Chapter 14: Leveraging Spiritual Intelligence in the Development of Sustainability Mindset: An African Nuance

Effecting change in the rapid decline of earthly ecosystems and worldly forms has necessitated collective action in the form of policy, debates, and incorporation of sustainability in business practices (Chabay, 2015; Moyer et al., 2016; Sorooshian, 2024). However, there is a consensus that little has changed, and a different approach which engenders action from within might be the panacea for change (Ivanova & Rimanoczy, 2021; Tague, 2022). To this end, scholars argue that a mindset change, referred to as the development of a sustainability mindset, might be more effective in actions that directly impact the environment and restore ecological balance. Prominent in this discourse, Isabel Rimanoczy (2020) theorises 12 principles, encased in four content areas, to be cognisant of when defining this sustainability mindset. In addition to ecological world view and a system’s perspective, she earmarks two areas of intelligence – spiritual and emotional. Intelligence is defined as ‘a set of abilities used to solve problems and create products that are valuable within a cultural setting or community’ (Gardner, 1983, p. 27) and is a growing body of research (Amram, 2022; Gardner, 2000), which is increasingly apparent in a phenomenon requiring behavioural change.