Conversation with dr hab. Anna Dziadkiewicz
Faculty of Management, Department of Marketing
Given your experience and research, how do you understand sustainable development?
This definition has evolved a lot in my life. In fact, I’ve decided to create my own definition based on the experience I’ve gained. I came across this term for the first time, although I didn’t know exactly what it meant, during my internship at the University of Oxford, which I did 12 years ago. Then I came across the concept of design management. We aren’t able to translate it well into Polish. In 2021, I published a book on this topic and when translators tried to translate this concept, they said: “zarządzanie designem”, but such a literal translation would direct us more towards fine arts. I work at the Faculty of Management, so I decided to call design management “zarządzanie projektowe”. What does design management concern? It concerns conscious, and therefore prudent, ordering – designing systems of services, activities, and also our lives. We must, even though it is a business, add an element of sensitivity, i.e. awareness of how our actions will affect rational design in the future. Designing everything that concerns us is the essence of my book “Design Management: uwarunkowania i efekty wdrożenia w przedsiębiorstwie”. The basis of sustainable development is conscious design, rational thinking and sensitivity as I mentioned. So when we create any activities, market offers, meet as part of various initiatives and undertakings, and we don’t take into account conscious design and reflection on certain cause-and-effect relationships of these activities – we are selfish. That’s why it’s so important to notice these relationships that are the foundation of sustainable development. Not I as an individual and my needs, but I as part of the ecosystem; as a person who is aware and sensitive to how my actions may affect future generations. We are slowly getting closer to the definition of sustainable development, which means we strive to think about what we create, how we act, how we live. So that our actions, if they don’t have a positive impact, at least make a neutral contribution to future generations, i.e. the environment in which we live, the local economy and local society. I use the word “localness” here on purpose because, before the pandemic, people talked primarily about global aspects. Now we pay more attention to localness in our activities because these local, small steps can lead to great undertakings. If we talked all the time from a global, macro perspective, then for many people such actions wouldn’t matter. Because someone would say, “Global? I have no control over it” instead of: “Local? I am part of the local.” Some researchers even say that nowadays the focus is no longer on localness, but on hyperlocalness. So I don’t buy national or regional products, but I buy products from my city, my village, and even from my neighbourhood. I support this environment which is the most local. When we talk about sustainable development, we must also be aware of the date of announcing of the Ecological Debt Day. In 1987 it fell on 19 December. Until this day, our planet was able to fully renew itself, regenerate after what we had used up that year. So we could say then that our actions left a neutral trace. This year, Ecological Debt Day fell on 28 July. From that day until the end of the year, we live on credit. And what does this mean? It means that we take away almost half of the annual resources from future generations. These are amazing values and – unfortunately we have to say it – it’s an incredible pity. When talking about sustainable development, I always think about awareness and sensitivity in three spheres: economic growth, social inclusion and, of course, environmental protection. I think these are the most important points. Be sensitive, be vigilant, observe, but above all, leave a trace. Even if not positive, then neutral.
Here I would like to ask what economic growth is possible if not the one based on global consumption?
Here my thoughts lead me to my CIRTOINNO project regarding the circular economy, which I carried out some time ago. Why? Because at the time when it was being prepared, concepts related to sustainable development in Poland weren’t very popular and were poorly known. The project was addressed to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism industry. It’s known that entrepreneurs want to earn money, but the direction they choose to earn money depends on their awareness of running a business. In the 20th century, economic growth was largely associated with the introduction of innovations. In American companies, they were understood as an annual increase in profit, reflected in increasingly higher revenues. What did this lead to? First, people became more and more tired and therefore less and less effective. Let us remember that generations X, and partly Y, is an extremely tired generation, full of addictions. If man is constantly in overdrive, if there is pressure at work, pressure from the environment, at some point he/she falls apart and stops working well. Therefore, in the 21st century, the concept of innovation was redefined. It’s no longer about searching for new sources of earning and striving for greater and greater profits. Innovation in business in the 21st century is understood as introducing conscious changes. It is these changes that make economic growth visible. What does it mean? What is economic growth not driven solely by financial means? It’s the success of introducing small changes – including changes in ourselves and changes in our attitudes – because we can talk about sustainable development not only when we want to earn money, build more houses or buy a new car. Sustainable development is, above all, about redefining our values. Us as people. We live in very interesting times. These times clearly demonstrate polarisation: us versus me; egalitarianism and elitism, emotions and rational thinking; global – local; a dilemma: to buy new ones or repair the old ones; online – offline, abundance – scarcity. Peter Frase, an American sociologist, said that we will build future scenarios on the axes between these extremes. It follows that economic growth is a conscious action – acting for the good of the planet, animals, our friends, business partners and local businesses. All these entities should interpenetrate and support each other. How can we do this? For example: through conscious design. Some people say that we live in so-called “VUCA times”, that is the times of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Others say that VUCA is over and now the “BANI times” have begun which are brittle, anxious, nonlinear and thus incomprehensible.
