Systems Thinking in Practice

By Gunter Pauli

Written for Schumacher College, July 2008

Have you ever got excited about biodegradable plastics? Maybe – until you realised that increased demand for corn for bioplastics and biofuels leads to a doubling of the food prices based on using the same corn in Latin America.

Have you ever been fascinated by the biomimicry technology that permits the conversion of CO2 into plastics with a catalyst from citrus fruits? Maybe, until you realised that plastics always have additives like fire and flame-retardants based on endocrine disruptors like brominated compounds.

When there is a problem with agro-waste in the Egyptian Nile Delta, bio-engineers genetically modify rice with short straw. The excess of straw is burned, creating greenhouse gases and a horrible smog; and not burning the straw generates methane gas, considered worse. This seems to be one of the solutions from the modern world. However, straw from rice is used to farm mushrooms in China and the waste substrate is fed to animals since it is enriched with essential amino acids. Why is the “problem” of straw not converted to an opportunity to feed the world with healthy (cholesterol and saturated fatty acid free) food?

The time has come for us to start to make connections, to foresee linkages and understand that we are not living in a world where only “one thing” matters, but rather we inhabit a web of life where everything is connected.

Once you start to make connections, a new business model emerges, a new competitive game can be played – and many unsustainable practices simply do not make economic sense anymore. When we put systems thinking into practice then we realise that entrepreneurs, regional development authorities and industries are likely to see a whole new type of innovation: innovation of products, innovation of processes and … innovations of systems.

Based on case studies from agriculture and industry, from mining and cement to beer brewing and spirulina farming, and implemented around the world, participants on this course will be able to build on their previous knowledge like biomimicry, social entrepreneurship and natural systems, and evolve a systemic approach to life and the future that is positive, pragmatic and feasible.

Schumacher College is part of the Dartington Hall Trust, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and as a charity (company no. 1485560, charity no. 279756). Registered office: The Elmhirst Centre, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EL, UK.