Sustainocracy combines the uniform institutional and personal goal of sustainable progress with the democratic process of how to get there. This simple definition implicates a global change in dealing with complex human issues. Sustainable progress cannot be achieved by any single authority. It forcefully needs the value driven cooperation of all institutional authorities together, not in a business economics setting but one of multidisciplinary responsibility sharing.

In our current society of economic, money driven relationships between institutional identities (sales of products, taxation, subventions, contributions, loans, debts, pensions, insurance, etc) such multidisciplinary ventures can only be started by new age pioneers. The reason for this is that Sustainocracy forcefully needs to break through the current change of relationships, dependencies and hand over of fragmented responsibilities to a setting where the human authorities take on the same responsibility together.

Sustainocracy hence has therefor a few characteristics that are strongly different to current complex way of structuring society:

1. Institutional power is used to enhance and expand Sustainocratic initiatives to cause greater affect in the community,
2. But institutions do not lead the initiatives because they cannot. Institutions are instruments to progress not the cause of progress,
3. The pioneer is responsible for defining the complex goal of a Sustainocratic pool of institutional powers. The definition is necessarily related to sustainable human progress because any other objective would not get institutions to work together in an open, transparent and long term format. They have normally differentiated interests that can only be shared and combined in settings of sustainable progress.  Examples of a Sustainocratic definition:
   • Local air quality, public health and regional human dynamics,
   • Local graying/ aging population, self sufficiency, health care and housing,
   • Education, social cohesion, cultural diversity and neighborhood development,
   • Local energy and food, public participation, self sufficiency, housing and quality of life,
   • etc
4. A Sustainocratic process is necessarily local 4 local, involving all local citizens,
5. Therefor a sustainocratic initiative always involves five elements:
   • The pioneer
   • The local government (geographic design and public money)
   • Creative entrepreneurs (local as well as multinational)
   • Educators (science and school)
   • The local population (behavior, contribution, participation)

Sustainocratic processes are always purpose driven. They are labeled with an identifying name (s.a. AiREAS, The STIR Academy, VE2RS, etc) to which people and institutions can relate with motivation and commitment. The initiatives are formalized a s new age cooperative entities established for the measurable humanitarian local progress.

Example: AiREAS as first sustainocratic venture

Advantages of Sustainocracy:

Any key local humanitarian complex issue can rapidly be addressed and solved due to the multidisciplinary format of the coalition, involving directly all necessary authorities who can be called upon their unique competences and authority.

A Sustainocratic group is purpose driven, not money driven.

Sustainocracy eliminates all bureaucracy out of decision making since all parties are directly involved in instant decision making.

Sustainocracy is not a separate institution. It is a purpose driven multi-disciplinary partnership. When the complex objectives have been achieved the partnership will dissolve again.

Sustainocracy demand the general public and scientific know how to take responsibility too, not just the traditional operational parties of government and business. These two authorities are important to avoid the traditional tunnel vision of government (cost saving and bureaucracy) and business (volume sales).

Sustainocracy is result driven within the context of its purpose. That means that reciprocity for all partners is shared when value has been created, not before. One wants money, the other recognition or savings. Reciprocity is not just an economic element but much more complex and varied allowing a diversity of partners to work together without competition.

Problems of Sustainocracy

The problems we encounter are:

Pioneers need to be well trained in their role of connectors of many disciplines. They play a key role to maintain equilibrium between the participants but have no directive power position, yet are extremely influential. They are equally purpose driven and not “paid” as consultant or director. The pioneer are included in the reciprocity program claiming time and responsibility from an individual that is only compensated if results are obtained. Not many people have the talent nor the drive to take this responsibility.

The institutional parties need to adjust their mentality and commitment to a totally new mindset. Government used to be the powerful party “in charge” because of their authority and governance over public money. They need to step back and accept the authority of the team. Business needs to learn to take responsibility with products, services and development for the end result, not just the sales of products.  And so on for each of the parties. It takes a lot of “getting used” to this way of working and set aside the old way of behaving in a group.

“Money” is always an issue because of its standardized importance in our current society. It is a very big step for all involved to learn to see real value as something different than money. In the reward we also need to learn that pay back is sometimes not expressed in money but in different values.

The above difficulties are very demanding for the people involved. They can be partly overcome by defining short term results that show each involved what real reciprocity means. The longer it takes to come up with results to easier it becomes for the group to loose faith and fall apart. The difficulties can also be overcome by getting institutional people (executives) on board who know what they are dealing with (trained). They will not have the burden of adjustment and set out the provide speed to the processes. When this happens decision making is instant and execution also. Reflection becomes an issue for progressive new decisions.

Conclusion

Sustainocracy is a unique, modern way to address key issues for human sustainable progress when crises affect a community. All institutional parties are asked to take responsibility together in true value creation. But they have to be prepared to focus on the competences and authority, not their economic dependencies. Money is not a goal but a means. The purpose is the goal and reciprocity is found in institutional continuity based on true and recognized competences.

Sustainocracry is unique because it uses the very same forces that interact in the same society in crisis however in a different format of interaction. Both worlds can co-exist perfectly in which each players decides for itself when and where to participate in economic and sustainocratic processes. In one money and growth is placed in the center of policy making and in the other the human being and progress.