The Systems Approach to Sustainability Management Dr. Cristina Neesham

The recent Responsible Business Seminar on Monday, 13 October 2025, led by Dr. Cristina Neesham (find more about her work on LinkedIn), was not merely a presentation but the unveiling of a comprehensive philosophical and practical framework for modern sustainability management. The discussion, both formal and informal, provided a deep dive into the interdependencies necessary to true systemic change.

The Foundation: Sustainability Management: A Systems Approach (Keeping Track…)

The cornerstone of the seminar was Dr. Neesham’s new co-authored textbook, Sustainability Management: A Systems Approach, published by SAGE in March 2025. The vision for this project—”Let’s talk about…”—is to create the First textbook in Sustainability Management from a Systems perspective, integrating deep ecology analyses of global issues to illustrate the fundamental interdependencies among ecosystems, societies, organisations, and individuals.

The book is the product of collaboration between four distinguished authors: Dr. Ana Cristina Siqueira (William Paterson University, USA), Dr. Cristina Neesham (Newcastle University, UK; Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia), Dr. Nancy E. Landrum (Munich Business School, Germany; Les Roches Global Hospitality Education, Switzerland), and Dr. Patricia Kanashiro (University of Southern California, USA).

Why this Textbook and Its Systems Approach

The core rationale for the book is simple yet powerful: Consumer demand for sustainable business practices has never been greater. To meet this need, the authors employ a systems thinking approach to illustrate the complex interdependencies at every level. Crucially, they seek to integrate the ecological case—the fact that business practices of all types and sizes have significant aggregate impacts on society and the environment—with the business case—the reality that sustainability presents both risks and opportunities and can be a source of competitive advantage. This integration is achieved via social dialogue and directly examines pressing issues like the climate crisis, social justice, racial equity, and human rights. Uniquely, the book dedicates a whole section to 14 case studies that spotlight innovative, successful sustainable strategies from companies globally, deliberately focusing on positive examples to provide role models.

A true systems approach, as outlined by Dr. Neesham, defines any system in terms of its principles of coherence, structure, boundaries, and control mechanisms. The key properties of these systems include nonlinearity, where human and natural systems interact in unpredictable ways, and complex adaptation, suggesting that natural and human systems can be studied as complex adaptive systems. This leads to low predictability, where change is best understood by examining emergent properties and feedback loops, and qualitative dynamics, meaning critical/tipping points are common. Therefore, analysis of global sustainability must use a multi-level approach, integrating the analysis of interactions between systems at the individual, organisational, societal, and planetary levels, recognizing that sustainability challenges are fundamentally complex and wicked problems, where an apparent solution in one area often results in a new, unforeseen problem occurring somewhere else.

Pedagogical Features and Structure

To support learning, the textbook is packed with pedagogical tools. Each chapter opens with a vignette (a short, real-life case study), includes clearly defined learning objectives, and features “Sustainability and You” sections to contextualise global issues for students’ own lives. Further, each chapter provides comprehensive summaries and discussion questions emphasising practical relevance, while keywords and a concluding glossary is used extensively for effective navigation of the material.

The book is structured around eleven key topics. The foundation is presented across the first two chapters, covering the theory and practice of sustainability management.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Sustainability Management: Theory, which defines the concept and explores a systems approach to its management.

Chapter 2: Introduction to Sustainability Management: Practice, which pivots to the real-world landscape by examining the key challenges and opportunities for global sustainability.

The subsequent three chapters delve into the institutional, stakeholder, resource, and strategy frameworks necessary for effective management.

Chapter 3: Institutions and Sustainability Management focuses on institutional theory, explaining why businesses comply with external pressures and outlining the resulting strategic responses and the pitfalls of greenwashing.

Chapter 4: Stakeholders and Sustainability Management introduces stakeholder theory to define responsibilities and methods for stakeholder engagement.

