A Transformative Framework: Linking Chemicals to Human Needs and Environmental Limits within the Food Provisioning System

A Transformative Framework: Linking Chemicals to Human Needs and Environmental Limits within the Food Provisioning System | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Method Article A Transformative Framework: Linking Chemicals to Human Needs and Environmental Limits within the Food Provisioning System Bartolomeus Häussling Löwgren, Peter Fantke, Simon Graf, Hauke Schlesier, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9169627/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Chemicals shape how human needs are realized while driving planetary boundary (PB) overshoot. These chemical systems must be transformed to remain within the safe operating space (SOS) of the PBs while synergetically actualizing human needs. We therefore propose the “Chemical-to-Human-Needs” (C2HN) framework, which incorporates chemical production, use, and disposal as subsystems within provisioning systems (PSs) that link to human needs and environmental limits. The C2HN framework models PSs as layered functional networks linking human needs via satisfiers, end-use-, product-, and chemical service-functions to chemical production. The framework qualitatively assesses the structures of satisfiers based on their synergetic and alienating characteristics, using Max Neef’s and Heller’s human needs approaches. It further assigns the SOS to PSs, using a novel PS allocation principle based on decent living standards. This functional PS perspective enables systematic comparison of the status quo and alternative PS configurations, integrating normative deliberation with consumption- and production-side mitigation measures. Using the ammonia-food nexus as an illustrative case, where ammonia via synthetic fertilizers structures essential, however socially and environmentally harmful, food provisioning. We show that fertiliser-driven Nitrogen PB overshoot remains unresolved with chemical-technology shifts, as the food PS is locked into intensive, livestock-heavy, and wasteful provisioning, requiring social reorganisation beyond material interventions to synergetically actualize human needs and remain within SOS. The framework can be applied by organised actors, such as labour unions, to identify high-leverage intervention points and potential alliances across the PS, utilising industry conversion and collective provisioning, breaking with commodified structures, and democratizing PS transformation. Chemical Engineering Agroecology Environmental Policy Sociology socio-ecological transformation chemical production planetary boundaries functional network actor mapping food-ammonia nexus sharing principle Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 1. Introduction The current mode of production exceeds seven out of nine planetary boundaries (Richardson et al., 2023 ), driven by the disproportionate consumption of the wealthiest (Dabi et al., 2022 ; Oswald et al., 2020 ; Tian et al., 2024 , 2026 ; Wiedmann et al., 2020 ), colonial heritage (Sultana, 2022 , 2023 ), and an extractivist logic (Brand et al., 2016 ; Dunlap et al., 2024 ). At the same time, the gap widens between a small, affluent minority and a growing precarious class experiencing a decline in the quality of essential services central to human needs (Bayliss et al., 2021 ; Christensen et al., 2023 ; Piketty, 2020 ). Austerity politics and growth-oriented policy deepen this mismatch (Mattei, 2022 ), prioritising economic growth over the just realization of human needs ( Brand, 2016 ; M. A. Max-Neef et al., 1991 ). This poly-crisis exposes the shortcomings of current economically motivated transition logic (Brand et al., 2025 ) and calls for a democratic reorganisation of production and its overarching provisioning systems toward fulfilling human needs while remaining within environmental limits (Akbulut & Adaman, 2020 ; Groos & Sorg, 2025 ; O’Neill et al., 2018 ; Steinberger et al., 2024 ). Provisioning systems (PSs) have emerged as a boundary concept bridging the social context with the material reality of production systems, linking material flows, human needs, environmental limits, and transformative potential to economic formations and power dynamics (Dengler & Plank, 2024 ; Fanning et al., 2020 ; Graf et al., 2026 ; O’Neill et al., 2018 ). They are rooted in critically oriented fields, such as the ecological economy and degrowth (Fanning et al., 2020 ; O’Neill et al., 2018 ; Van Eynde et al., 2024 ), the critical political economy (Bayliss & Fine, 2020 ; Mattioli et al., 2020 ; Staritz et al., 2024 ), and social metabolism (Plank et al., 2021 ; Schaffartzik et al., 2021 ). Materially, PSs connect ultimate means (resources) to ends (e.g., human needs) via production, distribution, and consumption (Daly, 1973 ; O’Neill et al., 2018 ). Chemicals are materially underpinning most industrialised PSs, as 95% of manufactured products require at least one chemical in their life-cycle (Parvatker & Eckelman, 2020 ), shaping a deeply chemical-based world and substantially structuring consumption patterns through which human needs are realized (Bakshi, 2011 , 2019 ). At the same time, chemical production systems contribute significantly to environmental pollution, accounting for 7% of global GHG emissions (IPCC, 2023) and consuming 10% of the global total final energy (IEA, 2013 ). More pressingly, chemical use and disposal directly amount to the transgression of multiple PBs, by accounting for 50–90% of the global nitrogen surplus, 75% of global phosphorous loss (Rockström et al., 2025 ), and 100% of novel entities linked to toxic chemicals and plastics (Persson et al., 2022 ). Transforming chemical systems, encompassing chemical production, application, and disposal, cannot therefore be pursued in isolation but must be integrated into a provisioning-system-wide approach. Despite important advances, most current approaches to chemical industry transformation in the industrial ecology (Jacquemin et al., 2012 ; Kleinekorte et al., 2020 ) and process system engineering (Guillén-Gosálbez et al., 2019 ; Meng et al., 2023 ; Pistikopoulos et al., 2021 ) remain in a supply-demand dichotomy, insufficiently addressing the societal embeddedness and wicked nature of the transformation problem (Azapagic & Perdan, 2014 ; Bakshi, 2019 ; Hall & Howe, 2010 ). These approaches prioritize profitability and eco-efficiency, while disregarding chemical use, downstream products, and waste (Häussling Löwgren et al., 2025 ; Santos et al., 2019 ), thereby disregarding the systemic level and consumption and production as coupled systems (Pichler et al., 2025 ). On the other side, the field of PS focuses on aggregated systems, such as mobility (Dillman et al., 2023 ; Mattioli et al., 2020 ), housing (Dillman et al., 2024 ; Rajagopalan et al., 2024 ), and food (Bayliss & Fine, 2020 ; Kendall et al., 2024 ). For such systems, chemicals are only considered in terms of singular footprints, e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus (Dillman et al., 2024 ; Fanning et al., 2022 ; O’Neill et al., 2018 ), or aggregated indicators, such as „waste production“ or „material consumption“ (Dillman et al., 2023 , 2024 ). Some singular studies consider chemicals more integrally, e.g., as pollutants in urban contexts (Rajagopalan et al., 2024 ) and as inputs to the bio-economy (Cabernard et al., 2025 ). However, these approaches do not systematically incorporate chemical systems within PSs, lacking a stock-flow consistent accounting method (Plank et al., 2021 ). Furthermore, unlike other subsystems, such as the energy system (Brand-Correa & Steinberger, 2017 ; Millward-Hopkins et al., 2020 ) and metal production (Staritz et al., 2024 ), chemical systems remain under-conceptualized as nested subsystems of PS. This central research gap further limits the ability to assign environmental limits to chemical-intensive PSs via human needs, and to inform coherent transformation pathways for chemical systems and their industries. To bridge these gaps, we advance PS to link environmental limits based on the planetary boundaries framework (Meadows & Club of Rome, 1972; Richardson et al., 2023 ) and human needs (Gough, 2020 ) to chemical systems. Our approach is oriented on a service cascading framework, rooted in the stock flow service nexus (Haberl et al., 2021 ; Wiedenhofer et al., 2024 ), that modularly connects all material and social activities from resource extraction to human needs and environmental limits. This modularization utilizes functional networks (Fanning et al., 2020 ; Newman, 2003 ) to provide a robust basis for exploring alternative PS configurations to develop transformation pathways. To fit the framework’s materialist and transformational requirements (Adam, 2026 ; Copley & Moraitis, 2021 ), we identify and use Max Neef et al.’s (1991) and Heller’s (1974/2018) human needs approaches and derive suitable sharing principles for the PBs. Together, these elements form the framework that is fit to: Functionally connect chemical systems within PSs to the realization of human needs. Systematically explore and compare alternative PS configurations across this network from human needs realization to alternative production systems, thereby evaluating the role of chemical systems within socio-ecological transformation pathways. Mapping out the safe operating space that provisioning systems may occupy, to assess the environmental meaningfulness of transformation pathways. Identify and link actors along the PS to explore radical transformation strategies based on the environmental and human needs-derived PS configurations. The framework is showcased through a case study of food PSs, selected because they are centrally chemically structured: the ammonia-food nexus drives affluent consumption and environmental degradation, while ensuring the human need for subsistence (Erisman et al., 2008 ; Rockström et al., 2025 ). The article is structured as follows: the method section outlines the three core framework components, the human needs and satisfiers approach (2.1.), the environmental limits and sharing principle (2.2.), and the functional PS network (2.3.). The Chemical Human Needs framework is presented in the results section (3.1.), detailing the modular conceptualisation of chemical systems and the systematic exploration of alternatives (3.2.). The case-study section (3.3.) applies the framework to the food PS, exploring transformation pathways to synergetically realize human needs while remaining within environmental limits. Finally, the framework application is discussed by exploring relevant actors across the PS, to enable the derived transformation pathways (4.). 2. Method The methodological foundation of the three core framework components (Fig. 1 ) is derived and explained. The human needs and satisfier concept entails the ultimate end of the PS and the transformation objective to synergetically actualize human needs. The modular and functional PS concept enables cascading human needs until the extraction of resources from the Earth system processes, constrained by the environmental limits, which are assigned based on the human needs. 2.1. Human needs Table 1 Human needs theories and selection criteria (C) overview (See Appendix A.2.2. for detailed criteria), with “Yes”, “No”, and “Partially” (P) as categorical answers for C1-C8. With “Possible” (Po), “Yes”, and “No” for the extension criteria C9 and C10 (Entry-by-entry justification in Appendix A.2.6.). The Max Neef et al.’s is deemed most applicable (marked in bold), and the red box indicates the extension to bridge its most substantial limitations (see derivation in Appendix A.2.3.. C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 Metabolic Normative comparable Socially relational Socio-econ. contextualized Qual. & quant. assessable Non-reductionistic Actualizable & alienable Ecologically mediated Critical social sciences Participatory refinement Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000 ) No No Yes No No Yes No No Po Po Decent Living Standards (Rao & Min, 2018 ) Yes P No No P No No P Yes Po Sustainable Consumption Corridors (Di Giulio & Fuchs, 2014 ) Yes P No No Yes No No P Yes Po A Theory of Human Need (Doyal & Gough, 1991 ) Yes Yes No P Yes P No P Po Po Women and Human Development (Nussbaum, 2000 ) P Yes P P P Yes P P Yes Yes Human Scale Development Model (M. A. Max-Neef et al., 1991 ) Yes Yes Yes P P Yes P P Yes Yes Alienated, natural, true needs (Heller, 1974/2018) Yes No Yes Yes P Yes Yes P Yes Po To operationalise human needs within the framework (Fig. 1 , top box), central theories of human needs were examined (see Table 1 ), based on a set of criteria derived from the framework requirements (see Appendix A.2.2.). Max-Neef et al.’s ( 1991 ) Human Scale Development (HSD) model (detailled in A.2.4.) was selected as the conceptual basis (see Table 1 ), because it enables normative comparability and need-deliberation across communities and cultures by separating fundamental human needs (FHNs) (finite, few, and classifiable) from their actualization[1] mechanism, i.e., satisfiers[2] . Satisfiers are not simply goods or quantitative proxies, but are structured around socio-ecological relations centring social reproduction within social metabolism. However, HSD provides only a limited account of how satisfiers are formed. Therefore, the satisfier concept was substantiated using Heller’s (1974/2018) theory of needs (detailled in A.2.5.). Consequently, satisfiers are defined by their underlying social formations (Doyal & Gough, 1991 ; M. A. Max-Neef et al., 1991 ) and relations (Adamczak, 2017 ), described by organisational forms (e.g., cooperative, commons-based, globalized, corporatized) and social practices (e.g., sharing, participating, individually consuming, exploiting). Furthermore, satisfiers can be understood metabolically as sets of final end-use functions delivered through PSs, which supply their social and material requirements (see detailed derivation in A.2.3). To enable the analysis of system-wide transformation, Max-Neef et al.’s satisfier classification was extended by incorporating Heller’s (1974/2018) concept of alienation[3] , thereby grounding it in a historical materialist analysis of how social formations produce and deprive human needs. This analytic foundation draws a parallel between Max-Neef ‘s inhibiting and synergetic satisfiers[4] and Heller’s concept of alienated and true needs. From this system-theoretical perspective, actors can be mapped along the use-value chain to explore how collaborative action can support transformation pathways beyond an alienated mode of production. 2.2. Environmental limits, Earth system processes, and sharing principles We adopt the concept of environmental limits (outer frame in Fig. 1 ) to relate human activities to environmental integrity (Meadows & Club of Rome, 1972). Drawing on Earth system sciences, planetary boundaries (PBs) aim to operationalise these limits by distinguishing resource- and emission-related capacities across scales (Richardson et al., 2023 ; Rockström et al., 2009 ; Steffen et al., 2015 ). Interactions between chemical production, PSs, and Earth-system processes are quantified using established PB-linked life cycle assessment (Bjørn et al., 2016 , 2020 ; Kosnik et al., 2022 ; Ryberg et al., 2018 ; Sandin et al., 2015 ) and material-flow accounting methods on a PS level (Brunner & Rechberger, 2016 ; Desing et al., 2020 ; Schlesier et al., 2024 ). This perspective captures the Earth-system processes most affected by the entire PS, rather than focusing narrowly on chemical and upstream sector emissions (Fantke et al., 2020 ; Persson et al., 2022 ) (see Appendix A.5.1. for detailed steps). To ensure a safe operating space (SOS), defined as the capacity available within environmental limits, that is just and compatible with the framework, a need-based sharing principle is adopted. This principle is grounded in democratic deliberation, recognizing environmental limits as the material basis of social reproduction and as inherently normative and political (Brand, Muraca, et al., 2021 ; Patrick D. Smith, 2001 ). There can not be a one-size-fits-all sharing principle, as sharing will differ across PSs, human needs, and regions. To operationalize the sharing principle we have developed an allocation key defined at the PS level and that assigns shares of the SOS to PSs based on their contribution to meet human needs via the decent living standards (see detailled approach in A.4.2.). The corresponding PS allocation key is computed based on the simulation results in Schlesier et al. ( 2024 ) (see Appendix A.4.3. for detailled description und numerical results in A.4.4.). This PS allocation key is an approximation of how societies might distribute available environmental capacities democratically among provisioning systems to meet human needs. It further opens the framework for integration into more robust participatory democratic allocation, such as cybernetic democratic economic planning (Heyer & Zeug, 2024 ). 