Conceptualizing and Operationalizing Malleability in Sociometabolic Systems: Foundations for Sustainable Wellbeing Transformations

The presentation introduces a novel framework for understanding and assessing societies' capacity to intentionally reconfigure their resource provisioning and sociometabolic systems towards normatively desired futures of greater equity and sustainability. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights, it outlined three key dimensions of malleability: cultural-narrative, institutional-governance, and technical-infrastructural. The session highlighted the importance of proactive transformation strategies and the potential of crises to catalyze sustainable change.