The Challenges of Applying Planetary Boundaries as a Basis for Strategic Decision-Making in Companies with Global Supply Chains

Roland Clift, Sarah Sim, Henry King, Jonathan L. Chenoweth, Ian Christie, Julie Clavreul, Carina Mueller, Leo Posthuma, Anne-Marie Boulay, Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, Julia Chatterton, Fabrice DeClerck, Angela Druckman, Chris France, Antonio Franco, Dieter Gerten, Mark Goedkoop, Michael Z. Hauschild, Mark A. J. Huijbregts, Thomas Koellner, Eric F. Lambin, Jacquetta Lee, Simon Mair, Stuart Marshall, Michael S. McLachlan, Llorenç Milà i Canals, Cynthia Mitchell, Edward Price, Johan Rockström, James Suckling and Richard Murphy
Additional contact information
Roland Clift: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Sarah Sim: Unilever Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever R&D, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK44 1LQ, UK
Henry King: Unilever Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever R&D, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK44 1LQ, UK
Jonathan L. Chenoweth: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Ian Christie: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Julie Clavreul: Unilever Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever R&D, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK44 1LQ, UK
Carina Mueller: Unilever Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever R&D, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK44 1LQ, UK
Leo Posthuma: Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Anne-Marie Boulay: CIRAIG, Polytechnique Montreal, Department of Chemical Engineering, P.O. Box 6079, Montreal, QC H3C 3A7, Canada
Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer: Natural Capital Project, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Julia Chatterton: Unilever Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever R&D, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK44 1LQ, UK
Fabrice DeClerck: The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
Angela Druckman: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Chris France: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Antonio Franco: Unilever Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever R&D, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK44 1LQ, UK
Dieter Gerten: Research Domain of Earth System Analysis, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Mark Goedkoop: PRé Consultants bv, Stationsplein 121, 3818 LE Amersfoort, The Netherlands
Michael Z. Hauschild: Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Mark A. J. Huijbregts: Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Thomas Koellner: Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
Eric F. Lambin: Georges Lemaître Earth and Climate Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, 3 place Pasteur, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Jacquetta Lee: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Simon Mair: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Stuart Marshall: Unilever Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever R&D, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK44 1LQ, UK
Michael S. McLachlan: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
Llorenç Milà i Canals: Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, UNEP, 1 Rue de Miollis, 75015 Paris, France
Cynthia Mitchell: Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology of Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia
Edward Price: Unilever Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever R&D, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK44 1LQ, UK
Johan Rockström: Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2b, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
James Suckling: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Richard Murphy: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 2, 1-23

Abstract: The Planetary Boundaries (PB) framework represents a significant advance in specifying the ecological constraints on human development. However, to enable decision-makers in business and public policy to respect these constraints in strategic planning, the PB framework needs to be developed to generate practical tools. With this objective in mind, we analyse the recent literature and highlight three major scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the PB approach in decision-making: first, identification of thresholds or boundaries with associated metrics for different geographical scales; second, the need to frame approaches to allocate fair shares in the ‘safe operating space’ bounded by the PBs across the value chain and; third, the need for international bodies to co-ordinate the implementation of the measures needed to respect the Planetary Boundaries. For the first two of these challenges, we consider how they might be addressed for four PBs: climate change, freshwater use, biosphere integrity and chemical pollution and other novel entities. Four key opportunities are identified: (1) development of a common system of metrics that can be applied consistently at and across different scales; (2) setting ‘distance from boundary’ measures that can be applied at different scales; (3) development of global, preferably open-source, databases and models; and (4) advancing understanding of the interactions between the different PBs. Addressing the scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the planetary boundaries needs be complemented with progress in addressing the equity and ethical issues in allocating the safe operating space between companies and sectors.

Keywords: planetary boundaries; biodiversity; climate change; chemical pollution; water use; business (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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