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In this chapter communicative interventions on the energy transition will be presented according to the research model, from A to Sustainability, that includes the following steps, urgency, awareness, action & collective action, public support and in dialogue with society. The research model is discussed as well as various points interesting for communication researchers and professionals. At the end of the chapter some discussion points are issued.
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We are currently in a transition moving from a linear economy grounded on economic value maximization based on material transformation to a circular economy. Core of this transition is organising value preservation from various yet interlinked perspectives. The underlying fundamental shift is to move away from mere financial value maximization towards multiple value creation (WCED, 1987; Jonker, 2014; Raworth, 2017). This implies moving from mere economic value creation, to simultaneously and in a balanced way creating ecological and social value. A parallel development supporting this transition can be observed in accounting & control. Elkington (1994) introduced the triple bottom line (TBL) concept, referring to the economic, ecological and social impact of companies. The TBL should be seen more as a conceptual way of thinking, rather than a practical innovative accounting tool to monitor and control sustainable value (Rambaud & Richard, 2015). However, it has inspired accounting & control practitioners to develop accounting tools that not only aim at economic value (‘single capital’ accounting) but also at multiple forms of capital (‘multi capital’ accounting or integrated reporting). This has led to a variety of integrated reporting platforms such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), International Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRC), Dow Jones Sustainable Indexes (DJSI), True Costing, Reporting 3.0, etc. These integrated reporting platforms and corresponding accounting concepts, can be seen as a fundament for management control systems focussing on multiple value creation. This leads to the following research question: How are management control systems designed in practice to drive multiple value creation?
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This article proposes that identity formation and reformation are important dynamics that influence and are influenced by the course of a sustainability transition. We study identity (re-)formation in the transition of the dairy sector in a rural area in the Netherlands: the Green Heart. Soil subsidence, high emissions, and economic pressures require substantial changes in practices in the dairy sector and most importantly, the landscape that it is intertwined with. We use narrative analysis to study identity (re-)formation in two new stakeholder collectives that aim to address sustainability in the area. We identify discrepancies between the narratives in these collectives and the transition challenge. These discrepancies can be explained by the role that the landscape of the Green Heart plays in the identity (re-)formation within these collectives. The attachment to the current landscape forms a lock-in for the sustainability transition in this area.
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