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Note from the field

Systemic thinking in environmental management: support

for sustainable development

Mari Elizabete B. Seifferta,*, Carlos Lochb

aInstitute of Research and Development, Universidade do Vale do Paraba, Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo, BrazilbDepartment of Civil Engineering, Universidade de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Received 4 February 2004; accepted 13 July 2004

Abstract

Our society has been undergoing a transition process from a mechanicist to a systemic or ecological paradigm. Within the

environmental context, this transition represents an issue of survival for man and for the biosphere itself, which is being constantly

assaulted by mans productive activities and as a result of this has been suffering great physical changes.

The currently adopted development model is highly consumerist and predatory. A systemic vision of the world and its

application in the process of environmental management is essential to transcend our present day development model and to reach

a fair and ecologically correct social model or, in other words, sustainable development (SD).

2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: SD; Environmental management; Systemic thinking

1. Introduction

The remarkable expansion of technical and pro-

ductive capabilities and the worlds sharp demographic

growth have highlighted, especially during the second

half of the 20th century, that natural resources and the

services derived from them are not unlimited and that

their scarcity or exhaustion constitutes a serious threat

to humanitys present and future well being [3]. This led

to the creation of a new development model, namely,

SD.The awareness of ecological principles leads to

recognizing that all human activity has a related

ecological cost, which means that any intervention in

systems and natural processes should take into account

their sustainability and elasticity, as well as the base of

natural resources. This awareness also emphasizes the

need to understand the holistic nature of life, including

biological, social and political life [4]. Thus, systemic

reasoning arises. It is a way of considering interrelations

rather than things, establishing patterns of change that

represent a set of general principles, refined over the

course of 20 years, including fields of knowledge as

diverse as physical and social sciences, engineering and

management.

Systemic reasoning also comprises a set of specifictechniques and tools, whose origins are twofold: the

feedback concepts of cybernetics and of the 19th century

servomechanism engineering theory. During the last

30 years, these tools have been applied to the un-

derstanding of a great variety of managerial, urban,

regional, economic, political, ecological and even

physiological systems [17].

However, work is scarce on the systemic paradigm as

an indispensable element of the theoretical integration

* Corresponding author. Tel.:C550 1239471126; fax:C550 123947

1122.

E-mail addresses: mariebs@univap.br (M.E.B. Seiffert), ecv1clo@

ecv.ufsc.br (C. Loch).

0959-6526/$ - see front matter 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.07.004

Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 1197e1202

www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

mailto:mariebs@univap.brmailto:ecv1clo@ecv.ufsc.brmailto:ecv1clo@ecv.ufsc.brhttp://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcleprohttp://www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepromailto:ecv1clo@ecv.ufsc.brmailto:ecv1clo@ecv.ufsc.brmailto:mariebs@univap.br

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of the field of human ecology and the feasibility of an

environmental policy guided by a preventive rather then

remedial view [20].

The objective of this article is to discuss the impor-

tance of the systemic view in environmental manage-

ment as the sole way of achieving SD.

2. Theory

2.1. Sustainable development

A major obstacle to the achievement of SD is lack of

agreement of the conceptual bases, mainly the inherent

ambiguity of the terms involved: what can be sustained

and developed at the same time? The direct object of

sustainability has a different meaning for different

parties. Ecologists want to sustain the natural environ-

ment, whereas consumers want to maintain their

consumption levels and employees want to conserve

their jobs. As long as the concept means different things

to different agents, it will be defended by many, but the

political decisions required for its implementation will

be impaired [13].

According to the Bruntland Commission [1] the

sustainability challenge consists of finding ways to

sustain the provision of goods and services that society

derives from natural systems in ways that meet the

needs of the present without compromising the ability of

future generations to meet their own needs.

Sustainable development (SD) is characterized by

economic growth based on social justness and sustain-ability in the use of natural resources. These three

requirements should be attained harmoniously, i.e., their

interrelation should occur in a balanced way [6]. In this

way, we will be able to ensure that the welfare of the

current generation is met, without jeopardizing the rights

of the future generations. According to Sachs [16], the

forerunner of the SD concept, five essential dimensions

have been identified within it: cultural, ecological,

economic, social and spatial. In an in-depth analysis,

this concept encompasses a systemic perspective, the

relevant aspects of this process and its relationship,

necessary to reach and maintain a holistic development

model, required to build an ecologically sustainable

society.

An important aspect to consider is the fact that SD

implies in the simultaneous fulfillment of three types of

aspirations, which tend to conflict with each other in the

short run. Therefore, the ideal solution probably lies in

an intermediate point at which none of the objectives,

taken individually, can reach their optimum level [6].