2.3. Functional provisioning system Provisioning systems are formalized using functional networks to link all activities from resource extraction to FHN actualization, thereby constructing “use-value chains” (grey box in Fig. 1 ) (Fanning et al., 2020 ). The functional perspective is adopted in place of material- or market-based representations of value chains[5] , as it centres on the use-value of products and services rather than their exchange value or material form (Wassenaar, 2015 ) (see detailed function and linkages definitions in A.3.2. and A.3.4). Drawing on network theory (Newman, 2003 ), these chains can be represented as a network in which nodes denote functions and edges represent their realization through products or services (see gray box in Fig. 1 and A.3.3.). Chemical production systems are thereby incorporated within broader PSs through functional connections that link chemicals, via their intermediate products, and application to their intended societal functions. The functional networks are operationalized for transformation using decision trees (Miles & Huberman, 1994 ), where each function may be realized through multiple alternative products or services, which in turn can connect to multiple downstream functions (see dashed “alt.X” boxes in Fig. 1 and A.3.5.). This representation enables the systematic identification of interdependencies within the PS and to explore intervention points for circularity, dematerialization, and substitution. This resulting functional modularisation supports the consistent exploration of alternatives across all analytical levels, from satisfiers to chemical production, while allowing environmental pressures to be quantified along the network via resource extraction and emissions (Pauliuk et al., 2021 ). This quantification uncovers hot-spots where provisioning sub-systems contribute significantly to the exceedance of environmental limits and where FHN actualization is inhibited. 2.4. Case study In this study, we apply the framework to a quantitative and qualitative case study of the ammonia-food nexus to showcase the importance of linking chemicals to human needs for socio-ecological transformation of chemical systems. The ammonia–food nexus was selected because it meets four criteria for illustrating the framework. Firstly, ammonia is tightly coupled to a single dominant PS, as 80% of production is used in synthetic fertilizer production (Galloway et al., 2008 ), reported to feed 50% of the world’s population (Erisman et al., 2008 ; Smil, 2002 ). Second, ammonia use spans need-actualizing and alienating functions, by supporting food security, while used to synthesize explosives, including ammunition, linked to an estimated 100–150 million deaths in the 20th century (Erisman et al., 2008 ; Smil et al., 2004 ). Third, the nexus is structurally entangled with already-transgressed environmental limits, as the nexus accounts for about 80% of the global anthropogenic nitrogen surplus (Rockström et al., 2025 ). Fourth, the environmental pressures are distributed across the full provisioning network, which allows showcasing how environmental limits must be selected and assigned at the provisioning-system level. 3. Results The chemical to human needs framework (Fig. 2 ) is described and exemplified in the following sections. The framework overview (3.1.) describes how human needs, environmental limits, and Earth system processes (from sections 2.1 ., 2.2., and 2.3.) are linked to chemical production via the PSs. The functional PS concept linking chemical systems to the wider PSs and human needs is derived in the section (3.2.). Finally, the full framework is exemplified in the case study section (3.3), with illustrative numerical results. 3.1. Framework Overview The chemical to human needs framework shown in Fig. 1 serves as a modular conceptualization of chemical production systems as subsystems within PSs. Human needs actualization and its provisioning, i.e., satisfiers, are fully normative and therefore assessed qualitatively and should always be a product of democratic deliberation (Steinberger et al., 2024 ). This assessment classifies satisfiers as inhibiting or synergetic based on their social formations and relations, while quantitatively assessing the environmental pressures related to their material foundation. The framework relies on functional representation and linkages (right flowchart) to connect chemical production systems (inner gray box) to the wider PSs (bigger light gray box) and satisfiers. This functional representation enables exploring alternatives integrally along all steps from needs actualization via product use, chemical production, to resource extraction (see Table 2 for detailled analytical steps). The overarching objective is therefore to generate synergetic effects on the top levels, which provide major disruptive moments in how provisioning is organized. Firstly, by prioritizing social dynamics, habits, relationships, and education over materialization, and secondly, by exploring material and chemical alternatives based on quantitative environmental assessment, enabling socio-technological planning. Finally, the framework enables the environmental assessment using environmental flow accounting at the process-level (left parallelogram), which accounts for interactions with Earth system processes via resource extraction and emissions. These interactions are accumulated along the PS and related to the environmental limits (outermost frame) by assigning the SOS for PS via need-based sharing principles (arrows at the top). 3.2. Provisioning system cascade – a functional perspective To analyse the transformation of PSs, their description must allow systematic comparison between the status quo and alternative configurations, including interactions across all levels of the system, while actualizing the same core FHNs. The functional provisioning system concept is therefore disaggregated into six functional levels, outlined below with their analytical and exploratory approaches given in Table 2 . Table 2 Alternative analysis overview detailing how to analyze and explore alternatives across the functional provisioning system with some examples. Step IV. summarizes the analytical and explorative approach for the chemical product, chemical, and raw material functions. Analysis Steps Analysis approach Exploration approach Example → increasing level of specificity → I. Satisifier-human needs actualization Analyzing synergetic and inhibiting effects linked to satisfier type and identifying alternative (non-material) satisfiers and, aiming for synergetic effects and dematerialization of needs Qualitative and argumentative, using heuristics and estimates of environmental impact How different types of food provisioning, e.g., CSA or IPI, inhibit or enable participation, creation, identity, through the existential forms of doing, having and interacting, by different relational ways to consume and produce food II. end-use function Identifying alternative set of final products/services as the material foundation required for the satisfier Defining different “baskets of products/services” linked to the satisfier (EEIO granularity), comparing their material-intensity Different conceptual diets (vegan, EAT), Actual (averaged) diets, e.g., based on region, culture, or income III. product & service function Identifying dematerialization, circularity approaches, alternative product-, service-, application-, and use-strategies Exploring variations in the value chain, circularity measures, proposing alternative scenarios, e.g., using scenario LCA’s Different crops, farming practices, transport routes, food losses, fertilizer application, fertilizer types (organic, synthetic) IV. Chemical (product) & feedstock function Identifying chemical substitution; assessing recyclability, reusability, etc., tied to the chemical end-use; molecular (re)design and process modifications Comparing different chemicals, chemical properties, production technologies, feedstocks and process (re)designs for the given functions, using, e.g., (prospective) LCA urea extraction of faeces, fertiliser particle size, different hydrogen feedstock, different process alterations, e.g., carbon capture, electrification, heat integration Satisfiers To design PSs entirely based on synergetic satisfiers, existing and alternative satisfiers are characterized as inhibiting or synergetic where their underlying social relations and formations are analyzed. It is examined how to construct alternative satisfiers parting from underlying alienating structures, by exploring alternative provisioning systems based on synergetic effects. This qualitative assessment is inherently normative and should be a product of democratic deliberation. This framework considers five heuristics for the exploration of synergetic satisfiers: social over material solutions sharing instead of individual owning collective experience over individual consumption regional sufficiency over international trade participatory moments over commodified exchanges Separating the material requirements from the satisfier assessment avoids treating goods as ends in themselves, which, as Max-Neef notes (M. A. Max-Neef et al., 1991, p. 25), leads to an alienated society engaged in a senseless productivity race. Most material goods thus correspond to inhibiting satisfiers, generating false or excessive fulfillment. Hence, there is no “sustainable” way to produce them, rather the provisioning must be changed (Creutzig et al., 2018). End-use function - Material foundation The material requirements of satisfiers can be represented as a “material and service bill” listing the products and services needed for the end-use functions entailed by the satisfier (Rao & Min, 2018), e.g., providing energy and nutrients for a food satisfier. This bill serves as an inventory rather than a substitute for the qualitative satisfier analysis. The material foundation provides the first quantitative layer of assessment, enabling comparison of (non)material, circular, and social alternatives. Product/Service functions The product functions are the functional prerequisites for the end-use functions, which allow the systematic assessment of product substitution and dematerialization. These substitutions can ensure essential use as they are connected to FHNs as a normative foundation (Cousins et al., 2021; Nunes et al., 2023). It can also simplify materials and products by focusing on their core functions, counteracting industry-driven diversification justified by “new functions” or efficiency gains (Fantke & Illner, 2019). Chemical service function The “chemical service function” links the chemical (production) system to the wider PS by conceptualizing chemicals as service functions to the wider system (e.g., maintaining soil fertility or crop protection), rather than as isolated physical entities with intrinsic properties (Tickner et al., 2015). This framing enables non-material and non-chemical substitutions (Fantke et al., 2015), as well as efficiency-decreasing strategies, revealing how minor productivity reductions lead to major environmental improvements (Bakshi, 2019). Chemical product function The chemical product functions describe the core properties of a chemical realization derived from the “chemical service function”. By explicitly linking chemicals to their final use, properties such as recyclability, degradability, and reusability can be assessed, enabling targeted reuse, recycling, degradation, substitution, and refuse strategies, including the early exclusion of hazardous chemicals (Fantke et al., 2015, 2020). Chemical function The chemical function denotes the physicochemical properties responsible for the functional performance of chemical products. This perspective is particularly relevant for bio-based chemicals, which often have inherent functionalities or allow direct functionalisation, avoiding exergy-intensive petrochemical cracking and recombination (Frenzel et al., 2013). This enables molecular design to deliver need-specific rather than broad, multifunctional chemical use (e.g., PFAS (Cousins et al., 2019)). Raw material function Considering raw material functions links the alternative raw materials based on the upstream chemical functions. This perspective helps avoid technological lock-ins by revealing alternative functionally equivalent feedstocks and allows assessment of scalability, since extraction rates are ultimately constrained by environmental capacities (e.g., limits to biomass by the biosphere functional integrity, PB). The feasibility of alternative feedstock, therefore, depends on regional resource and energy availability, which is also a result of historic extractive politics (Brand, Wissen, et al., 2021; Sultana, 2022). 3.3. Case study – food PS Ammonia-derived N-fertilisers enable a 30–50% increase in crop yield (Erisman et al., 2008). However, the majority of nitrogen input has been matched with luxury levels of meat and dairy consumption (Erisman et al., 2008), overconsumption, and increasing consumer food waste (West et al., 2014), while leaving 670 million people undernourished (FAO, 2025b). At the same time, organic food production, which does not use synthetic fertilisers, accounts for only 2% of production globally. Consequently, the availability of synthetic fertiliser ensures an unconstrained supply of reactive nitrogen, driving the production of nitrogen-use-intensive crops (maize and grains) while circumventing the pressure to close nitrogen loops from farmland to wastewater treatment (Bodirsky et al., 2014). Ammonia production is therefore deeply nested and driving socially and environmentally hazardous food provisioning. The inhibiting effects of this current hegemonic food PS are shown in purple in Fig. 3 and exemplarily compared with a synergetically constructed alternative satisfier. The incumbent PS cascade providing the material foundation is outlined below (further detailed in Fig. 4), highlighting four mitigation options for N-surplus. 3.3.1. Environmental limits and assigning it to the food PS All stages of the food PS, from ammonia production to food distribution, interact with multiple Earth system processes globally. Accordingly, the PBs provide an appropriate limit reference frame for food PSs, which in itself transgresses the boundary for biosphere functional integrity (> 200%), land-system change (> 100%), nitrogen (> 200%, orange bar in Fig. 3), phosphorus (> 100%) (see remaining PBs in Appendix A.5.1.). This PS perspective shows how ammonia through its use as fertiliser is the dominant driver of the nitrogen-boundary transgression (Rockström et al., 2025), contrasting with ammonia sector assessment, where climate change appears as the primarily strained PB (D’Angelo et al., 2021). Assigning the N-PB to food provisioning was performed by Rockström et al. (2025). They implicitly assume food provisioning to be the most central PS for all human needs, assigning it the complete SOS. When applying the PS allocation key (see A.4.3.) based on the DLS (Schlesier et al., 2024), the global share of the N-PB amounts to 74% (see A.6.2.). This share represents how much of the N-surplus is possible within food production while ensuring a good life for all within PBs. This share can be seen as a science-informed proposal for a democratic deliberation process on how to share SOSs globally. The regional share, however, might vary substantially, e.g., regions strongly affected by colonialism, through delayed material development, ecological degradation, and extraction, would have a higher share assigned per capita to amend the colonial and climate debts, striving towards reparations (International Climate Justice Network, 2002; Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), 1990; Sultana, 2022). Consequently, transformative strategies for the ammonia industry must prioritise reducing excess nitrogen use in food systems, rather than focusing primarily on decarbonising ammonia production. 3.3.2. Assessing human needs and satisfiers Through the synthesis of fertilizers, ammonia becomes integral to food PSs and thus directly links to the need for subsistence. Yet, the industrialization of food production has reified food into the mere act of “having food”, thereby eliminating cultural or communal activities associated with preparing, sharing, and eating food, as well as food’s value in terms of common identity and community-building (Cheney, 2016). This consumerist orientation neglects other FHNs linked to food, such as participation and creation through the production, preparation, and sharing of food. Therefore, industrial transformations driven by efficiency and convenience, symbolized by ultra-processed products, further alienate humans from the social and ecological relations (Cheney, 2016). The prevailing food satisfier in Europe and North America can be labeled “corporatized, processed, and individualized” (CPI) (Albritton, 2009), hence classified as an inhibiting satisfier. While it appears to meet the need for subsistence, it undermines it through health risks from excessive sugars, saturated fats, and red meat (M. Clark et al., 2018; M. A. Clark et al., 2019), as well as through widespread ecological degradation (Rockström et al., 2025; Willett et al., 2019). Such systems decouple consumption from production, commodify food relations, and reinforce alienation within the PS (Guthman, 2011; Winson, 2013). Recognizing food as embedded in social and ecological relations reveals that the organization of production itself fundamentally conditions the possible satisfiers. Exploring alternative satisfiers, therefore, requires reimagining food provisioning as regionalized, collective, and sufficiency-based (Anderson et al., 2021; Hinrichs, 2010). One such configuration is community-supported agriculture (CSA), which embeds food in collective relations: producers and consumers share harvest risks, contribute during labor-intensive periods, and participate directly in distribution (Birtalan et al., 2020; Bobulescu et al., 2018). These practices strengthen social ties, reconnect the consumers with land and seasonality, and shift consumption toward organic, regional, and seasonal produce, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and packaging (Pries et al., 2026; Vicente-Vicente et al., 2023) (top flowcharts in Fig. 3). This relational perspective enables simultaneous progress toward remaining within limits while synergetically actualizing human needs. This qualitative perspective showcases that the social embedding of the material PS is at the forefront of developing socially and ecologically just PSs. Additionally, it is congruent with a decolonial perspective on food sovereignty, helping to lift the global south’s dependency on cheap, stable food from the global north (see A.6.4). 