Workshop

Rethinking Prosperity: business and welfare in a postgrowth economy

Lund | 20 October, 1-4pm (European time)

Economic growth has underpinned our economic model for two centuries, promising material prosperity and wellbeing while causing resource depletion, pollution, biodiversity loss, climate change, and global inequalities. Academics and practitioners alike are increasingly questioning the availability and sustainability of perpetual growth. They advocate for postgrowth and degrowth approaches that aim to ensure social and ecological wellbeing within planetary boundaries. 

Initiatives like the Wellbeing Economy Governments Partnership (WEGo), the recent Beyond Growth Conference in the European Parliament in May and the Wellbeing Economy Forum hosted by the Government of Iceland in June are a few examples demonstrating that policy makers are ready to engage with the critical questions about the nature of our economies, and how we may scale down—by design rather than disaster.

The need for alternatives to current production, consumption and lifestyle patterns is widely acknowledged among decision-makers, researchers, and civil society, the role of businesses and organisations in a postgrowth economy, however, remains largely unexplored. 

During this half-day workshop event, we explore the implications of degrowth for organisations and their role in manoeuvring change processes, how to organise for a postgrowth economy and society, and the emerging scholarship in the field.

Bringing together practitioners and academics, we aim to co-create an improved understanding of the role of post growth and degrowth for business and society, what it means for organisations, and what the challenges are for welfare provision. We will also explore how organisations can contribute to the functioning of society, independent of economic growth.

Agenda

13:00 | Welcome | Oksana Mont & Patrick Elf
13:05 | State of the Art on post-growth and the role of business in a post-growth economy | Prof Oksana Mont, IIIEE, Lund University, SE
13:20 | Conceptualising and researching degrowth transformations | Prof Max Koch, School of Social Work, Lund University, SE
13:35 | An economy for people and planet, not for profit | Dr Jennifer Hinton, Lund University, SE & USA
13:50 | How to put degrowth into practice: 39 Patterns of degrowth-oriented organisational value creation | Tobias Froese, ESCP Europe Berlin, DE
14:20 | An imperative of responsibility? Post-growth thinking as virtue | Dr Patrick Elf, CUSP, UK
14:20 | Break | Coffee & Cake
14:45 | Post Growth Business: The Strength of Constraints | Markus Feldthus, Post Growth Guide, DK
14.55 | Purpose as key to a sustainable business in a post-growth economy | Andreas Anderholm Pedersen, GIAB, SE
15.05 | Oatly and a plant-based future in a post growth World? | Caroline Reid, Oatly, SE
15:15 | CIRCULAR IKEA: A better life within the limits of one planet | Hege Sæbjørnsen, INGKA, SE
15:25 | Discussion
15:55 | Closing remarks | Oksana Mont & Patrick Elf
16:00 | Close

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