Abstract The latest developments in the science behind environmental and climate change have demonstrated a failure of the mainstream economics model to offer strategies and policies to circumvent and revert such issues. Recently, Oxford economist Kate Raworth (2022[2017]) has produced The Doughnut Economics Model that is portraying the economy as a system embedded in the social and ecological boundaries, and it is based on the Sustainable Development Goals elaborated by The United Nations and the nine planetary boundaries espoused by Rockstrom et al (2009). The model is fundamented by seven principles. One of the most important principles is the challenge brought to Gross Domestic Product as an indicator of economic growth, whilst prosperity can be achieved through meeting the needs of the people and planet. This paper investigates the Doughnut Economics model as a heterodox economics proposal to ensure a sustainable development of our economies and societies and its conceptual and pragmatic, policy implications. The paper urges caution regarding the necessary role of a ‘benevolent state’ in applying policies that help nations to ‘live’ and function in the Doughnut, and brings evidence that, globally, very few countries or cities are applying The Doughnut’s economic, social and ecological principles.

Planetary boundaries delimit the safe operating space for humanity to ensure the stability and functioning of the Earth system. Demand-side indicators can help navigate specific pathways and solutions to stay within the boundaries. In recent years, an increasing quantity of scientific work is connecting planetary boundary framing to demand-side analysis, yet there is often a lack of consistency in this research. Here we review relevant literature (including life-cycle assessments and environmental footprint analysis), focusing on the choice and suitability of indicators and methods used. We find a persistent gap between the idealist focus on impacts on earth systems functioning and the actual indicators used. We evaluate the available options, outline current research gaps, and extract lessons on how to better account for Earth system impacts from the demand-side perspective.

Both resilience and regeneration are relevant concepts in sustainability science. Resilience thinking has led to improved understanding of cross-scale cycles of growth and renewal, regime shifts, and planetary boundaries. Regeneration highlights the role of positive, place-based and partially self-perpetuating social-ecological dynamics and seeks to foster mutualistic relationships between human and more-than-human entities. This paper lays out similarities, differences and overlaps between work on resilience and regeneration. The concept of regeneration emerged both independently of resilience as well as playing a role within resilience scholarship. We show that the literatures on resilience and regeneration have elaborated complementary ideas and can be combined to derive guidance for improved governance of social-ecological systems. Because of its explicit and proactive future-orientation, the concept of regeneration could help boost nascent efforts to enact biosphere stewardship and develop positive visions for how to re-build a world that is dominated by regenerative rather than degenerative dynamics.

The EAT-Lancet Commission’s 2019 reference diet promotes health and environmental sustainability through predominantly plant-based foods, raising concerns about micronutrient adequacy, particularly iodine. This study evaluated the iodine content of the EAT-Lancet diet across sixteen countries using national food composition data. Iodine intake was modelled under three scenarios: (1) strict adherence to specified food items; (2) inclusion of a broader range of foods within each group; and (3) a vegan adaptation. In Scenario 1, dairy products, fish, and eggs were primary iodine sources, with intakes ranging from 42 µg/day (New Zealand) to 129 µg/day (United Kingdom), covering 28–85% of the adult requirements. Scenarios 2 and 3 showed higher iodine levels in countries using fortified bread, but most remained below adult and pregnancy requirements. These findings underscore the need to carefully evaluate iodine provision of plant-based dietary recommendations, particularly in countries without a fortification policy, to prevent iodine insufficiency.

The next generation of wastewater management must go beyond centralised treatment to meet emerging environmental and regulatory demands. This study explores source separation as a complementary strategy that enables the tailored treatment of greywater, urine, and faeces. By decentralising processes and recovering resources, especially nutrients and energy, new systems can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient loads on existing infrastructure and receiving environments. Innovations in urine concentration and fertiliser production demonstrate the feasibility of turning waste into valuable products. A paradigm shift towards source-separated sanitation is essential for climate neutrality and staying within planetary boundaries.

