QUICK READS
Quick Reads are short overviews of key NetZeroCities concepts providing essential information in a practical and visual way. More comprehensive resources and additional information will be available in the knowledge repository.
LEADING COLLABORATIVE SYSTEMS CHANGE FOR CLIMATE-NEUTRALITY
Radically reducing greenhouse gas emissions requires urgent and transformative action at scale. Quick technological fixes are not enough. The problems cities face in mitigating and adapting to climate change are complex, rooted in technological, economic, financial, organisational, political, cultural and social systems. These are all interconnected and constantly adapting to one another, meaning their interdependencies can block necessary change. Inherited structures - such as planning policies, existing infrastructure, deeply ingrained organisational and/or individual practices and mindsets - can reinforce the status quo and get in the way of necessary transformations.
Systems innovation means intervening across existing systems, in a coordinated way, to unlock pathways towards climate-neutrality. To do this, a deep understanding of local systems is necessary, as well as connecting climate actions in whole-city cross-sectoral portfolios and intentionally collaborating with many actors - locally and across all levels of governance.
Systems innovation means intervening across existing systems, in a coordinated way, to unlock pathways towards climate-neutrality. To do this, a deep understanding of local systems is necessary, as well as connecting climate actions in whole-city cross-sectoral portfolios and intentionally collaborating with many actors - locally and across all levels of governance.
Key practices to use systems innovation for climate-neutrality
Understanding systems
Isolating parts of complex systems like emissions domains can miss vital connections, resulting in insufficient impact and speed of change. Mapping the unique local systems to reveal the interdependencies between various technological, financial, organisational and institutional, democratic and social levers is crucial to visualise potential pathways towards radical emission reductions. It also enables identifying possible unintended consequences of interventions and barriers to change.
Portfolios of actions
When interdependencies in a city’s challenges are understood, this can be used to catalyse impact by creating portfolios of actions. Working through portfolios organises action in a coordinated manner using multiple levers across the system - governance and policy, finance and business models, technology, democracy and social innovation, capability building. This enables faster learning by creating feedback loops about what works and what is needed next, discovering the pathways towards decarbonisation.
Collaboration
Working on portfolios of actions across systems (across traditional divisions between technology, finance, politics, governance) requires working with new actors in new ways, multiplying the number of actors of change. This means focusing on impact by working collaboratively, building and orchestrating a city ecosystem where local citizens, businesses and all necessary stakeholders can contribute to the change needed.
Inspiration
Helsinki
In Helsinki, the Closed Plastic Circle initiative aims to reduce by 60–70 % the amount of plastics in circulation in the city to reduce GHG emissions linked to their production and disposal. Involving the whole value chain - from manufacturing to collection and logistics to consumer behaviour - the initiative acts on multiple levers across the system, as a portfolio. It also influenced policies to favour recycled products via city procurement criteria and construction site regulations, as well as national and EU level regulation on producers’ responsibility for recycling.
Madrid
Madrid has embraced a new systemic way of working. Creating an ongoing multi-actor collaboration, it is an entire local ecosystem that supports the city’s Roadmap for Climate Neutrality, providing greater legitimacy for climate action. Creating an atmosphere of trust and radical collaboration between council and a network of local actors (including university, local designers…), this has increased the city’s capability to develop and coordinate complex portfolios of actions such as Madrid Compensa or Bosque Metropolitano which open pathways towards emission reductions
To learn about the potential of systems innovation to address other societal challenges, see an example here: Acting and thinking systemically - A systemic approach to ending homelessness.
Going further
Future Stewards toolkit provides inspiration and tools for systems change.
Systems Innovation Overview a video elaborating on what we mean by systems innovation.
Systems Innovation Overview a video elaborating on what we mean by systems innovation.
Building Better Systems - An Introduction to Systems Innovation lays out a series of steps that can be taken to create better systems and address big shared challenges.
Acumen Academy Systems Practice Course a free online course to develop one’s system thinking practice.
Acumen Academy Systems Practice Course a free online course to develop one’s system thinking practice.