The basis of sustainable development is conscious design, rational thinking and sensitivity.
The year 2021 was incredibly interesting. When I was teaching at that time, I often asked students one basic question that we tried to answer: “After the pandemic, do we want to go back to what got us here, or will we take advantage of this one in a million chance, one in a million situation to change everything?” Students most often answered that life in the past was like a comfort zone, everything was predictable. It’s hard to predict anything now and maybe this is the perfect time to stop and think. The question arises what we can do to ensure economic growth and make things better for us. We should consider what the word “better” means in this context. Maybe it’s not about yet another car, a bigger house, another exotic holiday, but about stopping. Let’s stop rushing. It will be better for everyone: for us, for the planet, and for our relationships, and after all, business is based on relationships. On the one hand, we see enormous fatigue because the world is slowly returning to “normality” after the pandemic and some people want to regain what they lost during this difficult time, but on the other hand, there are a lot of people who say: “Thank you for this time, because it was a moment to reflect, to gain sensitivity and, above all, to realise that this is not the right way.” We should all consider whether we want to go back to the way things were or take advantage of the opportunity and start living according to certain values.
Is this already visible in consumer behaviour statistics? Is this still per mille behaviour?
Is the per mille changing? Definitely yes. I’m currently participating in the SB WELL project, which concerns well-being tourism. The leader of this project is Linnaeus University in Sweden. When we started the project in 2016, the Polish tourism industry reacted with disbelief. We have a fixed image of a stereotypical tourist who wants to come to us and receive a package of disposable artificial slippers, cosmetics in plastic bottles that can be taken home, and new towels replaced every day. The majority of the Polish tourism industry wasn’t ready for the well-being tourists. When the pandemic started, everything changed. People started looking for completely new values. We noticed a considerable change in the tourism industry, new groups of tourists appeared: one of them are so-called “Sustainable Idealists” – a very strong group that is already visible also in Poland. Its members come and ask about the ingredients used in the dishes, their country of origin and whether they come from fair trade crops, as well as how to get somewhere other than by car, and what happens later with the waste. Apart from “sustainable idealists”, there are also people looking for “Peace of Mind” and so-called “Curious Explorers” who want to relax but don’t want to go to five- and four-star hotels. They want to go somewhere close, but many times. The research in which I participated together with “Linnaeus” from Sweden showed us how we, Poles, are unable to rest. And all this is related to the lack of understanding of sustainable development. On average, we go on holiday twice a year for about 2 weeks, in summer and winter. When we come back, we open the mailbox where we have accumulated emails from these two weeks. And what is happening to us? We have to work overtime, we work very intensively again to get back to a level of balance. The Scandinavians say that this doesn’t lead to anything good and we should rest at least once a month, and sometimes even twice a month, but for a short time. If we have such short holidays, we won’t go to exotic countries. We have to rest where we live or somewhere near. There is often a not entirely true belief that Scandinavian tourists come to Poland only to shop, improve their beauty or just have fun. However, this is not entirely true. They say they come because the flight to us takes less than an hour, the weather is the same as theirs, the food is fantastic, we have wonderful infrastructure, and these two days of a well-spent weekend give them so much energy that they can then easily go back to work. Sustainable development is, above all, a satisfied employee: rested and respected. When I come back after two days of good rest, when I recharge my batteries, I’m a completely different type of employee, friend, partner, family member.
The times we live in clearly demonstrate polarisation: us versus me; egalitarianism and elitism, emotions and rational thinking; global – local; dilemma: buy new ones or repair the old ones; online – offline, abundance – scarcity. Peter Frase, an American sociologist, said that we will build future scenarios on the axes between these extremes.
