Step 3 – Engage

Now you have reflected on your existing approach to sustainability, consider the added value of widening or deepening it and how you could describe this to a funder or in a research proposal.

Spotlight

Click Here

Core Ideas		Resources/Examples
Spotlight on Environmental Justice Some approach sustainability as a justice issue. This is particularly common in social sciences and humanities, where nuanced perspectives on justice have been elaborated.
Environmental justice	Right to quality environment and control over resources.	UNDP Our Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment
Procedural and recognitional justice	Inclusion for all in decision making and future planning. Community-shaped research. Participatory methodologies. Recognition of different needs.	Institute for Development Studies Participatory Methods Toolkits Climate Vulnerability Analysis community tool identifying risks by age, gender etc
Intersectional justice	Emphasises intersectional differences in vulnerability and contribution to environmental damage. Tailored, differentiated solutions.	Climate Vulnerability Analysis Toolkit Intersectional Climate Justice Toolkit
Inter-generational justice	Emphasises responsibility to future generations (e.g. Friday for Future protests). Central in indigenous thought. Linked to loss and damage claims against Global North.	Wales Ombudsman for Future Generations Intergenerational solidarity for global transformation
Post-colonial and racial justice	Emphasises the role of racism and colonial asymmetries in responsibility for and burdens arising from environmental damage. Linked to ‘loss and damage’ claims against Global North.	Scottish Government Report on the Case for Loss and Damage¹ Radical Interpretation of Disasters and Risk Research Manifesto
Multi and interspecies justice	Extends rights to animals and nature. Legally enforceable in some countries. Sometimes based in indigenous knowledge systems.	What is multi-species justice?² A Framework for Multispecies Multi-dimensional Land Management³ A Multi Species Justice A Research Agenda for Environmental Politics⁴

References

Scottish Government (no date) Case Study: Funding for loss and damage. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-cop26-achieved/pages/15/
United Nations Development Programme (no date) multi-species justice, UNDP. Available at: https://www.undp.org/future-development/signals-spotlight-2024/multi-species-justice (Accessed: 29 January 2025).
Stanley, T. et al. (2025) ‘Just nature recovery: A framework for centring multispecies and multi-dimensional justice in land management’, Environmental Science & Policy, 164, p. 103992. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2025.103992.
Celermajer, D. et al. (2021) ‘Multispecies justice: theories, challenges, and a research agenda for environmental politics’, Environmental Politics, 30(1–2), pp. 119–140. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2020.1827608.

Step 3 – Engage

Spotlight

Spotlight on Environmental Justice

Environmental justice

Procedural and recognitional justice

Intersectional justice

Inter-generational justice

Post-colonial and racial justice

Multi and interspecies justice