It is important to emphasize that solutions that are

required to reach SD are not universally valid. Thus, in

each country or region, the definition of the ideal of SD

should be the result of transactions between the

different social agents involved. In summary, the

concrete forms required to reach the ideal are unique

for each community in space and time, and the

management systems required to reach this ideal

demand negotiation and use of instruments for the

resolution of conflicts [3].

2.2. Systemic thinking and environmental

management

At present, we are experiencing a paradigm shift. The

mechanicist paradigm, characterized by regarding living

systems with the mechanicists attitude likened to a

clock, is being gradually replaced by a holistic, global or

ecological view of the world.

Systemic reasoning is more crucial now than ever

before, because of the complexity that rules our world.

Perhaps, for the first time in history, humanity has the

capacity to create much more information than man can

handle, to generate much more interdependence than

man can manage and to speed up change faster than

man can keep up with. We are surrounded by examples

of systemic collapses, problems such as global

warming and holes in the ozone layer, which do not

have simple local causes [17].

These and many other examples of environmental

decay problems, which we will not go into to avoid

overextending ourselves, reveal the importance of an

urgent reformulation of the current production model

and of environmental protection policies, as well as of

an inevitable need for the implementation and enforce-ment of environment management plans.

Environmental management (EM) is a process where-

by formal and informal, public and private organiza-

tions apply mechanisms to develop and implement a set

of cost effective priority actions on the basis of well-

articulated societal preferences and goals for: the

maintenance or improvement of ambient environmental

quality; the provision of environmentally derived or

related services; and/or the conservation, maintenance

and enhancement of natural resources and ecosystems

[11]. Environmental management aims to enhance

environmental sustainability, or the management of

environmental resources in such a way that their

qualities are maintained according to societal norms

and standards [8].

According to Lanna [10], environmental management

is the process of articulating the different social agents

that interact within a certain space, with the purpose of

guaranteeing the adaptation of the means for exploiting

environmental resources (natural, economic and socio-

cultural) to the specificity of the environment. This

should be based on principles and guidelines well-

defined and previously stated. Thus, EM has a very

broad meaning, which encompasses: environmental

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policies, environmental planning and environmental

monitoring.

Thus, we can see that systemic thinking is essential

for environmental management, since management

implies in a preceding evaluative stage. To evaluate an

environmental object, broadly speaking, means to un-

derstand and measure it according to the relationshipsbetween its elements and physical, biotic, economic,

social and cultural aspects, provided that this object is

thus constituted. Furthermore, it assumes that the focus

to be adopted is not limited to a Cartesian view and does

not center on a reductionist and mechanicist approach,

as many properties and characteristics of living systems

transcend these approaches. They behave holistically,

according to needs that may not always be known, but

that are nevertheless real and concrete by chance [12].

The use of systemic thinking facilitates the un-

derstanding of complex systems. The most important

property of systems is that they are made up of several

parts that are not isolated, but closely interlinked,

forming a complex structure. A random conglomeration

of the elements does not characterize a system. On the

contrary, all of its components are subject to a certain

order, and each part of a system naturally can be

a system [18]. This lends a great deal of importance to

systemic thinking, in that it helps to describe complex

systems and their interrelations, using approaches that

facilitate globalizing thought, avoiding the inconven-

iences of simplifications.

This new paradigm was the base for structuring

Systems Engineering and Biocybernetics. Systems Engi-

neering consists of a model of procedures for theformulation of complex systems, establishing a proce-

dure model and a process for the solution of problems.

The latter is subdivided into a phase of projection of

systems and another of management of projects [2]. In

this context, the systemic approach represents an

organization matrix of multidisciplinary knowledge

necessary for planning work. Biocybernetics, in turn,

consists of construction processes using self-regulation

mechanisms, derived from systemic reasoning or cyber-

netic technologies that result from systemic reasoning.

They are made up of interlinked techniques such as

symbioses, recycling, energy chains, the reutilization of

other forms of work and other elegant technologies, that

require little in terms of space, but that are much more

efficient, in the same way as nature uses them [19]. This

type of technology is highly appropriate for industrial

use. Its essence lies in understanding that the design of

industrial complexes should follow the forms and

examples of nature, in which living systems work

perfectly, without problems involving raw materials,

residues or energy.

