Businesses are an essential driver for sustainability, yet managers struggle to make decisions about their business model that actually improve their sustainability performance. In this episode, we meet Florian Lüdeke-Freund, Henning Breuer, and Lorenzo Massa, authors of the new book called ‘Sustainable Business Model Design’. They introduce the concept of sustainable business model patterns, to support practitioners eager to make sustainability work in their business context. A sustainable...

There is a clear and urgent need to accelerate the implementation of sustainability solutions. We must move beyond simple conceptual understanding of solutions, instead experimenting with collaborators in contexts in order to improve effectiveness, share learnings with others, and avoid future mistakes that waste time. In this episode, we discuss nature-based solutions as a holistic approach addressing the why, what, who, and how to achieve sustainability through integrating nature in...

Today, more than half of the world’s population live in cities, and by mid-century it is predicted that more than two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas. This sees cities at the forefront of sustainability, needing to meet social needs within our ecological boundaries. An overarching guiding roadmap to consider sustainability is the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals - the SDGs. These 17 goals cover all aspects of sustainable development, and cities have an...

Artificial intelligence - AI - is being applied throughout society to a wide array of sustainability-related challenges, where it can help to effectivize and optimize systems to save both energy and resources. AI can also be used to analyse enormous amounts of data, faster than any human ever could. However, AI is very energy demanding, and comes with ethical concerns as it may require sensitive data, as it may reinforce biases and prejudices, and as is it may also be used to mislead or...

Every year, the world adds more renewable energy production capacity than the year before. But, looking historically, is this growth enough to achieve our climate targets? According to a recent publication in ‘Nature Energy’, the short answer is “no” – to meet the climate goals requires decades of growth in renewables at rates higher than those observed historically in most countries. In this episode, we chat with two of the co-authors – Jessica Jewell and Aleh Cherp – about their research,...

Degrowth is a critique of infinite economic growth, recognising continued consumption of scarce resources will inevitably result in exhausting them completely. In this episode, we present the challenges of living within an economic system governed by infinite growth on a planet with finite resources. We discuss key vocabulary to understand degrowth, and its three goals: 1) reduce environmental impact; 2) redistribute income and wealth equitably; 3) transition from a materialistic to an...

Anxiety is a natural emotional response to stress, fear, or danger. Then, it is no wonder why some are experiencing anxiety in the face of the climate crisis. Although not a clinical diagnosis, climate anxiety – and related terms like eco-anxiety, ecological grief, and solastalgia – describes the distress, grief, or anger caused by environmental destruction occurring now, or presumed to occur in the future. In this episode, we explore this phenomenon further. We chat with Frida Hylander, a...

The sharing economy is not sustainable by default – search for images of bikesharing graveyards. But, with careful design of the business models that facilitate access over ownership, the sharing economy can increase intensity of use and material efficiency, contributing to sustainable consumption. In this episode, co-host Steven Curtis shares with us his research on sharing economy business models for sustainability. We chat with Oksana Mont, Professor of Sustainable Consumption Governance...

All kinds of public policies are being proposed to address our climate and sustainability challenges, for example, emission standards, substance bans, aviation taxes, energy efficiency labels, and even communication campaigns. However, global carbon dioxide emissions keep going up! Are these policies working? Under what circumstance? And, at what cost to other systems in society? To answer these questions, we need policy evaluations to learn, to adapt, and to hold governments and...

What happens when you take a bunch of people from different cultural and geographical backgrounds, ask them to integrate under one discipline or department, and share a profound and life-changing experience? In this episode, we unpack some of these stories as we look at the journey of a PhD Student at Lund University. We interview our colleagues Emma Johnson, who is at the start of her PhD journey, and Lucie Enochsson, who is about to graduate and defends her thesis in June. We also discuss...

Sustainable finance, non-financial disclosures, ESG, oh my! The world of sustainable finance may seem dark and scary. But, in this episode, we introduce many key concepts through dialogue as well as discuss how sustainable finance contributes to wider sustainability objectives. The finance sector is playing an ever growing role in supporting the transition to a Paris-aligned world by incorporating sustainability into their financial analysis and investment portfolios. We discuss these...

If we want to imagine a more sustainable future, we need to be emotionally connected with that vision. Providing the latest facts and figures alone won’t do the trick. We suggest storytelling can be a great way to convey these facts in a compelling way to envision and connect with a possible future. Stories are an effective narrative device, because they activate areas of the brain responsible for memories, emotions, and critical thinking. As such, stories can be a powerful tool to engage,...

