Co-director. Founder. Lecturer. Researcher. Board chairperson. Research chair. Academic supervisor. Mentor. These are some of the hats worn by Prof Mark Swilling, who has stepped down as Co-director of the Centre for Sustainability Transitions, at Stellenbosch University (SU). 

Swilling, together with Prof Jannie Hofmeyr, founded the CST, a flagship centre of the University in 2002. His initial plan to work at the Department of Town and Regional Planning at SU was thwarted when the department closed. Seizing the opportunity in what many would have considered a crisis, Swilling suggested an alternative – establishing a Master’s programme in sustainable development. He received R100 000 in start-up funding and the Centre, in collaboration with the Sustainability Institute, was born. Years later, the Centre, housed in the School of Public Leadership, would move and its designation changed to a type two centre in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences where it is currently located.

Swilling is relieved to be handing over the duties he has fulfilled for over two decades. 

“I have enjoyed the privilege of being the Co-director of a well-respected institution. What I think I will miss most of all is the gradual decline of my teaching role… but I have to make space for new blood,” he said. 

Nurturing new leaders was a key focus during his tenure as Co-director. Collaborative work built on trust in the younger generation and finding the loopholes for innovation was a challenging but effective approach, Swilling said.  

“The capacity to collaborate effectively with a multiplicity of partners, with your colleagues within your own institution, and to grow younger people and give them the resources and the space to do what they want to do, to make the contribution that they want to make. This needs to be informed by a strategic vision that is profoundly informed by the rejection of the status quo, and a commitment to problem solving. It’s easy to be critical and reject the status quo. It’s hard to think around what are the possible solutions and to build the people and capacity of your partners to think similarly.”  

Swilling has only praise for the transdisciplinary research undertaken at the CST, as well as a researcher’s ability to jointly work together to find complementary interests and expertise that enrich research and teaching at the Centre.  

“I have a deep appreciation for the fact that we at the CST have been able to bring together – under one roof – multiple traditions of intellectual thought without them becoming the focus of ego-based conflicts. I want to express my appreciation for the intellectual richness, but also the comfortableness of the co-existence of these traditions,” he added.  

What can the sustainability community expect next from Swilling? For the last three years Swilling has been working on and examining the question, “Is the global financial system, and the South African financial system in particular, fit for purpose?” The purpose in this instance is the global and local achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and within the South African context, reaching the goals of the National Development plan. Within the coming months, Swilling will publish two academic articles and two “major” reports. One of the reports will focus on financing sustainability transitions, while the other looks at South Africa’s monetary architecture.  

“(The first) report for the International Resource Panel is entitled, ‘Understanding the financing of sustainability transitions.’ It’s the first of its kind and is going to get launched as a side event in Seville, Spain, in June, at the Financing for Sustainable Development Conference, a big UN event. 

“I’ll also be bringing out a report on the monetary architecture of the South African financial ecosystem. It’s a first of its kind which analyses the South African financial ecosystem as a web of interlocking balance sheets, which has evolved in a certain way since the 1980s,” explained Swilling.   

The first academic article will focus on South Africa’s water policy in the context of global investments to address water challenges, while the second collaborative article will compare the just energy transition pathways in the Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, and India.  

Swilling will continue to be active at the CST. He holds the SARChI (South African Research Chairs Initiative) Chair in Urban Governance and Energy in Africa, with several large-scale projects attached to it. He will continue to serve on the CST management committee, supervise postgraduate students, and will teach on the postgraduate programmes. While he might not have more time on his hands, he intends to write more and focus on his roles as Commissioner on the National Planning Commission and as a board member on Eskom’s National Transmission Company. 

As his tenure as Co-director ends, Swilling recalls three lessons he’s learnt to build a research and teaching centre of excellence: introducing the co-director model, funding is everyone’s responsibility and aligning the research and teaching agenda.  

After providing a solidifying presence at the CST, Nina Callaghan, will take over the Co-directorship from Swilling together with current Co-director, Prof. Reinette (Oonsie) Biggs.