3.3.3. Constructing the PS and exploring alternatives The different social organization of the food satisfiers is reflected in their underlying material foundations. CPI food systems depend on a highly materialized network, including intensive monocultures reliant on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, extensive processing, and global supply chains (Albritton, 2009). In contrast, collectively prepared and shared meals within community-supported agriculture are embedded in regionally self-organized production and distribution networks (Vicente-Vicente et al., 2023). The functional network of the ammonia-food nexus (see Fig. 4) was thus constructed by tracing end-use functions (e.g., providing edible protein) from the CPI food satisfier to the corresponding product, chemical, and resource use functions, abstracted from the incumbent supply chain. This stepwise decomposition enables the integration of consumption-side measures (such as dietary shifts) and specific substitutional or circular interventions (such as nitrate recovery or fertilizer replacement) into a single analytical structure. The construction of the functional network along its most important axis is outlined below by discussing the most promising mitigation potentials at each functional level and in their totality. A subset of the identified alternatives is visualized in the waterfall analysis in Fig. 3 (see A.6.3. for more detailed information) At the end-use function level , i.e., the nutritional functions composing food satisfiers, the ’provide edible protein’ function is the most relevant functional-contributor to the N-PB transgression, as reactive nitrogen is predominantly used by plants to synthesize protein (Liu et al., 2016; Springmann et al., 2018). The central functional mitigation potential is to replace animal with plant-based products, holding a 25% reduction potential globally (Bodirsky et al., 2014; Poore & Nemecek, 2018; Tian et al., 2024; Westhoek et al., 2015, 2015) (see “plant-based diet” in Fig. 3). The core product function level instance enabling this end-use function is “provide plant-based protein”, holding significant substitutional mitigation potential. For example, replacing wheat-based protein with legumes such as soy may lower eutrophication potential by 50% (Smetana et al., 2015). Loss-reduction strategies complement substitution at this level, such as halving global food waste (currently 30–40% of production), particularly in the global north, where food consumption losses reach up to 25% for staple food, compared to 3% in India (West et al., 2014) (“waste reduction” in Fig. 3). The central chemical service function level linking up to the production crops is “maintaining soil fertility”. Framing fertilisers in these functional terms enables comparison with agroecological practices such as crop rotation and intercropping. Intercropping can achieve nitrogen replacement values of 50–100 kg N per hectare with legumes (De Notaris et al., 2025) (see “intercropping” in Fig. 3), and cover cropping can halve nitrate leaching (Selin Norén et al., 2021). The chemical product and chemical function levels together link the service of “maintaining soil fertility” via the product-function “provide nutrient source for plants” to “provide reactive nitrogen”. which can be realised through synthetic fertilisers or circular alternatives. At the chemical-function level, the underlying chemical functionality is supplied, such as “providing a solid nitrogen source”, which can be achieved either through synthetic pathways (e.g., Haber–Bosch synthesis) or through recovered nitrogen from waste streams. For example, ammonia stripping from anaerobic digestion can recover approximately 65% of wastewater ammonium (NH₄⁺), offering a circular alternative to Haber Bosch (HB) nitrogen production (Alterra - Sustainable soil management et al., 2023). The resource function level , lastly, connects the required functionalities of the resources to produce ammonia, such as “provide reactive hydrogen,” thereby linking the production to its feedstock source. Conventional fossil feedstocks can be substituted with biogas-derived hydrogen (Istrate et al., 2024), or electrolysis (‘PEM HB’ in Fig. 3) (D’Angelo et al., 2021). However, their reduction potential for N-surplus is insignificant. Still, bio-based hydrogen integration with circular nitrogen strategies can further decouple ammonia production from fossil dependence, provided that land-use change and biosphere functional integrity boundaries are accounted for. Mitigation measures at each functional level inevitably affect other functional levels and, on their own, are insufficient to transform the system within limits (see Fig. 3). Therefore, integrated measures across the functional network must be considered. Changes in end-use or product functions enable the alteration of the required chemical services and resource inputs: for example, intercropping fulfils the soil-fertility function and provides plant-based protein function when suitable crops are selected. Similarly, shifting crops and agronomy measures affects available bimass for chemical production. Whereas alternative provisioning configurations, such as urban food systems combined with composting or source-separating sanitation, can create new pathways to supply plant nutrients directly from human excreta, enabling tighter nitrogen cycling. These interdependencies show that alternatives cannot be assessed in isolation, but must be evaluated in their totality. The transformation potential of the ammonia industry, therefore, lies primarily at higher functional levels, where interventions restructure downstream chemical and resource requirements and yield large system-wide mitigation effects. These material realizations must, however, always be considered in their interaction with human needs along the complete PS. 4. Discussion The C2HN framework embedds chemical systems as PSs within societal metabolism. Social formations determine how FHNs are shaped, while satisfiers describe their underlying socio-technological system. PS configuration derived from these arrangements are then evaluated in relation to PBs, linking need actualization to the SOS. This modular framework enables to map how PS configurations can be translated into tangeable transformation pathways linked to actors and their needs, transposing PS from an analytical to a transformative tool. 4.1. Framework application – actors in transformation The C2HN can be applied by organized actors along the PSs, e.g., governmental organizations, labor unions and agricultural associations (left flowchart in Fig. 5 ), to deduce desirable transformation pathways and benchmark them to the status quo (see additonal actors in A.7.). The use-value chain indicates where major transformation efforts are needed (right flowchart in Fig. 5 ), by comparing the material requirement between the status-quo and alternative scenarios, e.g., switching protein source or shifting towards organic farming. The relative importance of these intervention points can be weighted by the mitigation potential of the measures, thereby assessing whether transformation pathways can remain within the SOS (see right side in Fig. 6). The functional network enables transparent communication to actors about their roles and positions within the PS (left flowchart Fig. 6), and about the transformative actions and leverage they possess, e.g., industry conversion for labour unions. The satisfier level connects the actors derived from the use-value chain to a qualitative assessment of need actualization by analyzing the synergetic and alienating effects of their underlying social relations and formations (see the top light purple flowchart in Fig. 5 ), e.g., connections to land and seasonality and sharing economic risk. Based on this qualitative assessment, transformation strategies can be explored by identifying how to relate relevant actors across levels (see dashed purple arrows and boxes in Fig. 6). To discover the relevant strategies, the need actualization is regarded as continuous, meaning all provisioning steps relate directly to human needs. The potential of these relations is to overcome the alienated nature of needs and labor, e.g., fostering disruptive social relations beyond commodified structures by connecting community kitchens, consumer co-ops, and CSA farms (Vicente-Vicente et al., 2023 ). By aligning actors with satisfier elements, strategic alliances can be inferred, e.g., fertilizer industry trade unions with environmental NGOs and farmers associations, to discuss industry conversion based on shared class interests (Hampton, 2015 ; Jakopovich, 2009 ; Räthzel & Uzzell, 2011 ) or community kitchens striving to enable healthy and balanced nutrition, and farmers aspiring to share economic risk (Vicente-Vicente et al., 2023 ). Such alliances can leverage the potential to relate or form relations to other steps in the PS. Further cross-sectoral transformation becomes tangible when producers, through labor unions, relate their production to its use and application. e.g., aligning organic agricultural organizations with labour unions in fertilizer production to strengthen collective awareness of the environmental degradation caused by synthetic fertilizers. Beyond the social relations, the satisfier definitions include the social formations, i.e., the socio-economic conditions and structures of a society (such as the mode of production, markets, its culture, the distributions of means, etc.), these formations strongly condition what satisfiers are realizable and link to the power relations within society (Scott, 2001 ). These formations enable the consideration of which organized actors have an interest in the desired transformation outcome and the systemic barriers hindering such transformations, e.g, capital interests. By understanding the hegemonic power relations, the interplay of actors and potential alliances can be further deduced as part of a counter-hegemonic project towards a hegemonic reconfiguration (Laclau & Mouffe, 2001 ). 4.2. Framework utility and limitations The proposed framework accounts for the societal embeddedness of chemical production systems and the chemical industry, sketching the broader picture of the radical transformation required to remain within environmental limits and to actualize human needs synergetically for all. Thereby, breaking with the sectoral confinement and consumption-production dichotomy, by regarding the systemic level and consumption and production as coupled systems. This is made possible through the interdisciplinary foundation that links critical social science theories of human needs and relationality with quantitative approaches to benchmark system-level impacts against environmental limits and an engineering-functional understanding of processes and production. Thereby situating “social dimension” as the starting point upon which material and technical transformations must rest. However, our framework overemphasizes FHN as the final end-use perspective rather than a continuous dimension across the entire PS. The interdisciplinary approach, together with the framework modularity, enables broadening the framework to include concepts and findings from other fields, such as labour time, unequal exchange, relations of power and domination, and demographical information (Dorninger et al., 2021 ; McElroy & O’Neill, 2025 ; Vogel et al., 2021 ). This modularity also enables continuous updates of PSs with new data, scientific findings, and citizen participation. Furthermore, the framework can inspire other transformation debates in fundamental industries, such as building materials, metal production, and pharmaceuticals. Currently, however, the framework is a first proposal and needs much further refinement and applications to unfold its transformative potential, as well as further exploring how to integrate it with environmental assessment methods, such aslife cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental extended input-output analysis (EEIO). Finally, the framework makes the chemical industry transformation debate accessible for actors looking beyond a technocentric transition logic. It allows understanding barriers and opportunities for socio-ecological transformation. In turn, democratic and ecological actors can use the framework to form their own understanding of socio-ecological transformation and develop joint pathways, which can challenge transition strategies of the industry, lobby, and policy groups. In the long run, aiming to enable participatory transformation by relating central actors, e.g., labor unions, civil society organizations, progressive political parties, and pushing for democratic deliberation in provisioning and transformation. Yet, this dimension is underconceptualized in the framework and needs to be strengthened with more substantial democratization approaches. 5. Conclusion The Chemicals to Human Needs (C2HN) framework connects chemical systems, as sub-systems of PSs, to human needs and environmental limits through functional linkages. Transformation outcomes are envisioned by assessing and comparing alternative configurations across functional levels in PS. These outcomes ensure the synergetic actualization of needs within the SOS and indicate where ecological and social transformative hot-spots lie. Based on these hotspots, key actors along the PS can be identified. Their connections and relations unlock actor-derived transformation pathways and alliances, shifting away from an alienated mode of production. This work represents a first step toward a systematic linkage of chemical systems within PSs to human needs, environmental limits, and socio-ecological transformation. Therby advancing a stock-flow consistent integration of production-consumption systems within PSs, while consistently ensuring societal embeddedness. There are many possible steps to follow, such as strengthening the social perspective in quantitative assessment (e.g., through labor time and demographics), and uncovering unequal exchanges. Most importantly, the transformation strategies must be substantiated with methods and tools from critical social science, e.g., for analyzing power dynamics and studying the justice perspective, thereby engaging more actively with relevant actors. Moving forward, applying this framework, together with democratic actors to specific PSs, will be essential to identify genuinely transformative pathways that reduce environmental pressures while enhancing synergetic need actualization. Declarations Acknowledgements I want to thank Ulrich Brand, Walther Zeug, Droovi de Zilva, and Thomas Arblaster for the fruitful discussions. Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process During the preparation of this work the author(s) used ChatGPT for a few specific paragraphs in order to get feedback on how to improve the readability of the work. After using this tool, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the published article. Funding sources This work was supported by internal funds of the Flemish Institute for Technology Research VITO; the Austrian Fund (FWF) under project REMASS (project number 10.55776/EFP5) CRediT authorship contribution statement Bartolomeus Häussling Löwgren: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing. Peter Fantke : Conceptualization, Supervision, Validation, Writing – review and editing. Graf Simon: Validation, Writing – review and editing. Hauke Schlesier: Validation, Data curation, Writing – review and editing . Leon Switala: Writing – review and editing. Giuseppe Cardellini : Funding acquisition, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – review and editing. Martina G. Vivjer : Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – review and editing. 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Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16941-y Willett W, Rockström J, Loken B, Springmann M, Lang T, Vermeulen S, Garnett T, Tilman D, DeClerck F, Wood A, Jonell M, Clark M, Gordon LJ, Fanzo J, Hawkes C, Zurayk R, Rivera JA, Vries WD, Sibanda LM, Murray CJL (2019) Food in the Anthropocene: The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. Lancet 393(10170):447–492. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4 Winson A (2013) The Industrial Diet: The Degradation of Food and the Struggle for Healthy Eating . University of British Columbia Press. