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Social work and sustainable development: towards a social-ecological practice model The current social-ecological crisis will lead to major social changes, for better or for worse. Society needs to ensure that those changes involve a transition to a more sustainable society. Since this transition touches upon all aspects of life, social work cannot remain outside that process. This article argues how social work practice may contribute to sustainable development, provided it includes the ecological environment in its contextual approach. To this end, a general model for social-ecological practice has been developed, centred on the concepts of empowerment, social capital formation and resilience building. The core concepts of the model are analysed in order to create a coherent interpretation both in multilevel systems terms and in political terms. The social-ecological practice model is thus presented as a political tool for social change. Sociaal werk en duurzame ontwikkeling: naar een sociaal-ecologisch praktijkmodel De huidige sociaal-ecologische crisis zal grote sociale veranderingen veroorzaken, ten kwade of ten goede. De samenleving moet deze veranderingen beïnvloeden in de richting van een transitie naar een duurzame samenleving. Omdat dat proces aan alle aspecten van ons leven raakt, kan ook het sociaal werk er niet buiten blijven. Dit artikel argumenteert hoe sociaalwerkpraktijk kan bijdragen aan duurzame ontwikkeling wanneer het de ecologische omgeving opneemt in een contextuele benadering. Daartoe wordt er een algemeen model ontwikkeld voor een sociaal-ecologische praktijk die gecentreerd is rond empowerment, vorming van sociaal kapitaal en opbouw van veerkracht. De kernconcepten van het model worden geanalyseerd met het oog op een coherente interpretatie, zowel in multilevel-systeemtermen als in politieke termen. Zo wordt het sociaal-ecologische praktijkmodel voorgesteld als een politiek middel voor sociale verandering.

Peeters J. The place of social work in sustainable development: Towards ecosocial practiceEcological questions are seldom seen to concern the social dimension and, accordingly, to be of direct concern to mainstream social work practice. However, the current 'social‐ecological crisis' demands a major social transition to a sustainable society that touches all dimensions of our lives. So, social work cannot escape this process. This article argues that social work can engage in this transition starting from its social mission and tradition, provided it includes the ecological environment as an important element of practice and develops an ecosocial practice centred on empowerment, social capital formation and resilience building as both a contribution to and part of a process of social‐political change.

Peeters J. A comment on 'Climate change: Social workers' roles and contributions to policy debates and interventions'In this commenting article, I present several critical remarks about Lena Dominelli's contribution to the issue of climate change and its implications for social work.1 In my view, her article lacks three important considerations. First, I argue that the issue of climate change should be addressed as part of a broader, fundamental challenge: the transition of the growth‐based economic system upon which our society is built. Second, within a context of social and ecological injustice, dealing with climate change inevitably requires a dimension of social struggle. Third and lastly, I emphasise social work's role in challenging the social, political and economic structures and processes that bring about climate change.

Historically, and in modern times, social workers have been culpable in perpetuating the very systems of oppression that we seek to eliminate. This happens as we are part of cultures and economies that operate out of the growth ideology. Acting in accordance with the growth ideology does not lead to the outcomes that we strive for as professional social workers. Rather, the growth ideology results in growing social inequalities and increasing ecological injustices around the world. Social work can, instead, embrace an ecosocial lens and promote degrowth approaches for transformational alternatives. Rather than reinforcing the existing systems of injustice and oppression, radical social work can take an activist role and bring about urgent and radical changes to promote ecological justice through social and ecological well-being. Examples from radical social work in local and international communities demonstrate the possibility of degrowth for transformational alternatives as radical social work practice.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent a consumer's repair strategy impacts the annual costs of ownership of a washing machine and two types of vacuum cleaner.Design/methodology/approachThe annual cost of ownership is determined by calculating the annual life cycle cost (LCC) for the respective devices. The annual LCCs of the different scenarios allow a comparison of the different repair strategy options. A Monte Carlo simulation is run to introduce parameter variability. The device's failure rate is estimated by a combination of data sets on the devices' performance.FindingsResults demonstrate that the repair of the devices considered is a more favourable option over replacement. A consumer who aims for the lowest annual LCC should allow for a high number of repairs per device, without putting a maximum on the cost per repair. However, the consumer should become more cautious when a device approaches the end of its expected lifetime. Finally, the purchase of warranty can be interesting when the warranty covers a sufficiently long proportion of the device's (expected) lifetime and when its cost does not exceed a threshold proportion of the initial purchase price.Research limitations/implicationsThe costs for repair might be overestimated. Future research can focus on the reduction of repair costs following self-repair.Practical implicationsThe results provide strong arguments in favour of repair instead of replacement of broken devices.Originality/valueThis is the first research to quantify the influence of consumer behaviour in the context of repair of devices on the ownership costs of these devices.

Social work research and practice that address environmental sustainability have already become prominent. However, a change in unsustainable economic structures is also urgently needed. This study explored emerging opportunities in theory and practice for a sustainable economy that are relevant to the aims of social work. As practical examples, our study concerns 'ecosocial innovations', i.e., social innovations that combine ecological and social goals. We analysed how these grassroots innovations in the field of social work reflect crucial shared conceptions of alternative economies. The qualitative data set comprised of 50 ecosocial innovations and six case studies in five European countries. The findings show a rich diversity of ecosocial innovations and describe how they reframe economic purposes, value economic diversity and democratise the economy. We suggest that social work might consider these practices as opportunities for collaboration, especially regarding work with people on the margins of the labour market.

Social work research and practice that address environmental sustainability have already become prominent. However, a change in unsustainable economic structures is also urgently needed. This study explored emerging opportunities in theory and practice for a sustainable economy that are relevant to the aims of social work. As practical examples, our study concerns 'ecosocial innovations', i.e., social innovations that combine ecological and social goals. We analysed how these grassroots innovations in the field of social work reflect crucial shared conceptions of alternative economies. The qualitative data set comprised of 50 ecosocial innovations and six case studies in five European countries. The findings show a rich diversity of ecosocial innovations and describe how they reframe economic purposes, value economic diversity and democratise the economy. We suggest that social work might consider these practices as opportunities for collaboration, especially regarding work with people on the margins of the labour market. ; publishedVersion ; Peer reviewed

Social work research and practice that address environmental sustainability have already become prominent. However, a change in unsustainable economic structures is also urgently needed. This study explored emerging opportunities in theory and practice for a sustainable economy that are relevant to the aims of social work. As practical examples, our study concerns 'ecosocial innovations', i.e., social innovations that combine ecological and social goals. We analysed how these grassroots innovations in the field of social work reflect crucial shared conceptions of alternative economies. The qualitative data set comprised of 50 ecosocial innovations and six case studies in five European countries. The findings show a rich diversity of ecosocial innovations and describe how they reframe economic purposes, value economic diversity and democratise the economy. We suggest that social work might consider these practices as opportunities for collaboration, especially regarding work with people on the margins of the labour market. ; peerReviewed