Principles & Guidelines

Putting the ideas of Doughnut Economics into practice with integrity to recognise their full transformative potential

Contents

    DEAL is making many ideas, tools and resources freely available for change-makers to use to put the ideas of Doughnut Economics into practice. In return, and to ensure the integrity of these ideas, tools and resources when put into practice, we ask that you follow the guidelines set out below. These include DEAL's Dos and Don'ts for putting Doughnut Economics into practice, and the licensing rules and guidelines relating to the DEAL logo, the Doughnut diagrams, and the tools and stories shared on the DEAL Community Platform.

    Doughnut Dos and Don'ts

    These dos and don'ts are the boundaries we ask when you put Doughnut Economics into practice. They include the Doughnut Principles of Practice to guide your work as well as guidelines and policies specific to different contexts, such as for business, consultancies and open groups and networks.
    Do follow the Principles of Practice
    The Doughnut Principles of Practice have been derived from the seven ways to think like a 21st century economist and DEAL's strategic principles. You can see them below.
    Do follow the relevant guidelines for your context
    These include DEAL's policies and guidelines for business, consultants, cities, open groups and networks as well as tool specific guidelines. See links to these below
    Do follow the platform code of conduct and licensing guidelines
    Do follow the code of conduct of the DEAL Community Platform and the licensing rules and the guidance on the use of logos below.
    Do create your own methods
    Do create your own playful and powerful methods to explore Doughnut Economics in practice, in line with these dos and don'ts and licensing information
    Do share back your innovations
    Do share back your innovations and your learning with the DEAL community so that these can, in turn, inspire like-minded changemakers.
    Don’t lose the essence of the Doughnut
    The Doughnut diagram must have a social foundation and an ecological ceiling to be considered a Doughnut adaptation
    Don't overdo the sugar
    The Doughnut is a powerful visual with a playful name. Do be playful in your visualisations, but don't show just a sugary snack. Try and focus on the Doughnut as a conceptual shape (two concentric rings)
    Don't use the ideas to promote ‘a new kind of capitalism’
    Don’t use Doughnut Economics to greenwash or to promote ‘a new kind of capitalism’: go deeper and explore new economic possibilities
    Don't use Doughnut in your organisation name
    Don't use the words Doughnut or Donut in your organisation name. The only exception to this is open groups and networks (see guidelines for open groups and networks)

    Doughnut Principles of Practice

    To ensure the integrity of the ideas of Doughnut Economics, we ask that the following principles are followed by any initiative that is working to put the ideas of Doughnut Economics into practice.
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    Embrace the 21st Century Goal
    Aim to meet the needs of all people within the means of the planet. Seek to align your organisation's purpose, networks, governance, owner-ship and finance with this goal.
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    See the big picture
    Recognise the potential roles of the household, the commons, the market and the state – and their many synergies – in transforming economies. Ensure that finance serves the work rather than drives it.
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    Nurture human nature
    Promote diversity, participation, collaboration and reciprocity. Strengthen community networks and work with a spirit of high trust. Care for the wellbeing of the team.
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    Think in systems
    Experiment, learn, adapt, evolve and aim for continuous improvement. Be alert to dynamic effects, feedback loops and tipping points.
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    Be distributive
    Work in the spirit of open design and share the value created with all who co-created it. Be aware of power and seek to redistribute it to improve equity amongst stakeholders.
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    Be regenerative
    Aim to work with and within the cycles of the living world. Be a sharer, repairer, regenerator, steward. Reduce travel, minimize flights, be climate and energy smart.
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    Aim to thrive rather than to grow
    Don’t let growth become a goal in itself. Know when to let the work spread out via others rather than scale up in size.
    Be strategic in practice
    Go where the energy is - but always ask whose voice is left out. Balance openness with integrity, so that the work spreads without capture. Share back learning and innovation to unleash the power of peer-to-peer inspiration.

    Guidelines for your context

    Do follow the relevant guidelines for your context - e.g. DEAL’s business policy and DEAL’s policy for consultancies and professional advisors - as well as any guidelines given within specific DEAL tools.
    Business & Enterprise

    Transforming the deep design of business to enable regenerative and distributive action.

    About Organisations in action

    Learn about organisations in action, and the commitments they each have made to putting Doughnut Economics ...

