Opinion piece by Smith Mordak, Chief Executive, UKGBC

We hear a lot about the importance of systems thinking for bringing about a shift to a sustainable built environment, but what does that really mean? And how can you fundamentally change your thinking?

These are big questions that many of us are grabbling with through everything from developing alternative building materials, to collaborating to create a new industry standard. But this work isn’t just about what we do, it’s also about how we think, and one thing that opens up my mind to different ways of thinking is a great film. So as well as championing the fantastic work of UKGBC, I want to suggest five great blockbusters that can help us shift our mindsets and open up new possibilities for systems thinking, in five easy steps!

Step one: stop objectifying the world. We need to get past seeing the world for what it is to us: as a resource to be plundered, an endless giver, to seeing it on its own terms. To help us do this, we could watch A Promising Young Woman, an amazing film told from the objectified woman’s point of view. I won’t spoil it, but the shift of perspective this film demands to the bitter end is not without its challenges. It’s hard not to see ourselves as the protagonists of life, but well worth it for the good of us all. At UKGBC we’ve recently developed a platform for collating and sharing understanding about the Embodied Ecological Impacts of building materials. We don’t usually think about buildings from the quarry’s point of view, but we’re not going to find our way to a healthy ecosystem for all unless we’re able to encompass all these interrelated concerns.

Step two: don’t confuse the wood for a bunch of trees. We struggle to understand the expansive, interrelated, complexity of systems and so tend to try and break them down into lists (like the SDGs for example). This can be helpful, but these lists can fail to capture the interconnections and feedback loops of systems. This lesson is wonderfully portrayed in The Fifth Element where it turns out that earth, water, fire, and air are not in themselves sufficient to defeat evil, and not only that, but the fifth element isn’t really an element at all, but humanity. At UKGBC we’re working to understand things at that system level through projects like the System Enablers for a Circular Economy and our Systems Change Programme where we’re collaborating with a hugely diverse group to uncover the key levers of change while holding the complexity of the system in our minds.

Step three: focus on healing as well as information. Simply knowing that the climate is changing and ecosystems are breaking down hasn’t been enough to spur sufficient change. This is so difficult but we need to figure out how to collectively heal from the trauma of colonialism, world wars, nuclear proliferation, systemic impoverishment of huge swathes of society, and of course disconnection from the rest of nature. If we don’t we’re stuck in survival mode, too stuck to think holistically and expansively. This was illustrated terrifyingly in Don’t Look Up, where mass orchestrated denial was easier to mobilise than taking action against a real and present threat. We recognise this at UKGBC and offer a host of leadership courses that facilitate groups and individuals to not only understand the (often petrifying) information that we’re faced with, but also how to process it and then act differently.

Step four: learn to really communicate. If we want to change the world, to shift ecosystems back into a habitat that sustainably supports human life, then we need to learn to communicate with the rest of nature. This means going beyond superficial metrics towards really deep, really open minded listening. If you’ve watched Arrival, you know what I mean. This is an aliens landing film with a difference. Instead of battling the ugly evil aliens, it’s about learning to communicate with them, which is only possible when the characters let go of their rigid conception of time. At UKGBC we’re embarking on a similar radical listening project by developing a Framework Definition of a Nature-Positive Built Environment. We’ve noticed that the term nature-positive is gaining traction and recognise that it’s very important that this doesn’t become an empty greenwashing term, but something that genuinely speaks to restoring nature, in a language that make sense to nature.

Step five: act with care from within the system. So by now we have watched four great films and have learnt to see the world as it is, see the wood for the trees, appreciate the importance of healing as well as data, and to communicate with the rest of nature in its own languages. I hope that all of this has left us understanding that we don’t sit outside of or above a world that’s an Argos catalogue of nice things for us (see A Promising Young Woman), but embedded within a complex ecosystem (see Fifth Element) that is hurting: that we are hurting and being hurt by (see Don’t Look Up). But we can shift things if we find the language (see Arrival) and if we find our empathy from within this systemic messiness. For this, I recommend watching Everything Everywhere All At Once. Again, no spoilers, but the key lesson here is that we need to go forth with empathy even though nothing makes sense. For me, this is a helpful way to approach this year as we face a General Election for probably the last Government that can really avert the worst of climate change. Join us as we prepare for this crucial political event.

UKGBC will be at Futurebuild, both on stage at our designated space, in partnership with Mitsubishi Electric and supported by Thrive and Interface.. Come and chat to us about systems thinking for a sustainable built environment, or your favourite films, or both!