Systems Thinking and Sustainability, Shifting to Renewable Energy in Australia - Essay Example

Systems Thinking and Sustainability Name Instructor Course Systems Thinking and Sustainability Introduction In the context of business, sustainability refers to the business activities which have very minimal detrimental effects on the local and global environment, the economy, society, or the community (Moscardo, 2013). Therefore, sustainability refers to the business activities which seek to meet the requirements of the present and the future generations without compromise (Hopkins et al., 2009). On the other hand, system thinking is defined as the management discipline related to the understanding of a given system through assessing the interactions and linkages between the various components which entail the entirety of the particular defined system (Sterman, 2000). System thinking is a practical approach to tackling sustainability problems primarily because it views issues from a macroscopic perspective. One ‘wicked’ sustainability problem in Australia is the issue of renewable energy in business activities. There is the need to shift to more renewable energy sources in Australia. Thus, the paper will evaluate how system thinking is essential in developing solutions to sustainability challenges such as the need to shift to renewable energy sources in Australia. Systems thinking and Sustainability Challenges Systems thinking refers to the trans-disciplinary structure which seeks to view interrelationships as opposed to just viewing issues (Watson, Boudreau, and Chen, 2010). It strives to see the changing patterns instead of just seeing static snapshots about problems. This, therefore, means that a systems thinker typically tries to frame a particular issue regarding the behavioral patterns over stipulated time frames. As opposed to microscopic, system thinking strives towards macroscopic which views things beyond the specific details towards the contexts of the different relationships within which they are found (Watson, Boudreau, and Chen, 2010). Currently, system thinking is utilized by practitioners and academics with the aim of addressing sustainability challenges. However, just like many other approaches of problem-solving, systems thinking has its fair share of criticisms. One of the most common criticisms is that this approach is very fundamentalist with its lack of specific solutions threatening its legitimacy (Wiek, Withycombe, and Redman, 2011). A significant difference exists in the systems thinking approach and the traditional thinking approach (Fullan, 2005). While the traditional approach to analysis focuses on the thing or issue that is being studies, the systems thinking approach searches for the interrelationships between the various entities of the system (Fullan, 2005). It is evident that the entire world is pacing towards globalization and industrialization. In the current globalized era, there is the need for the world to face various complexities in the years to come. These globalization complexities are what leads to the increased sustainable challenges. Following this, systems thinking will significantly assist in tackling these complex issues and problems (Wiek, Withycombe, and Redman, 2011). Thus, the systems test is a critical application of the approach of the thinking systems which makes systems thinking instrumental in developing solutions for the sustainability challenges. The systems thinking approach in developing solutions to sustainable challenges consists of three entities including functions, elements, and purpose (Fiksel, 2006). One of the first aspects of the system thinking is purpose which describes the reason and purpose for adopting the system thinking. The other part is the elements bit which tends to work on the various elements which entail the systems thinking (Fiksel, 2006). The other part, functions, concerns establishing the interrelationships and functions between the multiple elements. It is evident that sustainable challenges require being handled in a different and unique ways (Fiksel, 2006). Technological advancement is one of the aspects which characterizes the era of globalization in the modern world. Following this, a system thinking approach is essential in establishing the interrelationship between environmental impacts, human behavior, and technology (Watson, Boudreau, and Chen, 2010). In the current societal settings, there is a significant shift from the computational thinking towards the systems thinking approach. The computational thinking entails the utilization of algorithms and programming when finding solutions to the complex problems related to sustainability (Wiek, Withycombe, and Redman, 2011). However, there is one limitation regarding computer thinking which is that the computer professionals seek to solve these problems with the assistance of algorithms. Some problems cannot be understood by these algorithms especially the sustainable problems which evolve with time (Wiek, Withycombe, and Redman, 2011). For such types of sustainable challenges, systems thinking approach plays a significant role in solving it. Systems thinking approach focuses on the way one of the components of the systems interacts with another component of the same system. The nature of the way in which systems thinking operates makes the approach useful in solving the complex sustainable issues that the society faces (Wiek, Withycombe, and Redman, 2011). The sustainability challenges are also referred to the adaptive challenges since the already developed procedures, and protocols cannot be applied to solving these issues (Fullan, 2005). There is no stipulated approach or procedure of tackling the wicked sustainability challenges. Therefore, systems thinking approach has proven to be very useful in dealing with these wicked sustainability challenges since it entails a set of skills, technologies, and processes (Fullan, 2005). The first step that is involved in systems thinking when developing solutions for the sustainable challenges is to frame the wicked sustainable challenge using dynamic and system as the cause of thinking (Fullan, 2005). The second step is to develop a clear understanding of the problem through the use of generic reflection, scientific thinking, and operational thinking. The final step of the systems approach to solving problems is communicating through the use of emphatic thinking (Fullan, 2005). These steps, therefore, show the distinct steps of the way systems thinking can assist in developing solutions to the wicked sustainable challenges. Shifting to Renewable Energy in Australia The issue of using renewable energy has proven to be a priority for various governments and nations all around the world, Australia included (Byrnes et al., 2013). Some of the reasons for this shift from the use of traditional energy sources come from the fact that the multilateral and regulatory organizations are continuously demanding for greener practices regarding energy consumption and production (Byrnes et al., 2013). The consistent and growing demand for more energy across the globe has necessitated regions across the world to become even less