    Cities & Regions

    Downscaling the Doughnut to reimagine and remake the places where we live.

    About Open Groups & Networks

    Self-organising, place-based groups and networks that are putting the ideas of Doughnut Economics into prac...

    Licensing, attribution and derivations

    The ideas and diagrams of Doughnut Economics, and the tools and stories of DEAL are all in the commons. We invite you to use and adapt them to create methods to play with and apply the ideas of Doughnut Economics.

    The name ‘Doughnut Economics’ and 'Donut Economics' are trademarked in order to prevent their misuse. We also maintain the rights to the names ‘Doughnut Economics Action Lab’ and ‘DEAL’, as well as our logo and branding. 

    The Doughnut, Overshoot Doughnut, and Embedded Economy diagrams are also available for you to use under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.


    We ask that they are attributed as follows:

     

    • When using any of these diagrams in a presentation, please use the attribution 'Raworth 2017'.
    • When using any of these diagrams in websites, or publications, please use the full attribution below.

     

     Full attribution of the Doughnut and Overshoot Doughnut diagrams:

     

    • Title: The Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries.
    • Credit: Kate Raworth and Christian Guthier. CC-BY-SA 4.0
    • Citation: Raworth, K. (2017), Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist. London: Penguin Random House.

     

    Full attribution of the Embedded Economy diagram:

     

    • Title: The Embedded Economy
    • Credit: Kate Raworth and Marcia Mihotich. CC-BY-SA 4.0
    • Citation: Raworth, K. (2017), Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist. London: Penguin Random House.

     
    The Doughnut Diagrams are also available in over 25 languages.

    All tools uploaded to the DEAL Community Platform - by the DEAL Team and the wider community - are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence. This means they can be used for any purpose, so long as you provide attribution and share back any changes you make, under the same licence.

    If you are using or modifying tools created by the DEAL Team we ask that you include the attribution [Derived from DEAL - doughnuteconomics.org], as shown to the right.

    This licence applies to the tool’s name, description, main body, embedded images, and downloads such as documents and presentations. It does not apply to external content such as websites or embedded videos, unless these are explicitly specified in the main body of the tool.

     

    For example, Get Animated! Introducing the Seven Ways tool specifically notes that the embedded animation videos are also available under a CC-BY-SA licence, and attributions are detailed in the acknowledgements section at the bottom of the tool. 

    By default, stories uploaded to the DEAL Community Platform remain under the ownership of the original author(s). Being more personal in nature than tools, this helps to ensure that everyone feels comfortable sharing their stories publicly.

     

    However, when uploading your story you may optionally choose to release it under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence so that it can be used more widely, just like a tool.

     

    If this licence is specified, it applies to the story’s name, description, main body, and any embedded images, unless otherwise noted. It does not apply to external content such as websites or embedded videos, unless these are explicitly specified.

     

    If a story has not been released under this Creative Commons licence, you should seek permission from the author(s) before using it outside the DEAL Community Platform. 

    Platform Code of Conduct

    The DEAL Community Platform is a space for people worldwide to collaborate and learn how to turn Doughnut Economics from a radical idea into transformative action. Together, we will explore and demonstrate how to create economies that meet the needs of all within the means of the living planet, and so help to realise a regenerative and distributive economic future. To ensure that this community is a safe, welcoming and fair space for all members to pursue these bold aims, we collectively agree to abide by the following principles.
    Everyone is welcome, but not all behaviours
    We won’t tolerate or perpetuate racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, sexist, or any other prejudiced or discriminatory language or behaviours
    We are part of a global community
    We recognise and respect that our global community works together across many different languages, cultures and continents.
    Terms of use and privacy notice
    While using the DEAL Community Platform, we ask that you follow the terms set out in the DEAL Terms of Use and Privacy Notice.
    We work in a spirit of open design
    Any tools we create are released under a creative commons license – as described in our Licensing Rules – for anyone to use or adapt. If we update or use a tool, we will share back any improvements and stories so the whole community can benefit.
    We are part of a wider movement of change
    We seek to work alongside and empower existing movements – for economic justice, racial justice, climate justice, workers rights, gender equity and many more – by creating tools and stories to equip and inspire.

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    Terms of Use | Privacy Notice - © Doughnut Economics Action Lab (2023)

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    © Doughnut Economics Action Lab (2023)