Sustainability requirements for foresight - A suggestion of a framework of principles

Sustainability is a challenge facing all actors and organisations in the present years. Among the many different methods for future-oriented analysis, discussion and planning, a considerable share has been criticized for not being capable of addressingaspects of environmental sustainability. The critique e.g. argues that foresight is not sufficiently problem-oriented and not sufficiently integrated in the actual, complex realities and, thereby, too superficial for the challenges of sustainability.Still, foresight and future-oriented strategic management seem to be increasingly usual and needed in a world that on many points is fast changing. This paper attempts to give an answer to this dilemma. It describes a set of requirements for foresightfrom the sustainability challenge and discusses principles for foresight methods dealing with sustainability. The principles e.g. concern production/consumption systems, eco-efficiency, risks & uncertainty, institutional reflexivity, values and visions.The paper builds on experiences from a number of foresight activities. Moreover, it builds on social studies of innovation and technology development and of expectations and visions dynamics in science and innovation.