dependent on the non-renewable sources of energy like the fossil fuels with the aim of reducing the carbon footprints (Byrnes et al., 2013). Following this background, several Australian corporations have embraced the initiative towards the efficient utilization of resources (Jennings, 2009). Precisely, most of these companies have included the use of green energy technologies to their individual portfolios of their energy supply options. The renewable energy systems in Australia are perceived to be an alternative to the conventional energy which addresses the issues concerning climate change while at the same time responding to the rising demand for the energy globally (Jennings, 2009). On a smaller scale, the Australian government has sort to advocate for the renewable energy systems as a source of energy for the poor people in the rural areas (Jennings, 2009). One of the largest operators of the coal-fired power plant in Australia has decided to weigh into the Australian national debate on energy and has called for the non-partisan advocating the use of clean and renewable sources of energy (Elliston, Diesendorf and MacGill, 2012). The Energy Australia Company has also gone ahead to remind the Australian policy makers the shift towards using renewable sources of energy is something that is real, practical, and need to be addressed as soon as possible (Elliston, Diesendorf and MacGill, 2012). The company, in a newspaper advertisement, has acknowledged the fact that there is a need for change regarding the way Australia was generating its energy and that the company, was more than willing to undertake this shift (Elliston, Diesendorf and MacGill, 2012). The utilization of clean energy sources is a major wicked sustainability problem in Australia that can be addressed through the use of the systems thinking approach. According to researchers, the rates of approval and acceptance of the renewable energy projects in Australia are not as high as it would be expected primarily because of the various barriers that have been put forward by some of the inhabitants of some parts of that country (Moriarty and Honnery, 2012). For example, regarding the proposal to use geothermal power, a significant number of Australians believe that this source of energy would affect the land stability which will, in turn, trigger earthquakes (Moriarty and Honnery, 2012). Thus, this presents the need for a unique approach to solve this sustainability problem and convince people to embrace this shift; this approach is the systems thinking approach (Moriarty and Honnery, 2012). Systems Thinking Approach in Solving the Wicked Problem The need to turn towards the renewable energy sources in Australia is a sustainability problem which can be solved through the systems thinking approach. Systems thinking can give some of the ways of dealing with the complexity nature of this sustainable challenge (Kemp, Loorbach and Rotmans, 2007). This approach has a history of handling other sustainability problems like issues to do with gender, inequalities, environmental protection, among others. As documented earlier, systems thinking views the sustainable challenge from a broad perspective so that it can establish the interrelationships between the various levels of the issue. Systems thinking also take into consideration the importance of different conditions and circumstances during the various stages of implementation (Kemp, Loorbach and Rotmans, 2007). These are the factors that make system thinking essential in developing solutions for the sustainable challenges. While tackling the wicked problems under the system thinking approach, like in this case is the issue of renewable energy, even a minute change in one of the elements of the problem will result in a significant impact on the other aspects of the same problem (Loorbach, 2010). Regarding the issue of shifting to renewable sources of energy in Australia, the first step would match the complexity of the challenge with the capacity. The relevant stakeholders need to understand the complexity of the sustainable challenge and the best practices that exist in tackling these problems (Loorbach, 2010). There will be the need to evaluate if the resources are available and if the people who will be impacted by the solution have the capacity to handle the change in a sustainable manner (Loorbach, 2010). As the systems thinking approach dictates, there is the need to develop an informative environment which will enable people to perceive the use of non-renewable sources of energy as a wicked problem as opposed to just viewing it as a simple problem (Loorbach, 2007). The system thinking approach presents two distinct dimensions of understanding the use of non-renewable energy as an issue in Australia. The principal aspect is the nature of the particular system which is constantly changing from being simple to being complex (Loorbach, 2007). The second dimension is the relationship which exists between the participants and the people who are affected by the impacts of using non-renewable energy sources. Therefore, regarding the overall evaluation of the wicked sustainable challenge, the system thinking has provided various methodologies which can be used to generate the necessary knowledge about the problem (Loorbach, 2007). Also, the approach can assist in establishing the interrelationships between the different elements as well as reducing the effect of the energy problem. However, some arguments exist which are against the relevance of the system thinking approach. One of the opposing arguments is that the system thinking approach shares the ideologies of the planners and the technical efficient people which make it difficult for the energy professionals to fit their practice into the system thinking dimensions (Wiek et al., 2012). The other opposing argument of the approach is that it is a process that is time-consuming which will make it difficult to implement the solutions for a more environmentally clean Australia (Wiek et al., 2012). Conclusion It is true that the system thinking approach is essential in developing solutions to the sustainable challenges. Systems thinking approach is essential in developing solutions for sustainable challenges as it adopts a macroscopic viewpoint in doing so as opposed to the microscopic viewpoints. It also seeks to establish the relationships that exist between the various elements of the sustainable problems. The study has illustrated how the system thinking approach can be used to enable Australia to shift to renewable sources of energy. The significance of this is that this approach tends to shed more light to the complexity of some of these sustainable problems and at the same time show ways in which these challenges can be addressed sustainably. References Byrnes, L., Brown, C., Foster, J. and Wagner, L.D 2013. Australian renewable energy policy: Barriers and challenges. Renewable Energy, 60, pp.711-721. Elliston, B., Diesendorf, M. and MacGill, I 2012, Simulations of scenarios with 100% renewable electricity in the Australian National Electricity Market. Energy Policy, 45, pp. 606-613. 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