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/I/bo70049278.html Footnotes We use “actaulizing” human needs, rather than “satisfying” or “fullfilling” as this better encapsulates the dialectic process of human needs as potential and deprivation (M. A. Max-Neef et al., 1991 ). The most important aspect is the seperation of “universal” needs and their satisfaction mechanism. This enables a normative discussion and delibeation of the actualization mechanism. The “universal needs” is a support concept to challenge the universalism of money and GDP, alternative human “universal need” layer could substitute Max Neef’s (1991) FHN layer, such as propsed by Nussbaum ( 2000 ) and Doyal & Gough ( 1991 ). Alienation of needs refers to systemic conditions that shape human needs through imposed social, political and economic systems reproducing dependency, domination, and deprivation rather than human flourishing for all. Understanding how needs are alienated becomes subject to a materialist political economic analysis, rather than a neo-classical economic or individual pscychological. The original classifiacation of “destroyers”, “inhibiting”, “single”, “pseudo”, and “synergetic” satisfiers is reduced to “inhibiting”, formed by alienation, and “synergetic”, breaking alienation. The conventional representation of “value chains” for environmental assessment are LCA (EC-JRC, 2010b ; Pelletier & Tyedmers, 2011 ), MFA (Baccini & Brunner, 1991 ; Brunner & Rechberger, 2004), supply-chain accounting (Garcia & You, 2015 ) and input–output analysis (Miller, 2022 ; Wiedmann & Lenzen, 2018 )). The neoliberal formation of society is dominantly organized around the economic system based on alienation of labour, market exchange and private property, where markets and individualism define how social relations are formed and increasingly politics is being done (Jaeggi & Neuhouser, 2016 ). Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files Appendix.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9169627","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Method Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":608906592,"identity":"1b4dc957-d566-470f-8678-1b184b15a5d1","order_by":0,"name":"Bartolomeus Häussling Löwgren","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1538-1478","institution":"Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University; Flemish Institute for Technology Research VITO/EnergyVille","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bartolomeus","middleName":"Häussling","lastName":"Löwgren","suffix":""},{"id":608906593,"identity":"030a3e6e-662a-47e6-b59a-491e030b10b3","order_by":1,"name":"Peter Fantke","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7148-6982","institution":"substitute ApS; Department for Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Goethe University; Department of Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Peter","middleName":"","lastName":"Fantke","suffix":""},{"id":608910566,"identity":"a715d881-64f0-4652-8e2d-32bd071d282b","order_by":2,"name":"Simon Graf","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5024-6264","institution":"Institute of Social Ecology, BOKU University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Simon","middleName":"","lastName":"Graf","suffix":""},{"id":608910567,"identity":"f3a8be0d-63a2-44fa-bd04-89a4a78aa508","order_by":3,"name":"Hauke Schlesier","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Technology and Society Laboratory","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hauke","middleName":"","lastName":"Schlesier","suffix":""},{"id":608910568,"identity":"480e14f9-f26f-49e0-81f7-67c536c4f431","order_by":4,"name":"Leon Switala","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6279-2128","institution":"Institute for Political Science, University of Vienna","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Leon","middleName":"","lastName":"Switala","suffix":""},{"id":608910569,"identity":"b05785c1-803d-41a5-9df4-1a76991ba86e","order_by":5,"name":"Giuseppe Cardellini","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0442-3580","institution":"Flemish Institute for Technology Research VITO/EnergyVille","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Giuseppe","middleName":"","lastName":"Cardellini","suffix":""},{"id":608910570,"identity":"fad4db5f-0460-4289-9949-eabecc910f97","order_by":6,"name":"Martina G. Vijver","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2999-1605","institution":"Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Martina","middleName":"G.","lastName":"Vijver","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-19 12:44:32","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9169627/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9169627/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105058746,"identity":"fe3889cb-0763-44a7-a35a-bfe07cf4bc26","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 12:11:12","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":543948,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMethodological overview of the framework, with the three main components: 1. human needs \u0026amp; satisfiers, 2. environmental limits \u0026amp; Earth system processes, 3. provisioning \u0026amp; functional network approaches, derived in each of the method sections. The functional network (gray box) is visualized with nodes and edges in an aggregated notation with curly brackets and round boxes instead of multiple arrows.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9169627/v1/ebed30c5dbcd1e32b6e20a03.png"},{"id":105058737,"identity":"b68cf4d2-29d1-4097-a8fe-91e496094449","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 12:11:01","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":1827155,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe framework overview linking Chemicals via their PS to fundamental human needs. The white boxes (environmental limits, Earth system processes, and human needs) are derived in the method sections (2.), their application is showcased in the case study and their specification is normative, qualitative and a product of democratic deliberation. The inner gray boxes (provisioning system) and their linkages are the main development, and their construction is explained in the “PS – a functional perspective” section, their specification is a result of socio-technological planning outlined by the democratic superstructure. \u0026nbsp;(CSA: community supported agriculture).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9169627/v1/16e5ab58d8cc063aacbbae4d.png"},{"id":105058771,"identity":"b5de608f-2fc4-4ec7-a601-568e160ea625","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 12:11:17","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":737924,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eVisualizing the descriptive case study results, on the right, a barplot (organe) of the current N-surplus transgression with mitigation potential of alternatives as a waterfall chart (right side). The alternatives are linked from their functional levels (right) with their material changes (centre) and supply chain (left), showcasing selected mitigation examples from the case-study section (3.3.3.). Detailed information about the values can be found in Appendix A.6.3.. N-limit is assigned based on the PS allocation key (concept: A.4.2., application: A.5.2.), \u0026nbsp;other limits, e.g., climate, can be considered equivalently (see appendix A.5.3.. The qualitative human needs assessment (purple top flowchart) describes the synergetic (+) and alienating (-) aspects of the curent mode of production (CPI) and a synergetic alternative satisfier (CSA) (eco.: ecological; distr.: distribution; syn: synthetic; SMR: steam methane reforming – conventional hydrogen production technology; PEM: proton exchange membrane – green technology for hydrogen production.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9169627/v1/adb956763e6a4e8e6a9b22cf.png"},{"id":105058739,"identity":"993c119c-a30b-4eae-97d3-649dc1a85731","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 12:11:02","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":1396937,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eFunctional network with alternative exploration for the food PS, exemplifying one strand of the functional network (solid black boxes and arrows). The current reference system is discussed in the case study highlighted in bold. Adjacent network strands of the PS are indicated with dashed boxes and arrows.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9169627/v1/bb67b89863b19a7e4baadf20.png"},{"id":105058770,"identity":"b415531e-2319-4898-abd5-28c1e58578be","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 12:11:17","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":1606505,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eVisualization of how transformation strategies can be derived from the Chemical to Human Need framework, leveraging the major environmental transformational potentials (right waterfall chart, adapted from Figure 3), while considering the inhibiting (-) and synergetic (+) satisfier structure (CPI vs. CSA). In purple, it is shown how to relate actors, derived from different satisfier characteristics (from the top flowchart), e.g., to form alliances of shifting from synthetic AN to recycled reactive Nitrogen has not been assessed yet; syn.: synthetic; fert.: fertiliser; agric.assoc.: agricultural associations; AN: Ammonium; eco.: ecological; distr.: distribution)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9169627/v1/d6e56ed3b4ebf2a95dfc16d1.png"},{"id":105058941,"identity":"ad96d4e1-8fe3-4076-bef6-481352318ef8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 12:11:57","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":7425771,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9169627/v1/ecd99c1f-3caf-404b-9094-64a11fce0103.pdf"},{"id":105058752,"identity":"2170d12b-ddab-4ba0-ba0c-b90fddd67b26","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 12:11:14","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":494145,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Appendix.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9169627/v1/6f61c4877e33bfde411d1694.docx"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eA Transformative Framework: Linking Chemicals to Human Needs and Environmental Limits within the Food Provisioning System\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe current mode of production exceeds seven out of nine planetary boundaries (Richardson et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR135\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e), driven by the disproportionate consumption of the wealthiest (Dabi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Oswald et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR117\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Tian et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR164\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR163\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2026\u003c/span\u003e; Wiedmann et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR177\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), colonial heritage (Sultana, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR158\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR159\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e), and an extractivist logic (Brand et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Dunlap et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). At the same time, the gap widens between a small, affluent minority and a growing precarious class experiencing a decline in the quality of essential services central to human needs (Bayliss et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Christensen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Piketty, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR125\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Austerity politics and growth-oriented policy deepen this mismatch (Mattei, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR98\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e), prioritising economic growth over the just realization of human needs \u003cspan type=\"Underline\" class=\"Underline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003e(\u003c/span\u003eBrand, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; M. A. Max-Neef et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR101\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e). This poly-crisis exposes the shortcomings of current economically motivated transition logic (Brand et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e) and calls for a democratic reorganisation of production and its overarching provisioning systems toward fulfilling human needs while remaining within environmental limits (Akbulut \u0026amp; Adaman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Groos \u0026amp; Sorg, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e; O\u0026rsquo;Neill et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR116\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Steinberger et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR157\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProvisioning systems (PSs) have emerged as a boundary concept bridging the social context with the material reality of production systems, linking material flows, human needs, environmental limits, and transformative potential to economic formations and power dynamics (Dengler \u0026amp; Plank, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Fanning et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Graf et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR67\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2026\u003c/span\u003e; O\u0026rsquo;Neill et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR116\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). They are rooted in critically oriented fields, such as the ecological economy and degrowth (Fanning et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; O\u0026rsquo;Neill et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR116\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Van Eynde et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR166\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), the critical political economy (Bayliss \u0026amp; Fine, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Mattioli et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR99\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Staritz et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR155\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), and social metabolism (Plank et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR127\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Schaffartzik et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR142\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Materially, PSs connect ultimate means (resources) to ends (e.g., human needs) via production, distribution, and consumption (Daly, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1973\u003c/span\u003e; O\u0026rsquo;Neill et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR116\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Chemicals are materially underpinning most industrialised PSs, as 95% of manufactured products require at least one chemical in their life-cycle (Parvatker \u0026amp; Eckelman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR119\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), shaping a deeply chemical-based world and substantially structuring consumption patterns through which human needs are realized (Bakshi, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). At the same time, chemical production systems contribute significantly to environmental pollution, accounting for 7% of global GHG emissions (IPCC, 2023) and consuming 10% of the global total final energy (IEA, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR81\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). More pressingly, chemical use and disposal directly amount to the transgression of multiple PBs, by accounting for 50\u0026ndash;90% of the global nitrogen surplus, 75% of global phosphorous loss (Rockstr\u0026ouml;m et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR137\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e), and 100% of novel entities linked to toxic chemicals and plastics (Persson et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR123\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Transforming chemical systems, encompassing chemical production, application, and disposal, cannot therefore be pursued in isolation but must be integrated into a provisioning-system-wide approach.