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Beyond Silos: An Integrated Sustainability Hierarchy Framework

Wang, Mengjiao ; Bauer, Fredric LU orcid ; Tilsted, Joachim Peter LU orcid and Tangri, Neil (2026) In iScience 29(7).
Abstract
To address the gap between global sustainability commitments and action, piecemeal solutions targeting singular impacts fall short. Interventions remain fragmented across sectors and frequently prioritize downstream remediation over upstream prevention. Emphasizing the pressing importance of moving toward more systemic approaches, this paper introduces an integrated sustainability hierarchy framework. Reviewing existing hierarchies on waste, climate change, biodiversity, and more, we provide a cross-domain compass that transcends siloed debates and enables systematic development of policy agendas, impact-oriented financial portfolios, and assessment of interventions. Using the ongoing Global Plastics Treaty negotiations as an illustration,... (More)
To address the gap between global sustainability commitments and action, piecemeal solutions targeting singular impacts fall short. Interventions remain fragmented across sectors and frequently prioritize downstream remediation over upstream prevention. Emphasizing the pressing importance of moving toward more systemic approaches, this paper introduces an integrated sustainability hierarchy framework. Reviewing existing hierarchies on waste, climate change, biodiversity, and more, we provide a cross-domain compass that transcends siloed debates and enables systematic development of policy agendas, impact-oriented financial portfolios, and assessment of interventions. Using the ongoing Global Plastics Treaty negotiations as an illustration, we demonstrate the value of the sustainability hierarchy for multi-dimensional sustainability challenges, going beyond existing domain-specific hierarchies. The framework contributes a practical and theoretically grounded tool for advancing systemic sustainability under conditions of accelerating socio-ecological risk and political backsliding. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
iScience
volume
29
issue
7
article number
116453
pages
8 pages
publisher
Elsevier
ISSN
2589-0042
DOI
10.1016/j.isci.2026.116453
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2be77290-5983-4e59-bbed-2f3c16b1ab4b
date added to LUP
2026-05-06 13:47:53
date last changed
2026-08-11 03:23:22
@article{2be77290-5983-4e59-bbed-2f3c16b1ab4b,
  abstract     = {{To address the gap between global sustainability commitments and action, piecemeal solutions targeting singular impacts fall short. Interventions remain fragmented across sectors and frequently prioritize downstream remediation over upstream prevention. Emphasizing the pressing importance of moving toward more systemic approaches, this paper introduces an integrated sustainability hierarchy framework. Reviewing existing hierarchies on waste, climate change, biodiversity, and more, we provide a cross-domain compass that transcends siloed debates and enables systematic development of policy agendas, impact-oriented financial portfolios, and assessment of interventions. Using the ongoing Global Plastics Treaty negotiations as an illustration, we demonstrate the value of the sustainability hierarchy for multi-dimensional sustainability challenges, going beyond existing domain-specific hierarchies. The framework contributes a practical and theoretically grounded tool for advancing systemic sustainability under conditions of accelerating socio-ecological risk and political backsliding.}},
  author       = {{Wang, Mengjiao and Bauer, Fredric and Tilsted, Joachim Peter and Tangri, Neil}},
  issn         = {{2589-0042}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{iScience}},
  title        = {{Beyond Silos: An Integrated Sustainability Hierarchy Framework}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.116453}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.isci.2026.116453}},
  volume       = {{29}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}