preserve the planet's biodiversity and ecosystems through the creation of a sustainable economy, it is necessary that everybody, including businesses and financial institutions, extends perceived responsibilities. Even though this concept is often enthusiastically accepted in theory, in reality many expect others to act first. By bringing different stakeholders together to consider the issue as a system in which they all take part, pointing fingers at others without taking action oneself becomes more difficult.

Bringing the stakeholders together is a necessary but in itself insufficient intervention, as the outcome of a multi-stakeholder meeting depends on the process which takes place in interaction. As integral theories on sustainable development demonstrate,1 changes at a system level can only be effected subject to simultaneous changes at a personal level, i.e. an individual is the real change agent. Behavioural changes result from internal changes owing to new perspectives or priorities. How this can be realised will be addressed below.

The integral approach matches the systems thinking, which formed the base for the integral system diagram as presented in Figure 3. Systems thinking2focuses on the interaction between different constituents of a system. Examining these interactions as part of a larger system can result in very different conclusions when compared to examining the different parts in isolation. Especially for complex issues which involve many different actors, a system approach with attention for each actors' role within the bigger picture, can provide valuable information.