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite important advances, most current approaches to chemical industry transformation in the industrial ecology (Jacquemin et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR85\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Kleinekorte et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR91\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) and process system engineering (Guill\u0026eacute;n-Gos\u0026aacute;lbez et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR69\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Meng et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR104\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Pistikopoulos et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR126\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) remain in a supply-demand dichotomy, insufficiently addressing the societal embeddedness and wicked nature of the transformation problem (Azapagic \u0026amp; Perdan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Bakshi, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Hall \u0026amp; Howe, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR72\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e). These approaches prioritize profitability and eco-efficiency, while disregarding chemical use, downstream products, and waste (H\u0026auml;ussling L\u0026ouml;wgren et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR74\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e; Santos et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR141\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), thereby disregarding the systemic level and consumption and production as coupled systems (Pichler et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR124\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn the other side, the field of PS focuses on aggregated systems, such as mobility (Dillman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Mattioli et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR99\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), housing (Dillman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Rajagopalan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR130\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), and food (Bayliss \u0026amp; Fine, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Kendall et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR89\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). For such systems, chemicals are only considered in terms of singular footprints, e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus (Dillman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Fanning et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; O\u0026rsquo;Neill et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR116\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), or aggregated indicators, such as \u0026bdquo;waste production\u0026ldquo; or \u0026bdquo;material consumption\u0026ldquo; (Dillman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Some singular studies consider chemicals more integrally, e.g., as pollutants in urban contexts (Rajagopalan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR130\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) and as inputs to the bio-economy (Cabernard et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). However, these approaches do not systematically incorporate chemical systems within PSs, lacking a stock-flow consistent accounting method (Plank et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR127\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Furthermore, unlike other subsystems, such as the energy system (Brand-Correa \u0026amp; Steinberger, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Millward-Hopkins et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR107\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) and metal production (Staritz et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR155\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), chemical systems remain under-conceptualized as nested subsystems of PS. This central research gap further limits the ability to assign environmental limits to chemical-intensive PSs via human needs, and to inform coherent transformation pathways for chemical systems and their industries.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo bridge these gaps, we advance PS to link environmental limits based on the planetary boundaries framework (Meadows \u0026amp; Club of Rome, 1972; Richardson et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR135\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) and human needs (Gough, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) to chemical systems. Our approach is oriented on a service cascading framework, rooted in the stock flow service nexus (Haberl et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Wiedenhofer et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR175\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), that modularly connects all material and social activities from resource extraction to human needs and environmental limits. This modularization utilizes functional networks (Fanning et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Newman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR110\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e) to provide a robust basis for exploring alternative PS configurations to develop transformation pathways. To fit the framework\u0026rsquo;s materialist and transformational requirements (Adam, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2026\u003c/span\u003e; Copley \u0026amp; Moraitis, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e), we identify and use Max Neef et al.\u0026rsquo;s (1991) and Heller\u0026rsquo;s (1974/2018) human needs approaches and derive suitable sharing principles for the PBs. Together, these elements form the framework that is fit to:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eFunctionally connect chemical systems within PSs to the realization of human needs.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eSystematically explore and compare alternative PS configurations across this network from human needs realization to alternative production systems, thereby evaluating the role of chemical systems within socio-ecological transformation pathways.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eMapping out the safe operating space that provisioning systems may occupy, to assess the environmental meaningfulness of transformation pathways.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eIdentify and link actors along the PS to explore radical transformation strategies based on the environmental and human needs-derived PS configurations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe framework is showcased through a case study of food PSs, selected because they are centrally chemically structured: the ammonia-food nexus drives affluent consumption and environmental degradation, while ensuring the human need for subsistence (Erisman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Rockstr\u0026ouml;m et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR137\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe article is structured as follows: the method section outlines the three core framework components, the human needs and satisfiers approach (2.1.), the environmental limits and sharing principle (2.2.), and the functional PS network (2.3.). The Chemical Human Needs framework is presented in the results section (3.1.), detailing the modular conceptualisation of chemical systems and the systematic exploration of alternatives (3.2.). The case-study section (3.3.) applies the framework to the food PS, exploring transformation pathways to synergetically realize human needs while remaining within environmental limits. Finally, the framework application is discussed by exploring relevant actors across the PS, to enable the derived transformation pathways (4.).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Method","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe methodological foundation of the three core framework components (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) is derived and explained. The human needs and satisfier concept entails the ultimate end of the PS and the transformation objective to synergetically actualize human needs. The modular and functional PS concept enables cascading human needs until the extraction of resources from the Earth system processes, constrained by the environmental limits, which are assigned based on the human needs.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1. Human needs\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHuman needs theories and selection criteria (C) overview (See Appendix A.2.2. for detailed criteria), with \u0026ldquo;Yes\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;No\u0026rdquo;, and \u0026ldquo;Partially\u0026rdquo; (P) as categorical answers for C1-C8. With \u0026ldquo;Possible\u0026rdquo; (Po), \u0026ldquo;Yes\u0026rdquo;, and \u0026ldquo;No\u0026rdquo; for the extension criteria C9 and C10 (Entry-by-entry justification in Appendix A.2.6.). The Max Neef et al.\u0026rsquo;s is deemed most applicable (marked in bold), and the red box indicates the extension to bridge its most substantial limitations (see derivation in Appendix A.2.3..\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"11\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMetabolic\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNormative comparable\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSocially relational\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSocio-econ. contextualized\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eQual. \u0026amp; quant. assessable\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNon-reductionistic\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eActualizable \u0026amp; alienable\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEcologically mediated\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCritical social sciences\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eParticipatory refinement\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelf-Determination Theory \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Ryan \u0026amp; Deci, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR138\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDecent Living Standards\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Rao \u0026amp; Min, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR132\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSustainable Consumption Corridors\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Di Giulio \u0026amp; Fuchs, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Theory of Human Need\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Doyal \u0026amp; Gough, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWomen and Human Development\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Nussbaum, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR113\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHuman Scale Development Model\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e(M. A.\u003c/b\u003e Max-Neef et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR101\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlienated, natural, true needs\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Heller, 1974/2018)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo operationalise human needs within the framework (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, top box), central theories of human needs were examined (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e), based on a set of criteria derived from the framework requirements (see Appendix A.2.2.).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMax-Neef et al.\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR101\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e) Human Scale Development (HSD) model (detailled in A.2.4.) was selected as the conceptual basis (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e), because it enables normative comparability and need-deliberation across communities and cultures by separating fundamental human needs (FHNs) (finite, few, and classifiable) from their actualization[1]\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn1\" id=\"#FNLinkFn1\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e mechanism, i.e., satisfiers[2]\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn2\" id=\"#FNLinkFn2\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e. Satisfiers are not simply goods or quantitative proxies, but are structured around socio-ecological relations centring social reproduction within social metabolism. However, HSD provides only a limited account of how satisfiers are formed. Therefore, the satisfier concept was substantiated using Heller\u0026rsquo;s (1974/2018) theory of needs (detailled in A.2.5.). Consequently, satisfiers are defined by their underlying social formations (Doyal \u0026amp; Gough, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e; M. A. Max-Neef et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR101\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e) and relations (Adamczak, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e), described by organisational forms (e.g., cooperative, commons-based, globalized, corporatized) and social practices (e.g., sharing, participating, individually consuming, exploiting). Furthermore, satisfiers can be understood metabolically as sets of final end-use functions delivered through PSs, which supply their social and material requirements (see detailed derivation in A.2.3).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo enable the analysis of system-wide transformation, Max-Neef et al.\u0026rsquo;s satisfier classification was extended by incorporating Heller\u0026rsquo;s (1974/2018) concept of alienation[3]\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn3\" id=\"#FNLinkFn3\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e, thereby grounding it in a historical materialist analysis of how social formations produce and deprive human needs. This analytic foundation draws a parallel between Max-Neef \u0026lsquo;s inhibiting and synergetic satisfiers[4]\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn4\" id=\"#FNLinkFn4\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e and Heller\u0026rsquo;s concept of alienated and true needs. From this system-theoretical perspective, actors can be mapped along the use-value chain to explore how collaborative action can support transformation pathways beyond an alienated mode of production.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2. Environmental limits, Earth system processes, and sharing principles\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe adopt the concept of environmental limits (outer frame in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) to relate human activities to environmental integrity (Meadows \u0026amp; Club of Rome, 1972). Drawing on Earth system sciences, planetary boundaries (PBs) aim to operationalise these limits by distinguishing resource- and emission-related capacities across scales (Richardson et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR135\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Rockstr\u0026ouml;m et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR136\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Steffen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR156\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Interactions between chemical production, PSs, and Earth-system processes are quantified using established PB-linked life cycle assessment (Bj\u0026oslash;rn et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Kosnik et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR92\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Ryberg et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR139\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Sandin et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR140\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) and material-flow accounting methods on a PS level (Brunner \u0026amp; Rechberger, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Desing et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Schlesier et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR143\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). This perspective captures the Earth-system processes most affected by the entire PS, rather than focusing narrowly on chemical and upstream sector emissions (Fantke et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Persson et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR123\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) (see Appendix A.5.1. for detailed steps).