ABSTRACT Growing environmental concerns have intensified the search for business strategies that balance long‐term competitiveness with ecological sustainability. This study explores the concepts of eco‐efficiency and eco‐effectiveness to assess whether firms can achieve sustainable growth while reducing their environmental impacts. We use industry‐specific data from publicly traded companies listed on the S&P 1200 index and apply output‐oriented and bad output efficiency analyses to evaluate the relationship between production levels and polluting emissions across sectors. The results reveal a positive correlation between firm growth and emissions, indicating that eco‐efficiency alone cannot guarantee sustainable outcomes. These findings highlight a decoupling dilemma: Firms face a strategic trade‐off between relative improvements in efficiency and the pursuit of absolute decoupling through eco‐effectiveness. By empirically identifying firms exhibiting eco‐effective trajectories, this study provides novel evidence on the conditions under which business growth becomes environmentally regenerative. This study advances strategic management and sustainability literature by positioning eco‐effectiveness as the next frontier for corporate environmental performance, with important implications for scholars, managers, and policymakers seeking to align business strategies with planetary boundaries.

Abstract Limiting nitrogen pollution from crop production is essential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and protecting aquatic ecosystems while maintaining food security. Precision nitrogen management (PNM) provides a conceptual framework for achieving yield goals while maintaining nitrogen pollution within planetary boundaries by matching fertilizer rates to specific production conditions. Nevertheless, PNM strategies for smallholder contexts like India, a global nitrogen pollution hotspot, have proven costly to implement and are often ineffective. By combining field survey data of production practices from 8,705 wheat with digital soil mapping, we develop a novel PNM strategy that ‘learns from landscapes’ to generate and evaluate novel decision logic for nitrogen management. With this approach, ex-ante simulations indicate that reductions of 9% in nitrogen use and 16% in N2O emissions can be achieved without compromising yields, saving US$ 28 million per year in subsidies for the Indian state of Bihar alone. In contrast, conventional soil test-based recommendations are estimated to increase nitrogen use by 5% without corresponding yield gains. Our method that leverages large-n survey data and predictive modelling may provide a scalable pathway for PNM in similarly complex crop production environments where field and management heterogeneity is high.

In Latin America, coffee is cultivated in distinct coffee agroecosystems (CASs), ranging from traditional agroforestry (“shade”) systems (CAFSs) to intensive, unshaded (“sun”) monocultures (UCASs). While various socioenvironmental impacts of these systems have been studied, their implications have not yet been integrated within a planetary health perspective. This review of 146 studies applies the Planetary Boundaries and Nature’s Contributions to People frameworks and the DPSEEA (Drivers, Pressures, State, Exposure, Effects, Actions) model to map the relationships between socioenvironmental drivers of change, different CASs, the state of natural systems at local and global scales, and human health and well-being. The analysis shows that conventional intensification, driven by low revenues for producers, climate change, and disease outbreaks, has accelerated deforestation, biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, agrochemical use and leakage, and water pressures. These changes create health risks for coffee-growing communities, such as pesticide exposure and increased vulnerability to external shocks. Conversely, agroecological practices can mitigate environmental pressures while reducing exposure to health hazards and improving resilience, food security, and income stability. However, mainstreaming these practices requires addressing structural inequities in the global coffee value chain to ensure fairer revenue distribution, stronger institutional support, and the protection of coffee-growing communities.

Abstract Purpose This review assessed the suitability of soil- and agro-ecosystem models for assessing the sustainability of agricultural residue management within the frameworks of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and planetary boundaries (PB). It aimed to assist LCA practitioners in selecting appropriate models for site-specific impact assessments, providing an overview of available models, their applications, required input data, and examples of LCA studies that integrated ecosystem models into inventory analysis. Methods The Web of Science database was used to identify LCA studies related to soil- and agro-ecosystem models by including 118 ecosystem models, sub-models, and farming assessment tools in the search string, which yielded 117 eligible studies that used 51 different ecosystem models. These models were analyzed and categorized based on the indicators they simulated and the input data they used, such as soil and weather databases, surveys, and field experiments. The review analyzed how these models contribute to LCA methods and their potential advantages for replacing generalized datasets or direct measurements. The results were condensed into a table that shows which ecosystem models were used to simulate which indicators and how frequently they were used. Results and discussion Soil- and agro-ecosystem models are already widely accepted in LCA methods for assessing impacts of various agricultural practices, including residue management. Compared to generalized LCA datasets, these models provide more site-specific and potentially accurate predictions, which are particularly useful for addressing IPCC Tier 1 emissions and replacing direct field measurements. However, using these models involves increased complexity and effort to predict reliable life-cycle inventories. Most studies reviewed used soil and weather databases as input data, while fewer used surveys or field experiments. A broad range of indicators were predicted using ecosystem models, reflecting complex soil interactions and providing detailed assessment of model-specific environmental impacts. These indicators align with key sustainability goals in the SDG and PB frameworks, although few studies referred to them explicitly. Conclusions Soil- and agro-ecosystem models improve LCA methods by predicting more site-specific and potentially accurate data for assessing agricultural residue management, providing comprehensive assessment of environmental impacts while aligning with sustainability frameworks, although integrating these models explicitly into SDG and PB assessments remains limited. Integrating these models into agricultural LCA could increase the accuracy and relevance of impact assessments while reducing reliance on on-site measurements.

