Pathways to Planetary Health

Project introduction and background information

As scholars and professionals expand their understanding of anthropogenic environmental changes that threaten both human and planetary health, they must consider the interrelated social, economic, and environmental factors. This requires acquiring new skills and knowledge to better understand the complex and reciprocal relationship between human well-being and the natural systems upon which they rely on it. Designers and engineers play a critical role as change agents due to their capacity to design systemic interventions that promote climate action. In light of ongoing environmental and health crises, it is essential for these professionals to develop competencies in systems-based, future-oriented, and integrative approaches to health. However, existing literature reveals few efforts to examine the application of such holistic approaches in the education of design and engineering students. This project propose that leveraging the unique abilities found in creative fields—such as design, creative technology, and engineering—by collaborating with students to create systemic interventions targeting climate action, along with fostering new ways of thinking and learning, can lead to more holistic and effective solutions for the challenges of planetary health. Beyond curriculum development, fostering a fundamental shift in mindset is crucial for promoting planetary health.

Objective and expected outcomes

The project integrates a systems design approach and the planetary health education framework, focusing on the connection between health and the environment, outlining several key objectives. It investigates a novel design methodology rooted in systems thinking, futures thinking, and planetary health in engineering education, examining how students, particularly those in the Master of Industrial Design Engineering program, accept and apply these approaches. The aim is to address the complex relationship between human-induced environmental changes and human health. The graduate course "Create the Future" serves as an educational setting to implement the proposed methodology, identifying challenges and opportunities faced during course delivery and correlating experiences with existing literature to highlight best practices and areas for improvement. The project also shows how students tackle planetary health challenges through a project-based approach that emphasises interdisciplinary collaboration. This method illustrates the implications of systemic design for addressing planetary health and explores the challenges it presents, providing recommendations for enhancing course design and content. Ultimately, the study aims to advance research and educational practices in planetary health education, enriching the ongoing discourse on Ways of Thinking (Dalal et al., 2020) in Engineering Education Research and fostering sustainable pathways toward planetary health futures while assessing the employed methodologies and strategies.

Results and learnings

Students found the ten-week timeframe and the introduction of various theoretical frameworks and tools to be somewhat challenging. Understanding complex subjects like systems thinking and planetary health can be difficult and may require more time than initially allocated. Some students expressed unease regarding the high level of uncertainty and ill-defined initial information, which is typical when engaging with complex societal problems. The course emphasises examining the context and understanding existing systems while defining the problem, which may be disconcerting for those accustomed to more defined problem definitions typical in other engineering courses. The use of systems tools, especially the Causal Loop Diagram (CLD), posed difficulties for some student groups. There was also a need for more in-depth reflection and critical analysis regarding the core structure of the current system, with some students unclear about selecting pertinent driving forces. We aim to address these in future courses by adopting environmental frameworks and focusing on identifying causal structures before mapping systems. Furthermore, the absence of health co-benefits linked to the adaptation and mitigation strategies proposed in certain student projects underscores the difficulty of grasping the concept of planetary health.

Recommendations

The positive receptivity of students towards the systemic design methodology indicates the relevance and potential of these approaches in addressing complex societal problems. The majority of students felt learning objectives were achieved and expressed enthusiasm for the topic of Planetary Health. Still, there is a need to provide more clarity on the initial steps of the project and offer more scaffolding or iterative support throughout the methodological process, ensuring clear links between theory and practical application. Moreover, it is crucial to highlight the interconnectedness of human activities within the analysed systems as well as the wider socio-ecological contexts relevant to planetary health. Framing the analysis in terms of health exposures, outcomes, vulnerabilities, and related risks would make it more explicit how the projects yield health co-benefits. This could involve adapting practical tools to better emphasise the specific language and focus on planetary health, especially in clarifying the interdependent relationship between human and planetary health. We also intend to incorporate frameworks such as the Action Scales Model (Nobles et al., 2021) and  environmental frameworks to help students strategically target interventions at deeper systemic levels and better describe the health-environment nexus in upcoming courses. Additionally, using case studies or examples that clearly illustrate the co-benefits of design interventions addressing both human and planetary health should be considered. Furthermore, students should receive more explicit guidance in pinpointing leverage points where interventions could be most effective. Lastly, adopting a challenge-based learning approach involving external stakeholders would provide the opportunity for students to engage in real-life multi-stakeholder projects.

Practical outcomes

The primary outcome of the project is an updated version of the systemic design methodology for developing future scenarios and designing interventions that promote Planetary Health. Additionally, the project resulted in 12 student projects addressing various planetary health challenges, including ultra-processed diets, deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural practices, the housing crisis, coral reef extinction, overconsumption, cobalt mining, and water scarcity. These projects focused on six planetary boundaries: biogeochemical flows, climate change, land-system change, biosphere integrity, novel entities, and freshwater use, while emphasising various health co-benefits such as improved mental health, healthier diets, stress reduction, and increased social connectivity.

PUBLICATIONS and presentations

da Costa Junior, J., Perera, D.& Eggink, W. (2025). Pathways to Planetary Health: Integrating Systems Thinking and Futures Approaches in Engineering Education to Address the Health-Environment Nexus. In Relating Systems Thinking and Design, RSD14, Toronto, Canada.  https://https://rsdsymposium.org/ (in press)

da Costa Junior, J. (2025). Systemic Foresight for Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing: Insights from Education and Research. In Growing Systems Innovation: Micro-Conference for Method, Field & Emergence (GSI 2025), Utrecht, Netherlands. Si Netherlands Hub. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15527688

Photo by Jordan Marchand on Unsplash.