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo ensure a safe operating space (SOS), defined as the capacity available within environmental limits, that is just and compatible with the framework, a need-based sharing principle is adopted. This principle is grounded in democratic deliberation, recognizing environmental limits as the material basis of social reproduction and as inherently normative and political (Brand, Muraca, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Patrick D. Smith, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR120\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). There can not be a one-size-fits-all sharing principle, as sharing will differ across PSs, human needs, and regions. To operationalize the sharing principle we have developed an allocation key defined at the PS level and that assigns shares of the SOS to PSs based on their contribution to meet human needs via the decent living standards (see detailled approach in A.4.2.). The corresponding PS allocation key is computed based on the simulation results in Schlesier et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR143\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) (see Appendix A.4.3. for detailled description und numerical results in A.4.4.). This PS allocation key is an approximation of how societies might distribute available environmental capacities democratically among provisioning systems to meet human needs. It further opens the framework for integration into more robust participatory democratic allocation, such as cybernetic democratic economic planning (Heyer \u0026amp; Zeug, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR78\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3. Functional provisioning system\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eProvisioning systems are formalized using functional networks to link all activities from resource extraction to FHN actualization, thereby constructing \u0026ldquo;use-value chains\u0026rdquo; (grey box in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) (Fanning et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). The functional perspective is adopted in place of material- or market-based representations of value chains[5]\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn5\" id=\"#FNLinkFn5\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e, as it centres on the use-value of products and services rather than their exchange value or material form (Wassenaar, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR171\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) (see detailed function and linkages definitions in A.3.2. and A.3.4). Drawing on network theory (Newman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR110\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e), these chains can be represented as a network in which nodes denote functions and edges represent their realization through products or services (see gray box in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and A.3.3.). Chemical production systems are thereby incorporated within broader PSs through functional connections that link chemicals, via their intermediate products, and application to their intended societal functions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe functional networks are operationalized for transformation using decision trees (Miles \u0026amp; Huberman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR105\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1994\u003c/span\u003e), where each function may be realized through multiple alternative products or services, which in turn can connect to multiple downstream functions (see dashed \u0026ldquo;alt.X\u0026rdquo; boxes in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and A.3.5.). This representation enables the systematic identification of interdependencies within the PS and to explore intervention points for circularity, dematerialization, and substitution. This resulting functional modularisation supports the consistent exploration of alternatives across all analytical levels, from satisfiers to chemical production, while allowing environmental pressures to be quantified along the network via resource extraction and emissions (Pauliuk et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR121\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). This quantification uncovers hot-spots where provisioning sub-systems contribute significantly to the exceedance of environmental limits and where FHN actualization is inhibited.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.4. Case study\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this study, we apply the framework to a quantitative and qualitative case study of the ammonia-food nexus to showcase the importance of linking chemicals to human needs for socio-ecological transformation of chemical systems.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe ammonia\u0026ndash;food nexus was selected because it meets four criteria for illustrating the framework. Firstly, ammonia is tightly coupled to a single dominant PS, as 80% of production is used in synthetic fertilizer production (Galloway et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e), reported to feed 50% of the world\u0026rsquo;s population (Erisman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Smil, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR148\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e). Second, ammonia use spans need-actualizing and alienating functions, by supporting food security, while used to synthesize explosives, including ammunition, linked to an estimated 100\u0026ndash;150\u0026nbsp;million deaths in the 20th century (Erisman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Smil et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR149\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e). Third, the nexus is structurally entangled with already-transgressed environmental limits, as the nexus accounts for about 80% of the global anthropogenic nitrogen surplus (Rockstr\u0026ouml;m et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR137\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Fourth, the environmental pressures are distributed across the full provisioning network, which allows showcasing how environmental limits must be selected and assigned at the provisioning-system level.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe chemical to human needs framework (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e) is described and exemplified in the following sections. The framework overview (3.1.) describes how human needs, environmental limits, and Earth system processes (from sections \u003cspan refid=\"Sec3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2.1\u003c/span\u003e., 2.2., and 2.3.) are linked to chemical production via the PSs. The functional PS concept linking chemical systems to the wider PSs and human needs is derived in the section (3.2.). Finally, the full framework is exemplified in the case study section (3.3), with illustrative numerical results.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1. Framework Overview\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe chemical to human needs framework shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e serves as a modular conceptualization of chemical production systems as subsystems within PSs. Human needs actualization and its provisioning, i.e., satisfiers, are fully normative and therefore assessed qualitatively and should always be a product of democratic deliberation (Steinberger et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR157\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). This assessment classifies satisfiers as inhibiting or synergetic based on their social formations and relations, while quantitatively assessing the environmental pressures related to their material foundation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe framework relies on functional representation and linkages (right flowchart) to connect chemical production systems (inner gray box) to the wider PSs (bigger light gray box) and satisfiers. This functional representation enables exploring alternatives integrally along all steps from needs actualization via product use, chemical production, to resource extraction (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e for detailled analytical steps). The overarching objective is therefore to generate synergetic effects on the top levels, which provide major disruptive moments in how provisioning is organized. Firstly, by prioritizing social dynamics, habits, relationships, and education over materialization, and secondly, by exploring material and chemical alternatives based on quantitative environmental assessment, enabling socio-technological planning.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinally, the framework enables the environmental assessment using environmental flow accounting at the process-level (left parallelogram), which accounts for interactions with Earth system processes via resource extraction and emissions. These interactions are accumulated along the PS and related to the environmental limits (outermost frame) by assigning the SOS for PS via need-based sharing principles (arrows at the top).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2. Provisioning system cascade \u0026ndash; a functional perspective\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo analyse the transformation of PSs, their description must allow systematic comparison between the status quo and alternative configurations, including interactions across all levels of the system, while actualizing the same core FHNs. The functional provisioning system concept is therefore disaggregated into six functional levels, outlined below with their analytical and exploratory approaches given in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003cdiv align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\" class=\"fr-table-selection-hover\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAlternative analysis overview detailing how to analyze and explore alternatives across the functional provisioning system with some examples. Step IV. summarizes the analytical and explorative approach for the chemical product, chemical, and raw material functions.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAnalysis Steps\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAnalysis approach\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eExploration approach\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eExample\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026rarr; increasing level of specificity \u0026rarr;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eI.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSatisifier-human needs actualization\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAnalyzing synergetic and inhibiting effects linked to satisfier type and identifying alternative (non-material) satisfiers and, aiming for synergetic effects and dematerialization of needs\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eQualitative and argumentative, using heuristics and estimates of environmental impact\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHow different types of food provisioning, e.g., CSA or IPI, inhibit or enable participation, creation, identity, through the existential forms of doing, having and interacting, by different relational ways to consume and produce food\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eII.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eend-use function\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIdentifying alternative set of final products/services as the material foundation required for the satisfier\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDefining different \u0026ldquo;baskets of products/services\u0026rdquo; linked to the satisfier (EEIO granularity), comparing their material-intensity\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDifferent conceptual diets (vegan, EAT), Actual (averaged) diets, e.g., based on region, culture, or income\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIII.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eproduct \u0026amp; service function\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIdentifying dematerialization, circularity approaches, alternative product-, service-, application-, and use-strategies\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eExploring variations in the value chain, circularity measures, proposing alternative scenarios, e.g., using scenario LCA\u0026rsquo;s\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDifferent crops, farming practices, transport routes, food losses, fertilizer application, fertilizer types (organic, synthetic)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIV.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChemical (product) \u0026amp; feedstock function\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIdentifying chemical substitution; assessing recyclability, reusability, etc., tied to the chemical end-use; molecular (re)design and process modifications\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eComparing different chemicals, chemical properties, production technologies, feedstocks and process (re)designs for the given functions, using, e.g., (prospective) LCA\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eurea extraction of faeces, fertiliser particle size, different hydrogen feedstock, different process alterations, e.g., carbon capture, electrification, heat integration\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003cdiv align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSatisfiers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo design PSs entirely based on synergetic satisfiers, existing and alternative satisfiers are characterized as inhibiting or synergetic where their underlying social relations and formations are analyzed. It is examined how to construct alternative satisfiers parting from underlying alienating structures, by exploring alternative provisioning systems based on synergetic effects. This qualitative assessment is inherently normative and should be a product of democratic deliberation. This framework considers five heuristics for the exploration of synergetic satisfiers:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003esocial over material solutions\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003esharing instead of individual owning\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ecollective experience over individual consumption\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eregional sufficiency over international trade\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eparticipatory moments over commodified exchanges\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeparating the material requirements from the satisfier assessment avoids treating goods as ends in themselves, which, as Max-Neef notes (M. A. Max-Neef et al., 1991, p. 25), leads to an alienated society engaged in a senseless productivity race. Most material goods thus correspond to inhibiting satisfiers, generating false or excessive fulfillment. Hence, there is no \u0026ldquo;sustainable\u0026rdquo; way to produce them, rather the provisioning must be changed (Creutzig et al., 2018).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEnd-use function - Material foundation\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe material requirements of satisfiers can be represented as a \u0026ldquo;material and service bill\u0026rdquo; listing the products and services needed for the end-use functions entailed by the satisfier (Rao \u0026amp; Min, 2018), e.g., providing energy and nutrients for a food satisfier. This bill serves as an inventory rather than a substitute for the qualitative satisfier analysis. The material foundation provides the first quantitative layer of assessment, enabling comparison of (non)material, circular, and social alternatives.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduct/Service functions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe product functions are the functional prerequisites for the end-use functions, which allow the systematic assessment of product substitution and dematerialization. These substitutions can ensure essential use as they are connected to FHNs as a normative foundation (Cousins et al., 2021; Nunes et al., 2023). It can also simplify materials and products by focusing on their core functions, counteracting industry-driven diversification justified by \u0026ldquo;new functions\u0026rdquo; or efficiency gains (Fantke \u0026amp; Illner, 2019).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChemical service function\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u0026ldquo;chemical service function\u0026rdquo; links the chemical (production) system to the wider PS by conceptualizing chemicals as service functions to the wider system (e.g., maintaining soil fertility or crop protection), rather than as isolated physical entities with intrinsic properties (Tickner et al., 2015). This framing enables non-material and non-chemical substitutions (Fantke et al., 2015), as well as efficiency-decreasing strategies, revealing how minor productivity reductions lead to major environmental improvements (Bakshi, 2019).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChemical product function\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe chemical product functions describe the core properties of a chemical realization derived from the \u0026ldquo;chemical service function\u0026rdquo;. By explicitly linking chemicals to their final use, properties such as recyclability, degradability, and reusability can be assessed, enabling targeted reuse, recycling, degradation, substitution, and refuse strategies, including the early exclusion of hazardous chemicals (Fantke et al., 2015, 2020).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChemical function\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe chemical function denotes the physicochemical properties responsible for the functional performance of chemical products. This perspective is particularly relevant for bio-based chemicals, which often have inherent functionalities or allow direct functionalisation, avoiding exergy-intensive petrochemical cracking and recombination (Frenzel et al., 2013). This enables molecular design to deliver need-specific rather than broad, multifunctional chemical use (e.g., PFAS (Cousins et al., 2019)).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRaw material function\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsidering raw material functions links the alternative raw materials based on the upstream chemical functions. This perspective helps avoid technological lock-ins by revealing alternative functionally equivalent feedstocks and allows assessment of scalability, since extraction rates are ultimately constrained by environmental capacities (e.g., limits to biomass by the biosphere functional integrity, PB). The feasibility of alternative feedstock, therefore, depends on regional resource and energy availability, which is also a result of historic extractive politics (Brand, Wissen, et al., 2021; Sultana, 2022).