Biocybernetics is governed by eight fundamental

rules or principles that can be applied to all living

systems that provide it with balance [18,19]:

- The Negative Feedback Principle: This type of self-

control in a circular process or between limited

values is the most important organizational principle

of a subsystem, if this is to survive within the overall

system;

- The Independence from Growth Principle: The

function of a system must be to guarantee a self-balanced phase, i.e., one that does not depend on

quantitative growth. Constant growth is considered

an illusion for all systems;

- The Independence of the Product Principle: Those

systems that are capable of surviving must be guided

by their functions rather than products. Products

come and go whereas functions remain;

- Jujitsu Principle: This is based on taking advantage

of controlled pre-existing forces and energies and

diverting them in a desired direction, rather than

fighting the force applied by others with our own

force, and then expending further energy of our own

to achieve our goals;

- Principle of the Multiple Uses of Products: This is

based on the perception that every product and

process can have more than one purpose or function.

Through interrelated solutions it is possible to reach

a multi-stability condition;

- Recycling Principle: This refers to using a cyclical

process that employs heating and residues. In this

way, the difference between raw materials and waste

disappears. Similarly, causes and effects merge in the

cybernetic control system;

- Symbiosis Principle: This refers to thinking about

proximity when planning a new facility, but also toa sensible coupling of existing facilities. An example

can be found in the industrial sector, where going

beyond the function of waste material exchanges

and forming a type of ecosystem within industry is

provided by a metal process that cooperates with

a paper industry or a food industry with connected

water purification and usage of waste;

- Principle of the Basic Biological Design of Products:

Every product, every function and organization

should be compatible with biology and its processes,

and should always consider the ecosystems sustain-

able and carrying capacities.

With these basic rules of nature we can structure

a technology economically capable of surviving.

These principles can be applied to branches of the

economy such as civil construction, transport systems,

trade and chemical industries, among others.

In this context, it is important to highlight some of

the initiatives that the United Nations have been

developing through the University of Nations, a pro-

gram called Zero Emissions Research Initiative (ZERI).

The ZERI program is an evolution of the philosophy of

total quality, including several environmental concerns,

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through a holistic perspective [14]. It carries out research

on new technological industries in order to minimize the

production of industrial effluents (in solid, liquid and

gas form) and maximize profits. In this new production

process, the industrial complex consists of a conglomer-

ate where the residues and by-products from one

company or production process become the inputfor another one, eliminating waste. In other words, the

use of the raw materials and even the energy that goes

into the process is maximized, minimizing the environ-

mental impact of the productive activity. Through this

initiative, it is expected that a restructuring of industrial

processes and of managerial vision can be achieved, with

the establishment of a systemic structure that can be

inserted into the environment causing very little or no

environmental impact and being economically compet-

itive in the market. Industry representatives consider it

to be the logical continuation of the zero-defects and

zero-inventory challenges that they are pursuing in their

Total Quality Management and just-in-time efforts.

It is important to point out, however, that to fully

attain this objective, new production technologies

should be established and continuously improved. To

this end, it is necessary to scientifically redirect the

research executed, as well as to assign funds for the

process. Moreover, a managerial culture change is

necessary, moving away from the short-term point of

view that currently focuses solely on maximizing profits,

even if the price to be paid for this is environmental

degradation.

3. Discussion

Not only are industrial activities a major source of

environmental destruction but also agriculture. The

indiscriminate use of fertilizers and defensive chemicals

(insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, antibiotics) by

agricultural producers is a significant source of environ-

mental pollution. These chemicals are not only harmful

to the environment but also to man; not only through

the consumption of contaminated food but also during

the application of these substances in plantations,

usually without the use of the recommended safety

equipment. The residues of defensive chemicals, besides

causing direct damage to the quality of the soil in the

applied area, can also contaminate the water table,

jeopardizing its quality for consumption. Furthermore,

fertilizers following the same path can lead to the

eutrophication of rivers and lakes, reaching the coastal

sea water in the long run.

The real risk for the future lies in the fact that we are

ignoring the systemic character of our enterprises and of

our economy, and we continue to look at the world as

a playing field to be conquered by highly specialized

experts. We generally treat each project individually and

concentrate on the perfection of details, without

considering interrelations and the laws of a systemic

structure capable of surviving. This cannot be un-

derstood in the romantic sense of a return to nature

or the Stone Age but as a necessary step in the direction

of a profitable symbiosis with the biosphere as a whole.

This way we will reach technologies and more elegantand progressive organizational forms than the ones that

are currently used to structure our environment [19].

We can see that a change to the systemic paradigm is

a major advance in order to reach SD through

environmental management. However it is important

to understand that a process of environmental manage-

ment will only be made fully possible after the de-

velopment of new environmental laws that leave no

room for doubtful or ambiguous interpretations. Addi-

tionally, it is essential for national, state and municipal

rulers to commit to all stages of the process, which

should be participative, i.e., open to all players with

common interests regarding the environment in ques-

tion. Moreover, it is necessary that governments adopt

and uniformly enforce well-defined environmental pol-

icies and establish a sound environmental education

plan not only for children, but also to develop adult

awareness.

