Every society can be described as comprising four dimensions, the economic, social, environmental and institutional. Each of them is a complex, dynamic, self-organising and evolving entity in its own right, making the coupled system one of tremendous complexity. For this system to be...

The ‘cascade model’ of ecosystem service generation and valuation highlights the links between biophysical aspects/biodiversity and human well-being, in particular for the case of marginal changes, but does not include societal processes. Services seem to flow effortlessly from ecosystems to...

The objective of this paper is to identify those areas of consumption in which private households can make significant contributions to environmental sustainability, and to present a transparent and comprehensive set of indicators for them. The analysis of the environmental impacts of households...

Sustainability as described in Agenda 21 is characterised by a complex system of interacting targets in four dimensions social, environmental, economic and institutional. This four-dimensional approach is illustrated with a new communicative tool based on a spherical structure, the "prism of...

In the framework of the EU-funded research project ALARM (Assessing LArge-scale environmental Risks with tested Methods), an original method combining the DPSIR (driving forces-pressures-state-impacts-responses) framework and an analysis based on the distinction between the four spheres of...

This paper reviews definitions and uses of the Driving Forces-Pressures-State-Impacts-Responses (DPSIR) framework and argues that it is a relevant tool for structuring communication between scientists and end-users of environmental information, while it is inappropriate as an analytical tool. An...

In Europe since the 1950s, average working hours have declined steadily and the time available for unpaid work has increased. Nonetheless, its contribution to the total standard of living has not been taken into account so far, although the majority of working hours in Germany and Europe is in...