STEEP Systems Modelling: A Dynamic Framework for Developing Sustainability Policies

The global aim is to attain sustainability in different fields due to planetary boundaries within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for generations to come.However, the relationships between the environment and human interactions are complex and intertwined with multiple systems and can be classed as a complex adaptive system.Therefore, sustainability is a complex dynamic concept that is not well understood hence making its implementation difficult for decision makers and policy development.Sustainability has been established to be a multidisciplinary and systemic issue with interactions of multiple systems.To understand the dynamic and complex nature of sustainability, an appreciation of the interlinkages between the environmental, economic and social aspects have been highlighted in literature.However, the interactions of these three systems with the technological and political systems seem to be overlooked.Based on the complexity of these interactions, sustainability cannot be resolved with a reductionist approach.This paper highlights the limitations of the current widely used model of sustainability and combines STEEP analyses with Systems Thinking to develop a more comprehensive paradigm to promote better understanding and contribute to policy development models for sustainability issues in various global trends.When the interactions between the Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental and Political (STEEP)systems are considered, a more complete picture of the sustainability challenge are presented and better understood.The adoption of STEEP systems approach provides more holistic perspectives to sustainability issues, help the policy makers in better understanding, and aid effective policy development.It is a framework that can be applied to any system's transition to sustainability.