There is a tendency toward a fixation on the concepts

of sustainability, within the premise that the best

products or the best productive processes are those that

are better for the environment. This concept incorpo-

rates different aspects, such as economic and financial

profitability, production efficiency and product and

process quality. In this context, the use of the pollutersmust pay principle is fundamental, as it enables the

internalization of costs resulting from environmental

damage due to the production process. The adoption of

environmental accounting audits in the process of

corporate mergers and acquisitions lends further

strength to this point of view. The expression environ-

mental liabilities covers fines, charges and taxes that

must be paid due to the violation of environmental laws,

as well as the costs of implantation of procedures and

technologies that can facilitate the correction of

compliance failures, plus the expenditure required for

the recovery of degraded areas and compensation of the

affected population. Insurance companies and financial

organizations are already taking into account the

environmental liabilities of a company before conduct-

ing any financial operation.

According to the conclusions of Robert [15] aiming to

adapt the current development pattern to a sustainable

model, it is necessary to analyze the advantages and

disadvantages related to each environmental manage-

ment tool adopted (EMSeISO 14001, Eco-Management

and Audit Scheme (EMAS), Cleaner Production, Life

Cycle Assessment, Zero Emissions Research Initiative e

ZERI, etc.). They concluded that each one of these has

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specific benefits when considered in isolation, but their

potential can be increased by integrated utilization;

every tool has a different objective and depends on the

specific context and application.

Another important cause of ecological problems

related to human activity, besides technology, is

population growth, the effects of which are intercon-nected. According to the Malthusian point of view, the

relationship between demographic density and the base

of natural resources, taking the former as a variable

factor and the latter as a constant one, the pace of world

population growth has been rising which leads to a trend

toward the scarcity and extinction of natural resources,

especially under our current system of production. This

human population growth, combined with an increasing

life expectancy, due to the medical revolution and

increased consumption patterns mainly in developed

countries, have been increasing the environmental

impact of human activities. Even considering mans

creative capacity and the rate at which new technologies

are being developed, the problem still lies in the numeric

pressure on a fixed base of natural resources, because

the entire ecosystem has a maximum capacity for

supporting a given number of individuals, from which

point on the elasticity of the ecosystem is lost and results

in imbalances.

Thus, it becomes important to control demographic

density and to foster a more balanced distribution of

income, because, as long as all citizens do not enjoy

a minimum educational level and, above all, if they do

not satisfy their basic needs (food, clothing and

housing), they cannot be aware of the importance ofconserving the environment. The issue of gold-digging

in Brazil, for example, is a very serious problem,

among other reasons because of the substantial

environmental devastation that it causes and of the

way in which it is carried out. This case, however,

cannot be regarded as a simple police case. Many of

the gold-diggers engage in this activity because they are

people denied access to the conventional work market.

In this sense, prohibiting gold-digging should imply an

opportunity of other means of subsistence for these

people. For this, the country would need additional

financial resources [3].

4. Conclusions

From the arguments presented, we emphasize that

systemic thinking is undoubtedly an important tool for

the current pattern of development to be transformed

into environmentally correct development, i.e., SD.

This transition to SD will enable us help ensure mans

quality of life and survival on earth. The effects of mans

unconscious and irresponsible behavior towards the

environment and disregard for these complex and

interconnected issues can be clearly seen on a global

basis and have been affecting the quality of life for quite

a while, even if nuclear disasters are not taken into

account.

Thus, it is evident that the development of an efficient

environmental management system, in spite of all the

aforementioned problems, is the only possibility formaking decisions that are environmentally appropriate.

However, we must always keep in mind that the

development of management plans and their execution

should be accomplished in such a way as to guarantee

the participation of the all players that have a stake in

the process, in order to ensure its democratic character.

Achieving SD is no easy task because it implies

radically restructuring our society from a cultural,

social, economic and political perspective.

The remarkable increase of complexity in man-made

systems over the last decades is evident and there is

a trend toward a dramatic rise in complexity in the

future. It has therefore, become clear that there is an

urgent need to look at human society and its environ-

mental relationships through a systemic approach.

Nature has billions of years of experience in developing

complex real-time systems and this reasoning must be

explored to reduce the impact of human activity upon

ecosystems. The evolution of a systemic approach means

including the strategy of natural systems in man-made

systems. This reasoning will be an internal guide to

a viable long-term industrial and agricultural process

and to more efficient environmental policies.

Above all, in order to get a global understanding of

a problem, it is essential to make a distinction betweenstructural and conjectural characteristics, in order to

support successful environmental interventions.

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