Isn’t it true that a citizen of a rich country can be a sustainable employee?
Most often, in rich countries, citizens have not only ecological awareness, but also awareness of sustainable development, and it starts already at the kindergarten level. I have relatives in Denmark and I was very surprised that my niece, who was attending kindergarten at the time, was already able to sort waste. It was 15 years ago, and now, when I meet my nephews, I see the same thing: they learn how to segregate waste in Polish kindergarten. At the Faculty of Management where I work, special diffusers appeared, thanks to which it was possible to give up disposable plastic bottles. This is a fantastic initiative. When Scandinavians come to us, they always ask: “Can we drink tap water?” This is something natural for them and this is what rich countries give us: they show certain behaviours, a certain philosophy that they’ve had for many years and which works well. I really like the fact that in Scandinavia there are so-called peace and relaxation rooms (wellbeing rooms). In this place, every employee and every student can rest for a while, instead of standing in the corridor, which is usually noisy. Some people need to calm down. An example is the growing interest in silence zones on trains.
You mentioned two projects. Please tell us about your teaching and research activities and outline the concept of sustainable development in them.
I am lucky that I can include an element of sustainable development in all the subjects I teach, because I teach design in marketing, new trends in tourism, building experiences, and service design. Our students don’t want to listen to theory only, they want to see real examples, so now the lecturer must, of course, give them a theoretical field, but also immediately show them what these activities look like in reality. Our goal is a necessary, radical change in the way we think about sustainable development and good, positive interaction with other people and the entire ecosystem. And this is what the university gives us as a brilliant platform for building these relationships. I believe that most subjects, especially business subjects, taught at my faculty are based on sustainable development. It’s like the implementation of the CIRTOINNO project, which I mentioned earlier, regarding the circular economy: when entrepreneurs first heard about the need for a circular economy, they weren’t interested in participating in the project, but under the influence of education enriched with good foreign practices, it turned out that they had been applying these practices for a long time, without defining them with this professional term. Several years have passed since then, and not only are the concepts of circular economy and sustainable development widespread, but companies put them to use for moral and business reasons.
What companies are we talking about, and from what industry?
I work mainly with the tourism industry. Interesting information is that when we were introducing circular economy practices in Pomeranian tourism enterprises, we encountered a number of barriers. As an example I can give the situation of one of the owners of a four-star hotel, who changed the toilet paper in the hotel rooms to recycled one and withdrew disposable plastic cosmetic bottles. And what happened? She received negative opinions saying that tourists came to a four-star hotel where they wanted to feel luxury, but they didn’t receive it. Fortunately, this is a thing of the past and now luxury is understood differently – as an opportunity to use sustainable services and products. The change occurred primarily during and thanks to the pandemic. I try to think positively because students themselves ask how business solutions can be translated into sustainable ones. They crave this knowledge and acquiring these skills. I always say that the example comes from above and when young people observe us, our lives, how we act and what we do, it becomes an indicator for them: “Aha, so it’s not just theory, it’s practice, that is happening here and now.”
Could you outline the ideas that guide a sustainable university? Are there any visible limitations or elements that can be introduced?
The only limitation is what we have in our heads. It’s very good when we are aware and sensitive to the things that are happening around us. I believe that it is worth introducing items that have an element related to eco-development. We have 17 Sustainable Development Goals, so the spectrum is huge and it seems to me that we are only limited by our heads and whether we want to do something or not. We just need to observe the world around us and students and be open to their needs and questions. Environmental initiatives, such as “stop bottled water”, also stop other processes, e.g. throwing away large amounts of plastic waste, because both are interconnected. I also like the fact that there are more and more parking spaces for bicycles. I think that in the near future if the infrastructure allows, student relaxation rooms will become the norm. It would be a perfect place for a moment of silence, to gather your thoughts in this overstimulated world. What I really like is promoting the initiatives of the academic community, for example on the main websites of the University of Gdańsk. Students are often afraid of being ridiculed, but when we promote their ideas and show them in various variants, they’ll understand that there’s nothing to be ashamed of. The university is an independent platform, an open entity where this thought must evolve. I believe this is something that can be a role model for future generations. We don’t have to be members of global initiatives, we can be participants in local projects, and in addition, the involvement of students in promoting sustainable activities seems to be crucial to maintaining the idea of a sustainable university.
Interview by dr Barbara Kijewska.