trends and future of sustainable development - TransEco

in the real world? Since the lack of commitment and cooperation proved to be the main factorsundermining the diffusion of sustainable production systems, it was crucial to address the viability ofsuch systems. The iterative process of mapping and analysing, which actors support, obstruct andinterfere with each other, allows implementing the detailed design process that actually deals thecomplexity of innovation acceptance. Thus the designed system is not an idealised vision of a sustainableproduction and transportation system, but rather a thought-through system that can be implementedand potentially has more probability to sustain.The balancing of the system was done through alternating between technical, political and businessmechanisms. These mechanisms can be projected on the three dimensions of sustainability, asenvisioned in Figure 4. The three new sub-dimensions need to be taken into account when designingindustrial ecosystems, since they are able to affect the traditional ecological, economical and socialdimensions of sustainability. As an example, the price of biogas, which was a critical actor in the focalsystem, could be affected by developing more efficient technology, by providing subsidies for the biogasproducer, or by developing a more effective pricing model. The three options are mechanisms fromtechnological, political, and business dimensions accordingly. Though the latter option was chosen in theresearch, other two options were discussed and may still be introduced if they are to affect positively thewhole system.Figure 4. Extended dimensions of sustainability (adapted and modified from Adams, 2006)The distinguishing feature of the method proposed in this paper is the possibility for fluctuatingsystem boundaries. The boundaries of the focal system changed from iteration to iteration as new actorswere included. This happened partly due to the introduction of new actors and their effect on the system.Partly, the boundaries moved when the system naturally evolved. For example, if the demand for biogasincreases, there arises a need to find other sources of biomass, which will inevitably introduce new actorsand change the programme-antiprogramme constellation. The question of boundary setting has beencrucial in industrial ecology, especially concerning industrial ecosystems. Such systems are very dynamicand complex, and it is difficult to set strict boundaries for them. However, it depends on the analysispurposes whether the system boundaries need to be defined. E.g. energy balance calculations or materialflow analysis urge for boundary definition, whereas the ANT-derived method implies that there isactually no need for them to be pre-set and fixed.456