Can a Doughnut Help Save the Planet?

About the author

Pablo Cerezal

Writer

Pablo Cerezal is a writer, editor, scriptwriter, and lyricist with an extensive career that includes articles and reports for numerous outlets such as Ethic, FronteraD, Zenda, and La Razón (Bolivia), as well as two personal blogs on cultural topics.

In addition to his literary and journalistic work, he has led communications for various third-sector organisations in Spain and Bolivia, specialising in articles and features on corporate social responsibility and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Meet the author

In 2017, British economist Kate Raworth (London, 1970) published a book that even the Financial Times described as “an admirable attempt to broaden the horizons of economic thinking.”

In Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist, Raworth advocates for an economic model that places equal importance on meeting society’s basic needs and protecting the environment. She illustrates this concept with the metaphor of a doughnut—a pastry that originated in 17th-century Holland and was later named in the United States in 1847 when it acquired its signature hole.

The ingredients of the doughnut

Today, sustainability and social justice are central to the political agendas of almost every government worldwide. They also form the foundation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which advocate for an economy that not only provides a safe space for society as a whole but also fosters a more habitable planet.

According to Kate Raworth’s theory, the economy should be visualised as a doughnut, with two concentric circles representing key thresholds: the inner circle marks the shortfall in essential social goods and services, while the outer circle represents environmental limits. The space in between—the dough—symbolises the area in which humanity can coexist and thrive, ensuring both ecological safety and social justice.

Raworth identifies fundamental requirements for social well-being, which occupy the doughnut’s inner circle. These include access to clean water, food, healthcare, education, income and employment, peace and justice, political participation, social equity, gender equality, energy, housing, and connectivity. The outer circle represents the ecological ceiling, defined by factors such as climate change, ocean acidification, chemical pollution, excess phosphorus and nitrogen, freshwater depletion, land-use changes, biodiversity loss, air pollution, and ozone depletion.

The social minima are based on the previously mentioned SDGs, while the ecological ceiling is modeled on the scientific theory of planetary boundaries established by researchers at the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

To achieve the sustainable space within the doughnut, Raworth emphasises the need for continuous monitoring of these indicators to prevent social shortfalls while ensuring ecological limits are not exceeded. This requires replacing traditional economic models, which prioritise financial profit, with ones that also account for the social and environmental value generated by economic activities.

From theory to action

The impact of Raworth’s theory was such that, just two years after its publication, Doughnout Economics Action Lab, a think tank open to citizens, businesses and public institutions, was launched. This ever-expanding platform provides tools to reconfigure economic models, orienting them towards achieving the ideal of the doughnut.

Since then, C40—a global network of cities committed to tackling climate change—has collaborated with Raworth to develop proposals and reports aimed at transforming economic systems.

Amsterdam was the first city to officially adopt the doughnut strategy, implementing a package of measures focused on repairing and reusing products, creating citizen-led sharing platforms to reduce consumption, and drastically cutting food waste by redistributing surplus food to vulnerable populations. The city also addressed high housing costs by developing sustainable public housing, beginning with Strandeiland, a project on an artificial archipelago of six newly reclaimed islands. The construction process prioritised environmental sustainability: reused materials were transported by low-emission boats, and the foundations were laid using wildlife-friendly methods that also serve to protect residents from rising sea levels. Amsterdam’s approach demonstrates how the doughnut model can be applied to extend the lifecycle of products and resources effectively.

Making the doughnut economy a reality requires rethinking long-held paradigms. It calls for recognising the deep interconnections between the economy, society, and the environment, fostering the social nature of human beings, redesigning production and consumption systems to ensure fair wealth and resource distribution, and regenerating natural resources when they are at risk.

Many businesses are already embracing this circular model by developing regenerative products and services, reducing emissions, managing waste responsibly, sourcing from sustainable suppliers, and adopting inclusive, cooperative decision-making processes within their organisations.

Far from being a utopian vision, the doughnut economy presents a tangible pathway to reshaping production and consumption in ways that benefit both people and the planet. By embracing this shift, we move closer to a truly just society on an ecologically sustainable Earth.