Operative System for Strategic Sustainable Development—Coordinating Analysis, Planning, Action, and Use of Supports Such as the Sustainable Development Goals, Planetary Boundaries, Circular Economy, and Science‐Based Targets

ABSTRACT The number of sustainability supports keeps growing. However, they are typically not capable of bridging planetary‐to‐organizational scales and therefore in themselves provide limited guidance for how organizations can contribute strategically to global sustainability. This is severe since the power of change that organizations represent is essential for humanity to succeed with the transition to sustainability. Furthermore, a specific sustainability support typically lacks a clear description of what gap it is designed to fill. This may add confusion to an already complex area and can result in organizations selecting supports that are not the most appropriate for the organization's purpose and transition plan. The aim of this study was therefore to prototype an approach for SWOT analyses of sustainability supports and for guiding effective and coordinated use of them. We tested the approach for some examples of supports that are currently receiving much attention: the sustainable development goals, planetary boundaries, circular economy, and science‐based targets. We argue that the tested approach can be generalized and makes it possible to clarify limitations and value of any support from a systemic, systematic, and strategic sustainability perspective and, therefore, also to clarify how the supports relate to each other and can be selected and used in an effective and coordinated way. This is similar to how an operative system of, say, a smartphone, facilitates an effective and coordinated use of apps. We argue that the presented approach addresses one of the most dangerously, still most commonly, missed pieces in public and private discourses on sustainability.