SDG commentary: service ecosystems with the planet - weaving the environmental SDGs with human services

Abstract

Purpose Humanity and all life depend on the natural environment of Planet Earth, and that environment is in acute crisis across land, sea and air. One of a set of commentaries on how service can address the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), the authors focus on environmental goals SDG 13 (climate action), SDG 14 (life below water) and SDG 15 (life on land). This paper aims to propose a conceptual framework that incorporates the natural environment into transformative services. Design/methodology/approach The authors trace the evolution of service thinking about the natural environment, from a stewardship perspective of the environment as a set of resources to be managed, through an acknowledgement of nonhuman organisms as actors that can participate in service exchange, towards an emergent concept of ecosystems as integrating human social actors and other biological actors who engage fully in value co-creation. Findings The authors derive a framework integrating human and other life forms as co-creating actors, drawing on shared natural resources to achieve mutualism, where each actor can have a net benefit from the relationship. Future research questions are posited that may help services research address SDGs 13–15. Originality/value The framework integrates ideas from environmental ecosystem literature to inform the nature of ecosystems. By integrating environmental actors and ecological insights into the understanding of service ecosystems, service scholars are well placed to make unique contributions to the global challenge of creating a sustainable future.

Botanic Garden Tourism, Social Value, Health, and Well-Being

“…Hence, our commentary on transformative service and sustainability is in this vein. More research is needed, and one key challenge we present here out of numerous opportunities is for the sector to innovate on ecosystemic thinking [22], service ecosystems [32,99], transformative service [26], and sustainability in terms of social value and good health and well-being in all its wondrous forms as a starting point for creative, interested individuals and collectives [29,56,75,[84][85][86][87]100,101].…”

“…TSR emphasizes the co-creation of value and social innovations through active collaboration between academics, industry practitioners, government agencies, and community members [29]. As such, TSR aligns closely with the principles and objectives of the 17 United Nations' SDGs [30][31][32][33][34], which aim to stimulate cross-sectoral, collaborative partnerships in tackling complex global challenges related to poverty, inequality, climate change, and environmental degradation [35]. This commentary paper considers the application of TSR approaches within the context of botanic garden tourism development to promote the SDG for good health and well-being while considering opportunities surrounding plant awareness disparity (PAD) [36] and the alignment of a variety of SDGs [21,34,[37][38][39][40].…”

“…This agenda is operationalized through 17 SDGs and associated targets that address interconnected eco-nomic, social, and environmental challenges. Progress towards the SDGs requires unprecedented levels of cross-sectoral collaboration, ecosystemic thinking, and transdisciplinary innovation [22,31,32,67,68].…”