The article “Determining the potential global sustainability outcomes of three Business-as-Usual scenarios 2016–2050 from a Doughnut model perspective”, by Dr. Jason Philips, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production (Vol. 519, 2025, Article 145965), presents an interpretation of the Sustainability Window (SuWi) method that contains conceptual inaccuracies and methodological misrepresentations. This Letter to the Editor aims to clarify the theoretical underpinnings and methodological structure of the SuWi framework in order to support its consistent and accurate use in sustainability assessments.

The Sustainability Window (SuWi) approach is a quantitative framework for assessing sustainable development by simultaneously integrating economic output, environmental pressure, and social welfare. The core objective is to determine whether economic production, measured by GDP, remains within sustainability boundaries defined and measured by environmental and socio-economic indicators.

The social and environmental dimensions of the analysis are linked to the economic output (GDP) of the system using productivity metrics—environmental stress productivity of GDP and social welfare productivity of GDP—to define the maximum level of GDP not to exceed the environmental sustainability threshold, measured with environmental indicators, and the minimum level of GDP to guarantee social sustainability, measured with socio-economic indicators. Both the relative and absolute sustainability criteria derived from Planetary Boundaries and the Sustainable Development Goals can be used in the SuWi analysis.

The SuWi method provides tools to address unsustainability through targeted policy pathways, including reducing environmental intensity via technological and structural change, or improving the social welfare productivity of economic activity. The quantitative results of the analysis can be used for constructing an Integrated SuWi Doughnut model to enable policymakers to identify specific sustainability gaps and design interventions that align economic development with both environmental safety and social justice.