The 21st century is witnessing a paradigm shift in the scientific enterprise, moving beyond the traditional silos of specialization towards a new era of integrative, cross-disciplinary research. This paradigm, termed "New Synthesis Research," is characterized by the deliberate and synergistic fusion of knowledge, methodologies, and technologies from historically disparate fields to address complex, systems-level challenges that are intractable to any single discipline. This article explores the philosophical underpinnings, methodological frameworks, and transformative outcomes of this integrative approach. We begin by tracing its historical roots in convergent science and systems theory, and precisely delineate it from related concepts like multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity. Subsequently, we present a series of in-depth case studies spanning biomedicine, materials science, environmental science, and social neuroscience. These cases---including the development of mRNA vaccines, the rise of neuromorphic computing, the planetary boundaries framework, and the field of neuroeconomics---demonstrate how cross-pollination between fields like biology, computer science, geology, and economics is accelerating the pace of discovery and generating novel solutions. The article also critically examines the significant epistemological, communicative, and institutional challenges inherent to such work. Furthermore, we introduce the role of data science and artificial intelligence as pivotal enablers of this new paradigm. Finally, we propose a forward-looking framework for cultivating New Synthesis Research, emphasizing the need for revised educational models, funding structures, and collaborative digital infrastructures. We argue that fostering this integrative capacity is not merely an enhancement to the scientific method but a fundamental prerequisite for navigating the multifaceted problems of the Anthropocene.

ABSTRACT The reduction of meat consumption is important for maintaining the food system within its planetary boundaries and improving public health. Hybrid foods, combining animal‐based ingredients with more sustainable ingredients, offer a promising solution. This study investigates the effects of incorporating Neurospora crassa mycoprotein (NCM) into hybrid burger patties and compares them with soy‐based textured vegetable protein (TVP) as a control. Hybrid patties were formulated with 50% meat (beef, chicken, or pork) and 50% NCM or TVP. The study evaluated water holding capacity (WHC), oil holding capacity (OHC), water uptake rate (WUR), cooking yield, compressed juiciness, texture, and microstructure. Results showed that NCM had significantly higher WHC, OHC, and WUR compared to TVP. Hybrid patties with NCM exhibited higher cooking yields and moisture retention, except for moisture retention in chicken formulations, where no difference was found. Textural analysis revealed that hybrid patties with NCM increased hardness and maintained or increased shear force, while both NCM and TVP reduced cohesiveness and resilience. Microstructural analysis indicated that NCM formed a dense network, enhancing liquid retention and structural integrity. Principal component analysis demonstrated distinct differences between hybrid and all‐meat patties, with NCM hybrids showing unique properties. The findings suggest that NCM modifies key textural attributes and increases the liquid retention characteristics of hybrid burger patties, offering a viable alternative to traditional meat products and TVP. Future research should focus on improving the cohesive properties of hybrid formulations and assessing consumer acceptance.