We use energy in almost every aspect of our lives. Yet, often, we do not know the source of electricity that powers our homes or heats our food. In this episode, we explore energy communities as a form of decentralised and democratic energy production. Community energy sees people coming together to take control of their energy needs, by finding alternative ways to organise and govern the energy system. For example, initiatives may focus on the energy generation via local energy cooperatives,...

Missions are being discussed widely within the European Union and beyond as a tool to steer policy, innovation, and research. Similar to other missions – to the moon, to cure cancer, and to eradicate smallpox – the missions-oriented approach seeks to set bold and radical goals to tackle our pressing environmental and social challenges. In this episode, we discuss the missions-oriented approach for innovation and governance, and provide highlights from the City Futures Summit on the same...

Working from home? We have you covered with several tips and tools for teleworking and virtual meetings. Building on decades worth of research and experience in teleworking for sustainability, we share with you some suggestions to make the sudden transition working from home easier. We discuss with Peter Arnfalk and Charlotte Leire their experience advising organisations and individuals on how to transition to working from a distance. For those that are fortunate to transition their work from...

Our economic systems are shaken as a result of COVID-19 and the global impact the virus will have on individuals, organisations, and economies. Prior to the global pandemic, we recorded this episode to discuss ongoing research at Lund University about our economic systems to support the Sustainable Development Goals. In this episode, we collaborate with the Lund University Agenda 2030 Graduate School. Coordinator Kristina Jönsson and PhD Student Juan Ocampo join us to highlight the activities...

What do sheep have to do with intellectual property rights for sustainability? In this episode, we explore the ‘tragedy of the commons’, which often justifies the introduction of property rights to support conservation and reduced environmental impact. However, when it comes to ‘innovations of the mind’, do property rights help or hinder the transition towards more sustainable economies? We sit down with IIIEE researchers Nancy Bocken and Roberto Hernandez to discuss the sustainability...

A tree is so much more than just a tree! Trees provide habitat to support biodiversity, remove carbon dioxide and particulate matter from our air, cool our cities during summers, and inspire enjoyment by all. A tree planted deliberately to provide any of these services is considered a nature-based solution. In this episode, we present the concept of nature-based solutions as an approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and manage stormwater in our cities. We meet Associate Professor Kes...

Policies are needed to ensure a circular economy. In the final episode of our mini-series on the circular economy, we explore the role of policy and the need for research to ensure policies like the European Green Deal promote a circular economy for sustainability. We discuss the trade-offs of slowing resource loops and energy efficiency, for example, knowing when to exchange your LED lightbulb for a more energy efficient bulb? We talk to our colleague Carl Dalhammar who explains the policy...

The global population living in cities is expected to reach nearly 70% by 2050. This trend in urbanisation will require massive amounts of infrastructure to be built from concrete and other natural and manufactured materials. In the second episode of our miniseries on the circular economy, we explore the business case for circular resource flows - such as concrete, wood, and glass - in the construction and building sector. We meet Associate Professor Yuliya Voytenko Palgan, who discusses why...

The circular economy is promoted by government and industry as a approach to reduce resource consumption while maintaining a high standard of living. In this episode, we explore circular business models that leverage strategies of closing, narrowing or slowing resource loops. This episode is the first of three episodes part of our mini-series on the circular economy. We invite PhD Candidate Katherine Whalen to join us to discuss her research on circular business models as well as her...

Our global sustainability challenges are complex and require partnerships and collaboration across disciplines and sectors. As such, as a society, we must value interdisciplinary perspectives and work together to address these challenges. In this episode, we discuss the value of interdisciplinary education to address our complex sustainability challenges. We share the experience from our two interdisciplinary Master's programmes as well challenge employers, educators, and students to consider...

There is growing interest among funding agencies, governments, and society in general to understand the impact of research conducted within academia. However, evaluating research impact is tricky and finding as well as leveraging impact pathways can be daunting without first considering the desired impact early in the research planning process. This is especially relevant when considering sustainability research. We sit down with Master’s student Edward Dickinson to discuss his ongoing thesis...

Given the global sustainability challenges that we face, we need new forms of production and consumption. However, will the sharing economy be a part of the solution? Or, part of the problem? In this month's episode, Sofie and Steven discuss the sharing economy broadly before elaborating on business models in the sharing economy. Speaking critically, they elaborate on aspects of the sharing economy that are more likely to lead to more sustainable consumption. They also interview Nancy Bocken...