Chapter 5: Resources, Capabilities, and Strategies for Sustainability, which explores how integrating sustainability into overall corporate strategy, utilising a Resource-Based View, and prioritising actions based on coordinating ecosystems creates shared value.

The next three chapters shift the focus to innovation, implementation, and global execution.

Chapter 6: Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Sustainability examines how creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial ingenuity drive the shift towards a circular economy, detailing the role of new business models and technology.

Chapter 7: Formulating Corporate Strategies: Alliances and Global Supply Chains addresses the execution of strategy through global collaborations, including alliances and partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and managing global supply chains within the context of host versus home country strategies.

Chapter 8: Implementing Environmental, Social, and Governance Strategies focuses on internal governance, applying Agency Theory to discuss the role of monitoring and incentives in performance, such as greening the boardroom and executive compensation, alongside the impact of shareholder activism.

The concluding chapters cover the essential topics of measurement, reporting, and social context.

Chapter 9: Monitoring and Measuring Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance explores the origins of ESG, detailing the various ratings, criteria, metrics, standards, and frameworks used to assess performance, alongside the inherent ESG challenges.

Chapter 10: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Context of Sustainability positions DE&I as a strategic component of Corporate Social Responsibility, examining its role in addressing issues like racial diversity and gender inclusion within organisations.

Chapter 11: Sustainability Reporting Frameworks and Standards, addresses the critical issue of corporate accountability, covering the principle of materiality, the benefits and challenges of sustainability disclosure, and the latest best practices and trends in reporting.

The Collection of Case Studies

The dedicated section on case studies represents a critical shift away from problem-focused narratives, showcasing 14 successful examples.

These include studies focusing on technology and circularity, such as hiLyte (Commercialisation of Sustainable Technology), The Mae Fah Luang Foundation (Circular Strategy in Coffee Production), FabricAID (Circular Economy in the Fashion Industry), and Bhoomi Diapers (Creating Eco-Friendly Products).

Cases that address industry transformation and corporate governance include Polestar 0 Project (Introducing a Climate-Neutral Vehicle), Tesla (The Global Electric Vehicle Industry, and the Future of Patented Technologies), Farm Animal Welfare Reporting (Using Investor Benchmarks to Change Corporate Behaviour), and Thread International (Attempting a Takeback Programme and Its Sustainability Challenges).

Further cases exploring social equity and global scope are Occidental of Colombia and Indigenous People’s Rights (The Right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent), Christian Dior Couture (Luxury Fashion, Feminism and SDG5), Vegadona (User-Generated Content For Vegans), Taos Ski Valley (A Systems Perspective on Sustainability Strategy**), Loyola University Chicago (Becoming a Leader of Environmental Sustainability), and Machu Picchu, a Carbon-Neutral World Wonder (Global Sustainability Strategy).

Applications and Learning Outcomes

The material is already seeing significant application, most notably forming the core module for the MSc Sustainability Management (Newcastle University Business School, NUBS) programme launched in September 2024.

The material is also being used for research and curriculum development in Australia.

The core Introduction to Sustainability Management module aims to provide broad knowledge about global sustainability as a key condition for addressing grand environmental challenges (climate change, pandemics, chronic scarcity), examine how international business and globalisation affect these challenges, and explore strategies for managing sustainability solutions.

Overall Perspective: From Intersection to Integration

The seminar included a critical visual discussion contrasting the traditional “Three Intersecting Spheres**” model of sustainability (where the intersection of Social, Environmental, and Economic concerns is where sustainability is found) with the preferred, Systems-based Nested Model. This Nested Model accurately positions the Economy inside Society, and Society inside the Environment, visually emphasising the fundamental dependence of all human systems on the natural environment.

The programme’s Intended Knowledge Outcomes are designed to ensure students demonstrate awareness of global-systemic environmental problems, critically examine the role of international business, identify management challenges, and analyse multi-stakeholder strategies. Correspondingly, Intended Skills Outcomes focus on the ability to apply sustainability management principles to evaluate cases, design key elements of sustainability strategy, and develop solutions that engage interdependent human behaviours and cultural norms.

