Agrisocial: Towards a socially sustainable green transition for agriculture and rural communities

Norway is heading towards a green transition which aims to ensure a sustainable future.

A key element of this transition will be the use of the renewable natural recourses that are to be found across Norway’s rural areas. The major focus on the green transition has been on creating an environmentally sustainable society with low to zero carbon emissions. However, there is also a social aspect of sustainability. At a general level, social sustainability means the ability for people to live meaningful and good lives. In recent years there have been several signs that social sustainability in Norwegian rural areas and farming is faltering. We have seen this for example through the series of rural rebellions that has swept the country during the past couple of years, and in the emergence of the farmers rebellion in 2021. The Agrisocial project seeks to lay the ground for a green transition in Norwegian rural areas that is also socially sustainable. This will be done by breaking down social sustainability into three component parts; equity, quality of life, and societal resilience. From this, the project will co-develop social sustainability indicators with a range of actors from Norwegian rural areas. The indicators will be tailored to a Norwegian context.