Abstract Given the transgression of planetary boundaries, ever-rising resource consumption and failure to provide social foundations globally, the call for alternative organising is louder than ever. The sustainable production field must engage with strong sustainability scholarship, that focuses on systemic change. Here, emerging approaches like degrowth, sufficiency and regenerative organising, informed by systems thinking, ecological economics and indigenous knowledges, have surfaced. However, we observe varying interpretations of the concepts (e.g. in some cases used interchangeably while in others juxtaposed) and there has been no comprehensive analysis of their commonalities, divergences and potential tensions. Therefore, we examine the following question: How may degrowth, sufficiency and regeneration, three concepts in strongly sustainable organising, be integrated? We present an integrative review of 78 articles, focused on the organization-level, based on (1) Definitions, (2) Identified problem, (3) Principles, (4) Agents of change, and (5) Trade-offs. Our study reveals that the concepts share many commonalities, but whereas sufficiency and degrowth portray a capitalist critique and limits discourse, regeneration appears less unified. Further, we identify three tensions: Firstly, the use of research perspectives which do not match with strong sustainability (and corresponding risks of conceptual flexibility). Secondly, differentiated importance attributed to profit and ownership. Thirdly, the tension between ideal-type concepts and the broader economic context, which encompasses strategic considerations. We conclude that although the three concepts share a common foundation in strong sustainability, their divergent practical application precludes integration. Finally, we propose a future research agenda related to the identified tensions, to inspire careful cross-fertilization among strong sustainability researchers.

Humanity exceeds or threatens to exceed the planetary boundaries. The problem of unsustainable lifestyles in affluent contexts is, therefore, increasingly up for debate. Despite growing attention, this theoretical article argues that there is, in science as well as policy, a lack of recognition of the problem of unsustainable volumes of consumption, and institutional failure to address radical lifestyle change. While there is broad consensus about the societal need to address consumption patterns, controversies remain about the need to address the volumes of consumption. The article takes this debate as a point of departure and focuses specifically on a tendency in critical consumption studies within sociology and related disciplines: the neglect of the larger transformative potential embedded in lifestyle change at the grassroot level. It contributes with six arguments for why it is necessary to consider individual lifestyle changes, and particularly consumption reduction, as an active part of the greater transformation needed to make our societies fit within the planetary boundaries. It also contributes by highlighting five critical aspects on how such bottom-up change can contribute to transformative change. It thus contributes to the sociological and interdisciplinary theoretical, empirical, and normative discussion around the interplay between lifestyle change and sustainability transformation.

Given the current challenges of global environmental change and other pressing issues, cities—along with other urban actors—must intensify and expand their efforts to operate within planetary boundaries and advance sustainability agendas. As we move toward the period beyond 2030, it will be crucial to establish and meet goals that reduce ecological impacts, advance social justice and inclusion, and avert further environmental degradation. The limitations of the existing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should serve as a basis for deepening structural and conceptual discussions on what a future framework might entail. Against this backdrop, we, as editors of the thematic issue, invited articles that make three central contributions to highlighting the significance of cities and urban actors: First, by examining different global urban experiences, the articles explore how tensions, contradictions, and synergies of the SDGs unfold in urban contexts. Second, they shed light on the challenges and requirements urban actors encounter when translating the SDGs into local action. And third, they put forward ideas for overcoming existing barriers in shaping a post‐2030 sustainable development agenda. This editorial categorizes some of the existing tensions in current SDG implementation and outlines ways to conceptualise a post‐2030 agenda from an urban perspective.

ABSTRACT Amid growing environmental pressures and the pressing demand to advance sustainable development, the circular economy (CE) has positioned itself as a transformative business approach capable of safeguarding favourable ecosystem conditions through the application of key R‐strategies. This research analyses the impact of corporative transition towards CE that respects planetary boundaries on the creation of tangible and intangible value for companies. To achieve our objectives and test our hypotheses, we employed an unbalanced panel dataset comprising 44,756 observations over the period 2013–2022, involving 7010 multinational and multisectoral companies. Our empirical findings show the significant and positive impact of CE transitions on firms' market value and growth opportunities, as well as on the probability of obtaining an award, intangible recognition for the potential value that CE may offer to society and the environment. Furthermore, our complementary analysis highlights CE paradigms as a pathway in which, without importance of corporate advance—emerging, developing, mature or leading—value is created. Additionally, complementary estimations by subsamples of industries with high and low environmental sensitivity indicate stronger tangible value creation in environmentally sensitive industries, while the intangible value was more salient among less environmentally exposed industries. These empirical results are robust across various methodological specifications; these include GMM estimations to mitigate potential endogeneity concerns. Our findings provide empirical evidence to understand the potential benefits of the transition to CE, especially in relation to the intangible recognition that it entails for companies to create value for society in accordance with the notion of safe operating space.

