The concept generated much wider interest and traction than Raworth could have imagined (Raworth, 2022: 294).

The idea stemmed from an initiative of C40 cities, a coalition of ninety-seven cities committed to action on climate change and following Amsterdam’s decision, other cities and municipalities and regions have since followed (Nugent, 2021). In 2020, Amsterdam adopted Doughnut Economics as part of their Circular Strategy to guide their city development plan, as they emerged from COVID-19. Inspired by those already attempting to apply the ideas, Raworth co-founded Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL) in 2020 as an online, community platform to connect and support change makers (DEAL, 2022a). The concept and thinking behind the doughnut has been quoted by David Attenborough, Pope Francis and President Michael D Higgins (Nugent, 2021 Áras an Uachtaráin, 2020). The Financial Times (2017) listed it as their business book of the year in 2017 and a 2018 TED talk has received 4.5 million views to date (Raworth, 2018). The book Doughnut Economics followed in 2017, and became an international bestseller, translated into twenty languages (Nugent, 2021). The visual was even used by negotiators in the development of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a reminder of the ‘big picture goals they were aiming for’ (Raworth, 2017: 24). From the outset it captured the imagination, as for many it visualised what they already thought about sustainability. This is the guiding question behind the model of Doughnut Economics, originally presented as a discussion paper for Oxfam in 2012, where Kate Raworth worked as a researcher for ten years. ‘What enables human beings to thrive?’ (Raworth, 2017: 44).

Raworth, K (2017) Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist, London: Penguin Books.

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