A new research-based toolkit to help policymakers, businesses, and civil society harness 'positive tipping points' in systems such as energy, food and local communities has been launched by the University of Exeter.
Developed by the University's Green Futures Network alongside partner organisations and experts from the Global Systems Institute (GSI), the toolkit builds on a growing body of evidence that small, targeted interventions can spark rapid reductions in emissions and other environmental harm.
A tipping point is a threshold where a small change can trigger a significant, often irreversible, transformation.
Positive tipping points in human societies and economies show how these dynamics can work in favour of both climate stability and economic resilience, counterbalancing the risks of negative tipping points in the Earth system.
Last month, an international group of researchers published the first method for identifying positive tipping points in Sustainability Science.
The new resource builds on this, providing support for individuals looking to navigate systemic change within their organisations and communities.
Developed in collaboration with 20 practitioners from around the world, its tools are designed to help users identify specific opportunities to accelerate change, apply systems thinking, and learn from best practices elsewhere.
Peter Lefort, who runs the Green Futures Network and led the toolkit's development, said: "Trying to make positive change happen in complex systems can often feel impossible, or overwhelming. The Positive Tipping Points Toolkit, which comes from the latest expert research, breaks down the evidence on how change happens into a framework that can be followed by groups or organisations of any size. We're so excited about the level of enthusiasm for this work, with over 500 people signed up for our online launch event.'
Joy Njeri, a regenerative systems doula based in Nairobi Kenya, who was part of the international group of collaborators, said: "The toolkit has turned abstract systems theory into something practical and hopeful, opening up new ways to see how small actions in community can ripple outwards into transformative change.
"For my community-led work in Africa, this gives me a language that I can share with experts in our ecosystem, helping the community understand their value and showing them how hope can become momentum. The tool doesn't just explain change; it helps us participate in it."
Dr Steve Smith, Tipping Points Research Impact Fellow at the Global Systems Institute and Green Futures Solutions, said: "Our research shows that the same dynamics that make us concerned about irreversible climate damage can also be leveraged to drive rapid positive change. This toolkit is about applying that science in practice to support faster, fairer sustainability transitions."
