The Making of Transformative Investment

Sustainability transition studies gain prominence as an academic discipline, while the science becomes clear

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The evolution of sustainability transitions research as an academic discipline is rooted in the end of the 20th century with the growing realisation that "end-of-pipe" solutions would not solve environmental problems. Johan Schot, a historian of technology and founder of the Deep Transitions project, is one of the founders of the sustainability transitions field and a pioneer who set out to find more structural answers to climate change related issues.The field developed a number of concepts, including socio-technical systems change, niche theory of radical change and the Multi Level Perspective (MLP). This led to a new understanding of the dynamics of technological innovation and the importance of human and social dimensions in long term societal change processes.

‍Signals

• 2004: Knowledge Network on System Change and Transitions (KSI) launched in The Netherlands.
• 2006: Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) are launched.
• 2009: KSI led to the creation of STRN, currently the largest sustainability transitions research network in the world.
• 2013: The level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 400 ppm.
• 2016: UN Sustainable Development Goals are adopted.
  

The Deep Transitions History Project develops a framework for understanding long-term patterns of societal change

An international team of historians, sustainability experts and transition scholars begins exploring the mechanisms that have brought about the First Deep Transition. The project culminates in the Deep Transitions theoretical framework, a blueprint for understanding the past in order to learn how to shape change in the future.

Deep Transitions thinking moves away from short-term system optimisation towards long-term system change. As socio-technical systems are intertwined and reinforce each other, a fundamental reconfiguration of multiple systems is needed to bring about a Second Deep Transition. The research is thus geared towards identifying multiple systems changes that can challenge and disrupt current unsustainable practices and replace them with sustainable alternatives.

Signals

• 2018: The Deep Transitions foundational paper by Johan Schot and Laur Kanger is published.
• 2018: Level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 409 ppm.
• 2019: The Principles for Responsible Banking are launched by 130 banks from 49 countries, representing US $47 trillion.

The Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium (TIPC) is founded to experiment with achieving systems change in the public policy sector

TIPC, a sister project of Deep Transitions, engages with the public sector via a global network of researchers, policymakers and funding agencies who want to achieve systems change and address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through science, technology and innovation policy. The consortium developed a methodology to enable policy makers to realise and evaluate opportunities that contribute to achieving fundamental, lasting systems change. This method is being applied in policy experiments across the world, including South Africa (water management), Colombia (circular waste), and Sweden (sustainable food system).

On the pathway to transforming how we invest: The Deep Transitions Futures Project & Deep Transitions Global Investors Panel Process

The second phase of the Deep Transitions project, Deep Transitions Futures, kicks off in 2020 and brings together historians, sustainability transitions experts, futurists and a panel of 16 public and private investors from all over the world. Their shared goal is contributing to an environmentally sustainable and socially just future via a new approach to investing in systemic change: Transformative Investment.

The panel work starts in April 2021 by exploring the current state of the energy, mobility and food systems and creating a shared understanding of the need for a new approach to investment. The work continues throughout the year, with the co-creation of three visions of potential futures and the application of Deep Transitions theory to decision-making. In 2022, the Investors Panel and Deep Transitions research team complete their task with the formulation of 12 Transformative Investment Principles.

Signals

• Mean global temperature is 14.8°C, the warmest in tens of thousands of years.
• Level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 418 ppm, the highest in millions of years.

Launch of 12 Transformative Investment Principles

On 16 November 2022, the Deep Transitions project launches its Investment Philosophy with 12 Transformative Investment Principles, geared towards helping investors steer their investments towards multi-level system change, transformation and, ultimately, the Second Deep Transition.

Register for the launch via Eventbrite.