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.3. Case study \u0026ndash; food PS\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAmmonia-derived N-fertilisers enable a 30\u0026ndash;50% increase in crop yield (Erisman et al., 2008). However, the majority of nitrogen input has been matched with luxury levels of meat and dairy consumption (Erisman et al., 2008), overconsumption, and increasing consumer food waste (West et al., 2014), while leaving 670\u0026nbsp;million people undernourished (FAO, 2025b). At the same time, organic food production, which does not use synthetic fertilisers, accounts for only 2% of production globally. Consequently, the availability of synthetic fertiliser ensures an unconstrained supply of reactive nitrogen, driving the production of nitrogen-use-intensive crops (maize and grains) while circumventing the pressure to close nitrogen loops from farmland to wastewater treatment (Bodirsky et al., 2014). Ammonia production is therefore deeply nested and driving socially and environmentally hazardous food provisioning. The inhibiting effects of this current hegemonic food PS are shown in purple in Fig.\u0026nbsp;3 and exemplarily compared with a synergetically constructed alternative satisfier. The incumbent PS cascade providing the material foundation is outlined below (further detailed in Fig.\u0026nbsp;4), highlighting four mitigation options for N-surplus.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.3.1. Environmental limits and assigning it to the food PS\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAll stages of the food PS, from ammonia production to food distribution, interact with multiple Earth system processes globally. Accordingly, the PBs provide an appropriate limit reference frame for food PSs, which in itself transgresses the boundary for biosphere functional integrity (\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;200%), land-system change (\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;100%), nitrogen (\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;200%, orange bar in Fig.\u0026nbsp;3), phosphorus (\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;100%) (see remaining PBs in Appendix A.5.1.). This PS perspective shows how ammonia through its use as fertiliser is the dominant driver of the nitrogen-boundary transgression (Rockstr\u0026ouml;m et al., 2025), contrasting with ammonia sector assessment, where climate change appears as the primarily strained PB (D\u0026rsquo;Angelo et al., 2021).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAssigning the N-PB to food provisioning was performed by Rockstr\u0026ouml;m et al. (2025). They implicitly assume food provisioning to be the most central PS for all human needs, assigning it the complete SOS. When applying the PS allocation key (see A.4.3.) based on the DLS (Schlesier et al., 2024), the global share of the N-PB amounts to 74% (see A.6.2.). This share represents how much of the N-surplus is possible within food production while ensuring a good life for all within PBs. This share can be seen as a science-informed proposal for a democratic deliberation process on how to share SOSs globally. The regional share, however, might vary substantially, e.g., regions strongly affected by colonialism, through delayed material development, ecological degradation, and extraction, would have a higher share assigned per capita to amend the colonial and climate debts, striving towards reparations (International Climate Justice Network, 2002; Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), 1990; Sultana, 2022).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eConsequently, transformative strategies for the ammonia industry must prioritise reducing excess nitrogen use in food systems, rather than focusing primarily on decarbonising ammonia production.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.3.2. Assessing human needs and satisfiers\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThrough the synthesis of fertilizers, ammonia becomes integral to food PSs and thus directly links to the need for subsistence. Yet, the industrialization of food production has reified food into the mere act of \u0026ldquo;having food\u0026rdquo;, thereby eliminating cultural or communal activities associated with preparing, sharing, and eating food, as well as food\u0026rsquo;s value in terms of common identity and community-building (Cheney, 2016). This consumerist orientation neglects other FHNs linked to food, such as participation and creation through the production, preparation, and sharing of food. Therefore, industrial transformations driven by efficiency and convenience, symbolized by ultra-processed products, further alienate humans from the social and ecological relations (Cheney, 2016).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe prevailing food satisfier in Europe and North America can be labeled \u0026ldquo;corporatized, processed, and individualized\u0026rdquo; (CPI) (Albritton, 2009), hence classified as an inhibiting satisfier. While it appears to meet the need for subsistence, it undermines it through health risks from excessive sugars, saturated fats, and red meat (M. Clark et al., 2018; M. A. Clark et al., 2019), as well as through widespread ecological degradation (Rockstr\u0026ouml;m et al., 2025; Willett et al., 2019). Such systems decouple consumption from production, commodify food relations, and reinforce alienation within the PS (Guthman, 2011; Winson, 2013). Recognizing food as embedded in social and ecological relations reveals that the organization of production itself fundamentally conditions the possible satisfiers. Exploring alternative satisfiers, therefore, requires reimagining food provisioning as regionalized, collective, and sufficiency-based (Anderson et al., 2021; Hinrichs, 2010). One such configuration is community-supported agriculture (CSA), which embeds food in collective relations: producers and consumers share harvest risks, contribute during labor-intensive periods, and participate directly in distribution (Birtalan et al., 2020; Bobulescu et al., 2018). These practices strengthen social ties, reconnect the consumers with land and seasonality, and shift consumption toward organic, regional, and seasonal produce, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and packaging (Pries et al., 2026; Vicente-Vicente et al., 2023) (top flowcharts in Fig.\u0026nbsp;3). This relational perspective enables simultaneous progress toward remaining within limits while synergetically actualizing human needs. This qualitative perspective showcases that the social embedding of the material PS is at the forefront of developing socially and ecologically just PSs. Additionally, it is congruent with a decolonial perspective on food sovereignty, helping to lift the global south\u0026rsquo;s dependency on cheap, stable food from the global north (see A.6.4).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.3.3. Constructing the PS and exploring alternatives\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe different social organization of the food satisfiers is reflected in their underlying material foundations. CPI food systems depend on a highly materialized network, including intensive monocultures reliant on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, extensive processing, and global supply chains (Albritton, 2009). In contrast, collectively prepared and shared meals within community-supported agriculture are embedded in regionally self-organized production and distribution networks (Vicente-Vicente et al., 2023).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe functional network of the ammonia-food nexus (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;4) was thus constructed by tracing end-use functions (e.g., providing edible protein) from the CPI food satisfier to the corresponding product, chemical, and resource use functions, abstracted from the incumbent supply chain. This stepwise decomposition enables the integration of consumption-side measures (such as dietary shifts) and specific substitutional or circular interventions (such as nitrate recovery or fertilizer replacement) into a single analytical structure.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe construction of the functional network along its most important axis is outlined below by discussing the most promising mitigation potentials at each functional level and in their totality. A subset of the identified alternatives is visualized in the waterfall analysis in Fig.\u0026nbsp;3 (see A.6.3. for more detailed information)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAt the \u003cstrong\u003eend-use function level\u003c/strong\u003e, i.e., the nutritional functions composing food satisfiers, the \u0026rsquo;provide edible protein\u0026rsquo; function is the most relevant functional-contributor to the N-PB transgression, as reactive nitrogen is predominantly used by plants to synthesize protein (Liu et al., 2016; Springmann et al., 2018). The central functional mitigation potential is to replace animal with plant-based products, holding a 25% reduction potential globally (Bodirsky et al., 2014; Poore \u0026amp; Nemecek, 2018; Tian et al., 2024; Westhoek et al., 2015, 2015) (see \u0026ldquo;plant-based diet\u0026rdquo; in Fig.\u0026nbsp;3).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe core \u003cstrong\u003eproduct function level\u003c/strong\u003e instance enabling this end-use function is \u0026ldquo;provide plant-based protein\u0026rdquo;, holding significant substitutional mitigation potential. For example, replacing wheat-based protein with legumes such as soy may lower eutrophication potential by 50% (Smetana et al., 2015). Loss-reduction strategies complement substitution at this level, such as halving global food waste (currently 30\u0026ndash;40% of production), particularly in the global north, where food consumption losses reach up to 25% for staple food, compared to 3% in India (West et al., 2014) (\u0026ldquo;waste reduction\u0026rdquo; in Fig.\u0026nbsp;3).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe central \u003cstrong\u003echemical service function level\u003c/strong\u003e linking up to the production crops is \u0026ldquo;maintaining soil fertility\u0026rdquo;. Framing fertilisers in these functional terms enables comparison with agroecological practices such as crop rotation and intercropping. Intercropping can achieve nitrogen replacement values of 50\u0026ndash;100 kg N per hectare with legumes (De Notaris et al., 2025) (see \u0026ldquo;intercropping\u0026rdquo; in Fig.\u0026nbsp;3), and cover cropping can halve nitrate leaching (Selin Nor\u0026eacute;n et al., 2021).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe chemical product and chemical function levels\u003c/strong\u003e together link the service of \u0026ldquo;maintaining soil fertility\u0026rdquo; via the product-function \u0026ldquo;provide nutrient source for plants\u0026rdquo; to \u0026ldquo;provide reactive nitrogen\u0026rdquo;. which can be realised through synthetic fertilisers or circular alternatives. At the chemical-function level, the underlying chemical functionality is supplied, such as \u0026ldquo;providing a solid nitrogen source\u0026rdquo;, which can be achieved either through synthetic pathways (e.g., Haber\u0026ndash;Bosch synthesis) or through recovered nitrogen from waste streams. For example, ammonia stripping from anaerobic digestion can recover approximately 65% of wastewater ammonium (NH₄⁺), offering a circular alternative to Haber Bosch (HB) nitrogen production (Alterra - Sustainable soil management et al., 2023).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe resource function level\u003c/strong\u003e, lastly, connects the required functionalities of the resources to produce ammonia, such as \u0026ldquo;provide reactive hydrogen,\u0026rdquo; thereby linking the production to its feedstock source. Conventional fossil feedstocks can be substituted with biogas-derived hydrogen (Istrate et al., 2024), or electrolysis (\u0026lsquo;PEM HB\u0026rsquo; in Fig.\u0026nbsp;3) (D\u0026rsquo;Angelo et al., 2021). However, their reduction potential for N-surplus is insignificant. Still, bio-based hydrogen integration with circular nitrogen strategies can further decouple ammonia production from fossil dependence, provided that land-use change and biosphere functional integrity boundaries are accounted for.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMitigation measures at each functional level inevitably affect other functional levels and, on their own, are insufficient to transform the system within limits (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;3). Therefore, integrated measures \u003cstrong\u003eacross the functional network\u003c/strong\u003e must be considered. Changes in end-use or product functions enable the alteration of the required chemical services and resource inputs: for example, intercropping fulfils the soil-fertility function and provides plant-based protein function when suitable crops are selected. Similarly, shifting crops and agronomy measures affects available bimass for chemical production. Whereas alternative provisioning configurations, such as urban food systems combined with composting or source-separating sanitation, can create new pathways to supply plant nutrients directly from human excreta, enabling tighter nitrogen cycling.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThese interdependencies show that alternatives cannot be assessed in isolation, but must be evaluated in their totality. The transformation potential of the ammonia industry, therefore, lies primarily at higher functional levels, where interventions restructure downstream chemical and resource requirements and yield large system-wide mitigation effects. These material realizations must, however, always be considered in their interaction with human needs along the complete PS.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4. Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe C2HN framework embedds chemical systems as PSs within societal metabolism. Social formations determine how FHNs are shaped, while satisfiers describe their underlying socio-technological system. PS configuration derived from these arrangements are then evaluated in relation to PBs, linking need actualization to the SOS. This modular framework enables to map how PS configurations can be translated into tangeable transformation pathways linked to actors and their needs, transposing PS from an analytical to a transformative tool.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1. Framework application \u0026ndash; actors in transformation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe C2HN can be applied by organized actors along the PSs, e.g., governmental organizations, labor unions and agricultural associations (left flowchart in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e), to deduce desirable transformation pathways and benchmark them to the status quo (see additonal actors in A.7.). The use-value chain indicates where major transformation efforts are needed (right flowchart in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e), by comparing the material requirement between the status-quo and alternative scenarios, e.g., switching protein source or shifting towards organic farming. The relative importance of these intervention points can be weighted by the mitigation potential of the measures, thereby assessing whether transformation pathways can remain within the SOS (see right side in Fig.\u0026nbsp;6). The functional network enables transparent communication to actors about their roles and positions within the PS (left flowchart Fig.\u0026nbsp;6), and about the transformative actions and leverage they possess, e.g., industry conversion for labour unions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe satisfier level connects the actors derived from the use-value chain to a qualitative assessment of need actualization by analyzing the synergetic and alienating effects of their underlying social relations and formations (see the top light purple flowchart in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e), e.g., connections to land and seasonality and sharing economic risk. Based on this qualitative assessment, transformation strategies can be explored by identifying how to relate relevant actors across levels (see dashed purple arrows and boxes in Fig.\u0026nbsp;6). To discover the relevant strategies, the need actualization is regarded as continuous, meaning all provisioning steps relate directly to human needs. The potential of these relations is to overcome the alienated nature of needs and labor, e.g., fostering disruptive social relations beyond commodified structures by connecting community kitchens, consumer co-ops, and CSA farms (Vicente-Vicente et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR167\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy aligning actors with satisfier elements, strategic alliances can be inferred, e.g., fertilizer industry trade unions with environmental NGOs and farmers associations, to discuss industry conversion based on shared class interests (Hampton, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR73\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Jakopovich, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR87\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; R\u0026auml;thzel \u0026amp; Uzzell, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR134\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e) or community kitchens striving to enable healthy and balanced nutrition, and farmers aspiring to share economic risk (Vicente-Vicente et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR167\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Such alliances can leverage the potential to relate or form relations to other steps in the PS. Further cross-sectoral transformation becomes tangible when producers, through labor unions, relate their production to its use and application. e.g., aligning organic agricultural organizations with labour unions in fertilizer production to strengthen collective awareness of the environmental degradation caused by synthetic fertilizers.