SustainAbility: When capital letter matters

Sustainability, while widely recognized as a global imperative, often struggles to bridge the gap between intention and action (Rockström et al., 2009; Raworth, 2017). This paper introduces the concept of SustainAbility, which reframes traditional sustainability by emphasizing the development of cognitive, behavioral, and systemic abilities necessary for lasting and transformative change (Sterling, 2011; Bandura, 1977). SustainAbility shifts the focus from static goals to dynamic processes, recognizing that long-term sustainability requires a skill-based, adaptive approach (Meadows, 2008; Kahneman, 2011). Drawing on insights from behavioral economics (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008), systems thinking (Senge, 1990) and educational psychology (Kolb, 1984), this paper explores the theoretical foundations and policy implications of SustainAbility. Key areas of focus include the role of education in cultivating systems literacy, corporate strategies for embedding SustainAbility into decision-making and participatory policymaking to build institutional resilience (Ostrom, 1990; Geels, 2011). By redefining SustainAbility through the lens of abilities, this paper advocates for a paradigm shift that integrates knowledge and emphasizes equitable and inclusive frameworks (Sen, 1999; Agyeman et al., 2002).