Systems Thinking. Models to implement sustainable growth and shared value creation

This study will examine the problem of sustainability from two points of view: its genesis and solution. Regarding the former, we shall introduce the hypothesis that the failure to consider sustainability problems is not irrational in an absolute sense but derives from the action of three archetypes that accurately describe the “natural” behavior of individuals in pursuing their aims: behaving in a way that will provide evident short-term advantages, both individual and local, while ignoring the disadvantages and harm such behavior produces in the long run, at the collective and global level. As regards the latter point of view (the solution of the problem), we hold valid the general three-speed (or three-wheel) model of change known as the “PSC Model”, since it describes three wheels of change: the fast wheel of change in the Processes, the slower one of change in the Structures, and the very slow one of change in the Culture. The change toward a culture of sustainability must be triggered by the wheel that sets norms and rules for modifying the actual Processes and operational procedures; this wheel must necessarily trigger the wheel of change in the structures, which is necessary in order to carry out the processes with the new rules. The change effectively occurs only when there is a rotation of the wheel of Culture, which moves individuals to consider the effects of their behavior even in the long run, at a collective and global level