Future Development and Collaboration Opportunities

To support the textbook, there are plans to create complementary materials such as new case studies, simulations, games, interactive classroom and/or online activities, and assessment tasks.

Open Discussion

The seminar moved into an open discussion section, which was highly dynamic. We heard from an invited lecturer who shared her direct, practical experiences of integrating the textbook’s material into her own university modules, immediately grounding the theory in pedagogical reality. This was quickly followed by a contributor discussing the concept of “momentum”—a subtle, emergent behaviour found across an analysis of proxy data from over 6,500 institutions, hinting at large-scale shifts underway beneath the surface of official reporting.

The conversation also included a powerful philosophical contrast: the difference between management systems born of academia and those inherently found in indigenous populations, arguing compellingly that authentic sustainability must be rooted in deep, cultural understanding. The practicalities of finance were also a significant focus, with a student raising the essential question of government funding for sustainability projects, which was immediately addressed by Griff Kane, a sustainability consultant from www.terrainfirma.co.uk, who offered that we needed to reframe Sustainability not as a sacrifice but as an opportunity, and emphasised the value of this narrative of opportunity while providing actionable information about resources available through Innovate UK.

A further stimulating debate centred on the role of economics itself. The consensus was clear: current economic models are simply inadequate, creating a pressing need for fundamental changes so that economic frameworks can properly integrate the sophisticated understanding of sustainability presented in Dr. Neesham’s work. This critique led directly into a fascinating point about corporate structure referencing Patagonia’s unique ownership model, highlighting how the ability to operate without the relentless pressure of quarterly reporting could be a crucial factor in achieving genuine, long-term sustainability. Dr. Neesham herself agreed this area of ownership and non-traditional reporting needs much deeper understanding.

Dr Neesham offered a warm Thank you for everyone’s attention and input. In reply Dr Neesham was given a vote of thanks.

The Impromptu Dinner

What truly cemented the evening’s value to me was the informal extension of the discussion. I was grateful to join the impromptu dinner with Dr. Neesham and some colleagues afterwards. These were not simply pleasant social hours; they were invaluable moments of associative thinking.

The conversation touched on the profound importance of language and multilingualism. We covered fascinating linguistic links, specifically exploring the idea of mutual intelligibility—such as the surprising degree of understanding possible between a speaker of Japanese and Manchurian, and the direct comprehension a speaker of a modern Romance language can have for Latin. The discussion then deepened into the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, specifically how mastering a second language enhances one’s ability to think and approach problems.

This focus on language precision even led to a playful correction by Dr. Neesham herself, who clarified that the AI ‘Gemini’ (often mispronounced with a long final vowel and referred to be me as ‘she’) is, in fact, Latin in origin, plural, and grammatically requires the pronoun ‘they.’ This technical point sparked a wider discussion on the essential need for clearer definitions in the field of artificial intelligence. Specifically, the group highlighted the key data distinction: general AI relies on vast, widespread datasets, whereas the data currently available for training AGI (Artificial General General Intelligence) is significantly more limited, underscoring the challenges in achieving true general intelligence. Returning to gender, it was added that AI has a gender bias.

Another unexpected gem came when Dr. Neesham shared a personal anecdote about her experience with Dragon dictation software, which she used after developing a repetitive strain injury and could no longer type. The room shared a laugh as she recounted the advice she received: never use the software with music playing in the background, lest the song lyrics become unwittingly integrated into your academic text! It was a perfect encapsulation of how valuable these personal connections are in developing a shared, holistic understanding, reinforcing that responsible business is fundamentally tied to culture, history, and communication.

For any further queries regarding the seminar or textbook, please contact Dr. Neesham at cneesham@swin.edu.au or cristina.neesham@ncl.ac.uk.