To avoid exceeding planetary boundaries, individual transport has to change, which, for many people, implies less and slower mobility. This contradicts the current hypermobility paradigm, making it difficult to gain legitimacy for such policies. This article contributes to conceptual development regarding how policies for less and slower mobility can gain legitimacy by developing the concept of catalytic policy instruments, i.e. policy instruments that can punctuate equilibria and transform policy agendas. Three such instruments are analysed through European examples that assist our theoretical reflections. We consider their respective potential and preconditions for being catalytic. The instruments are visioning, which may contribute to changing norms and values and thereby establish the legitimacy of policy preconditions; public participation, which may make policy procedures more legitimate; and experimentation, which may contribute to legitimising anticipated policy effects. We also identify directions for future research on catalytic policy instruments to improve the understanding of their applicability and limitations for policy making. While not being Columbus’s egg, the strategic and tactical use of catalytic policy instruments is important for building a counterhegemonic alternative to the unsustainable hypermobility society.

The frequency and intensity of weather extremes are rising globally due to anthropogenic climate change, the degradation of ecosystems’ integrity, and the breach of six out of nine planetary boundaries over the last decades (Richardson et al. 2023). Water is central to understanding these changes and a critical focus for adaptation. According to the World Meteorological Organization (2021; cited in UNESCO 2025a), water-related hazards such as droughts, storms and floods have caused over 90 per cent of the world’s major disasters since 1970, and have led to more than 2 million deaths and economic losses exceeding USD 3.6 trillion.

This report presents the activities and outcomes of an educational project aimed at promoting sustainable food awareness among high-school students in Italy through the active contributions from young researchers, profit partners and school educators. The project involved two final-year classes—one from a scientific lyceum and one from a technical chemistry institute—and integrated theoretical lessons, laboratory activities, and experiential learning focused on planetary boundaries, sustainable diets, and alternative proteins such as from algae and insects. To assess the impact of the project, pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were administered and are here discussed. The intervention significantly enhanced the students’ cognitive and affective engagement both during the sessions and in the immediate aftermath, as evidenced by elevated levels of satisfaction and retention of key concepts. Overall, the project fostered great environmental awareness and openness to sustainable food choices, demonstrating the potential of targeted hands-on educational programs to influence both attitudes and behaviours in younger generations of western high-income countries. The project serves as a replicable model of a transdisciplinary approach for integrating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and education for Planetary Health into secondary school curricula.

Exploring absolute sustainability-informed water inequality indicators of Chinese city clusters.

Abstract On the component level, floor plates are one of the most carbon intensive building elements with a disproportionally high global warming potential (GWP) compared to their built volume. The challenge they pose to engineers and architects is the high mass needed to ensure acoustic comfort while spanning long distances. Mass timber solutions lack economic competitiveness due to their inefficient use of material, enormous content of adhesives, and poor acoustic performance. The market for sustainable solutions has hence shifted towards timber-concrete composite floor plates that improve material and economic efficiency at the cost of an increased environmental footprint and reduced circularity. This paper introduces the development of a timber-earth floor plate based on the application of large-scale earth blocks as a carbon negative alternative. Earth blocks have recently undergone a renaissance in Europe, with building regulations allowing their inclusion as load-bearing masonry units, and manufacturers increasingly developing scaled solutions to produce them at a competitive price point. Through their research, the authors have designed, prototyped, and evaluated a composite floor plate that capitalises on the scaled production capacity of earth blocks, and designed a fully circular assembly. The proposed system fully substitutes hydraulically bound materials and improves the effectiveness of timber. Besides presenting the development, testing, and comparative life-cycle assessment (LCA) of the building solution, the paper documents the process of industrially scaling the production of the earth blocks. Through the repurposing of the existing production infrastructure of a brick factory, the researchers were able to produce the product at an attractive price point. Ultimately, the authors demonstrate that their nature-based floor slab assembly invites for decentralised, global replication, advocates for the repurposing of existing infrastructure, and promotes a material culture within planetary boundaries.