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeyond the social relations, the satisfier definitions include the social formations, i.e., the socio-economic conditions and structures of a society (such as the mode of production, markets, its culture, the distributions of means, etc.), these formations strongly condition what satisfiers are realizable and link to the power relations within society (Scott, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR144\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). These formations enable the consideration of which organized actors have an interest in the desired transformation outcome and the systemic barriers hindering such transformations, e.g, capital interests. By understanding the hegemonic power relations, the interplay of actors and potential alliances can be further deduced as part of a counter-hegemonic project towards a hegemonic reconfiguration (Laclau \u0026amp; Mouffe, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR96\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2. Framework utility and limitations\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe proposed framework accounts for the societal embeddedness of chemical production systems and the chemical industry, sketching the broader picture of the radical transformation required to remain within environmental limits and to actualize human needs synergetically for all. Thereby, breaking with the sectoral confinement and consumption-production dichotomy, by regarding the systemic level and consumption and production as coupled systems. This is made possible through the interdisciplinary foundation that links critical social science theories of human needs and relationality with quantitative approaches to benchmark system-level impacts against environmental limits and an engineering-functional understanding of processes and production. Thereby situating \u0026ldquo;social dimension\u0026rdquo; as the starting point upon which material and technical transformations must rest. However, our framework overemphasizes FHN as the final end-use perspective rather than a continuous dimension across the entire PS.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe interdisciplinary approach, together with the framework modularity, enables broadening the framework to include concepts and findings from other fields, such as labour time, unequal exchange, relations of power and domination, and demographical information (Dorninger et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; McElroy \u0026amp; O\u0026rsquo;Neill, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR102\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e; Vogel et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR169\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). This modularity also enables continuous updates of PSs with new data, scientific findings, and citizen participation. Furthermore, the framework can inspire other transformation debates in fundamental industries, such as building materials, metal production, and pharmaceuticals. Currently, however, the framework is a first proposal and needs much further refinement and applications to unfold its transformative potential, as well as further exploring how to integrate it with environmental assessment methods, such aslife cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental extended input-output analysis (EEIO).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinally, the framework makes the chemical industry transformation debate accessible for actors looking beyond a technocentric transition logic. It allows understanding barriers and opportunities for socio-ecological transformation. In turn, democratic and ecological actors can use the framework to form their own understanding of socio-ecological transformation and develop joint pathways, which can challenge transition strategies of the industry, lobby, and policy groups. In the long run, aiming to enable participatory transformation by relating central actors, e.g., labor unions, civil society organizations, progressive political parties, and pushing for democratic deliberation in provisioning and transformation. Yet, this dimension is underconceptualized in the framework and needs to be strengthened with more substantial democratization approaches.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5. Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe Chemicals to Human Needs (C2HN) framework connects chemical systems, as sub-systems of PSs, to human needs and environmental limits through functional linkages. Transformation outcomes are envisioned by assessing and comparing alternative configurations across functional levels in PS. These outcomes ensure the synergetic actualization of needs within the SOS and indicate where ecological and social transformative hot-spots lie. Based on these hotspots, key actors along the PS can be identified. Their connections and relations unlock actor-derived transformation pathways and alliances, shifting away from an alienated mode of production.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis work represents a first step toward a systematic linkage of chemical systems within PSs to human needs, environmental limits, and socio-ecological transformation. Therby advancing a stock-flow consistent integration of production-consumption systems within PSs, while consistently ensuring societal embeddedness. There are many possible steps to follow, such as strengthening the social perspective in quantitative assessment (e.g., through labor time and demographics), and uncovering unequal exchanges. Most importantly, the transformation strategies must be substantiated with methods and tools from critical social science, e.g., for analyzing power dynamics and studying the justice perspective, thereby engaging more actively with relevant actors. Moving forward, applying this framework, together with democratic actors to specific PSs, will be essential to identify genuinely transformative pathways that reduce environmental pressures while enhancing synergetic need actualization.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI want to thank Ulrich Brand, Walther Zeug, Droovi de Zilva, and Thomas Arblaster for the fruitful discussions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDeclaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the preparation of this work the author(s) used ChatGPT for a few specific paragraphs in order to get feedback on how to improve the readability of the work. After using this tool, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the published article.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFunding sources\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis work was supported by internal funds of the\u0026nbsp;Flemish Institute for Technology Research VITO; the Austrian Fund (FWF) under project REMASS (project number 10.55776/EFP5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCRediT authorship contribution statement\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBartolomeus H\u0026auml;ussling L\u0026ouml;wgren:\u003c/strong\u003e Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Validation, Visualization, Writing \u0026ndash; original draft, Writing \u0026ndash; review and editing. \u003cstrong\u003ePeter Fantke\u003c/strong\u003e: Conceptualization, Supervision, Validation, Writing \u0026ndash; review and editing. \u003cstrong\u003eGraf\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon:\u003c/strong\u003e Validation, Writing \u0026ndash; review and editing.\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;Hauke Schlesier:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eValidation,\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eData curation,\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eWriting \u0026ndash; review and editing\u003cstrong\u003e. Leon Switala:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eWriting \u0026ndash; review and editing. \u003cstrong\u003eGiuseppe Cardellini\u003c/strong\u003e: Funding acquisition, Project administration, Supervision, Writing \u0026ndash; review and editing. \u003cstrong\u003eMartina G. Vivjer\u003c/strong\u003e: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing \u0026ndash; review and editing. \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAdam S (2026) Exploring human needs in the degrowth discourse: Dissecting assumptions and challenging distinctions. \u003cem\u003eDegrowth Journal\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eVolume 4 (2026)\u003c/em\u003e. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://www.degrowthjournal.org/publications/2026-01-22-exploring-human-needs-in-the-degrowth-discourse-dissecting-assumptions-and-challenging-distinctions/\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://www.degrowthjournal.org/publications/2026-01-22-exploring-human-needs-in-the-degrowth-discourse-dissecting-assumptions-and-challenging-distinctions/\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAdamczak B (2017) \u003cem\u003eBeziehungsweise Revolution: 1917, 1968 und kommende\u003c/em\u003e (2. 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Nat Commun 11(1). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003eArticle 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16941-y\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"Article 1. 10.1038/s41467-020-16941-y\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWillett W, Rockstr\u0026ouml;m J, Loken B, Springmann M, Lang T, Vermeulen S, Garnett T, Tilman D, DeClerck F, Wood A, Jonell M, Clark M, Gordon LJ, Fanzo J, Hawkes C, Zurayk R, Rivera JA, Vries WD, Sibanda LM, Murray CJL (2019) Food in the Anthropocene: The EAT\u0026ndash;Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. Lancet 393(10170):447\u0026ndash;492. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWinson A (2013) \u003cem\u003eThe Industrial Diet: The Degradation of Food and the Struggle for Healthy Eating\u003c/em\u003e. University of British Columbia Press. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/I/bo70049278.html\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/I/bo70049278.html\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Footnotes","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e We use \u0026ldquo;actaulizing\u0026rdquo; human needs, rather than \u0026ldquo;satisfying\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;fullfilling\u0026rdquo; as this better encapsulates the dialectic process of human needs as potential and deprivation (M. A. Max-Neef et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR101\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e The most important aspect is the seperation of \u0026ldquo;universal\u0026rdquo; needs and their satisfaction mechanism. This enables a normative discussion and delibeation of the actualization mechanism. The \u0026ldquo;universal needs\u0026rdquo; is a support concept to challenge the universalism of money and GDP, alternative human \u0026ldquo;universal need\u0026rdquo; layer could substitute Max Neef\u0026rsquo;s (1991) FHN layer, such as propsed by Nussbaum (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR113\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e) and Doyal \u0026amp; Gough (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Alienation of needs refers to systemic conditions that shape human needs through imposed social, political and economic systems reproducing dependency, domination, and deprivation rather than human flourishing for all. Understanding how needs are alienated becomes subject to a materialist political economic analysis, rather than a neo-classical economic or individual pscychological.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e The original classifiacation of \u0026ldquo;destroyers\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;inhibiting\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;single\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;pseudo\u0026rdquo;, and \u0026ldquo;synergetic\u0026rdquo; satisfiers is reduced to \u0026ldquo;inhibiting\u0026rdquo;, formed by alienation, and \u0026ldquo;synergetic\u0026rdquo;, breaking alienation.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e The conventional representation of \u0026ldquo;value chains\u0026rdquo; for environmental assessment are LCA (EC-JRC, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010b\u003c/span\u003e; Pelletier \u0026amp; Tyedmers, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR122\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e), MFA (Baccini \u0026amp; Brunner, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e; Brunner \u0026amp; Rechberger, 2004), supply-chain accounting (Garcia \u0026amp; You, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) and input\u0026ndash;output analysis (Miller, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR106\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Wiedmann \u0026amp; Lenzen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR176\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e)).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e The neoliberal formation of society is dominantly organized around the economic system based on alienation of labour, market exchange and private property, where markets and individualism define how social relations are formed and increasingly politics is being done (Jaeggi \u0026amp; Neuhouser, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR86\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[{"identity":"3e07bdd8-cb9e-466a-9131-cf2973dc4eb8","identifier":"10.13039/501100007610","name":"Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek","awardNumber":"--","order_by":0}],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Leiden University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"socio-ecological transformation, chemical production, planetary boundaries, functional network, actor mapping, food-ammonia nexus, sharing principle","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9169627/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9169627/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eChemicals shape how human needs are realized while driving planetary boundary (PB) overshoot. These chemical systems must be transformed to remain within the safe operating space (SOS) of the PBs while synergetically actualizing human needs. We therefore propose the \u0026ldquo;Chemical-to-Human-Needs\u0026rdquo; (C2HN) framework, which incorporates chemical production, use, and disposal as subsystems within provisioning systems (PSs) that link to human needs and environmental limits. The C2HN framework models PSs as layered functional networks linking human needs via satisfiers, end-use-, product-, and chemical service-functions to chemical production. The framework qualitatively assesses the structures of satisfiers based on their synergetic and alienating characteristics, using Max Neef\u0026rsquo;s and Heller\u0026rsquo;s human needs approaches. It further assigns the SOS to PSs, using a novel PS allocation principle based on decent living standards. This functional PS perspective enables systematic comparison of the status quo and alternative PS configurations, integrating normative deliberation with consumption- and production-side mitigation measures.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsing the ammonia-food nexus as an illustrative case, where ammonia via synthetic fertilizers structures essential, however socially and environmentally harmful, food provisioning. We show that fertiliser-driven Nitrogen PB overshoot remains unresolved with chemical-technology shifts, as the food PS is locked into intensive, livestock-heavy, and wasteful provisioning, requiring social reorganisation beyond material interventions to synergetically actualize human needs and remain within SOS. The framework can be applied by organised actors, such as labour unions, to identify high-leverage intervention points and potential alliances across the PS, utilising industry conversion and collective provisioning, breaking with commodified structures, and democratizing PS transformation.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A Transformative Framework: Linking Chemicals to Human Needs and Environmental Limits within the Food Provisioning System","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-20 12:08:19","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9169627/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"76c0593d-df7a-4cb8-807d-f3af5fb9bf80","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 20th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":64792792,"name":"Chemical Engineering"},{"id":64792793,"name":"Agroecology"},{"id":64792794,"name":"Environmental Policy"},{"id":64792795,"name":"Sociology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-20T12:08:20+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-20 12:08:19","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9169627","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9169627","identity":"rs-9169627","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}