Advancing Sustainable Solutions

Why are women still underrepresented in Sweden’s energy sector, despite the country leading the EU in gender equality? This episode hosted by Philipp Montenegro explores Women in Power, a research project led by Daniela Lazoroska with Jenny Palm and Anna-Riikka Kojonsaari from the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics at Lund University’s. The project, running from 2023-2027, investigates how women’s professional networks and collective efforts are driving change, offering mentorship, and challenging industry norms. Backed by the Swedish Energy Agency, the research provides qualitative empirical insights into how social capital translates into career advancement and broader inclusion.Find out more here: https://portal.research.lu.se/sv/projects/women-in-power-peer-networking-and-collectivization-towards-diverand the publications that have so far come from the project:1. A gender perspective on the circular economy: A literature review and research agenda. Access here : https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13554 2. Gender-based opportunity structure in the energy sector: a literature review on women’s networking and mentoring. Access here: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-024-00494-9For transparency this was recorded in November 2023.

In this episode, hosts Ella Alfredsson Jofs and Lilly Diamant discuss the SCORAI (Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative) conference which took place in Lund earlier this year. Join us as we discuss the behind the scenes of the conference with our colleague Matthias Lehner, Senior lecturer at the IIIEE and Conference Chair. We talk about what goes into planning a conference like SCORAI, challenges faced and how his research relates to the topic of sustainable consumption.

What is a more sustainable lifestyle, and what are strategies and motivations for living within the 1.5-degree target? In this episode, we explore barriers to making this switch and discuss policies that could increase acceptance. The EU 1.5 Lifestyles project, featuring researchers from the IIIEE, addresses these critical questions. Join us as we hear from Andrius Plepys, Anna Elfström, Jessika Richter, Matthias Lehner, Marianne Ekdahl, and Oksana Mont about their work, experiences, and reflections. They share valuable suggestions, such as finding others with similar motivations for adopting a more sustainable lifestyle as well as improved quality of live. You can also enlist for free in the MOOC: 1.5° Lifestyles: Mainstreaming Everyday Sustainability (best right click and open in new tab) visit the projects website: EU 1,5° Lifestyles explore the Citizen’s Guidebook (in Swedish): En livsstil i linje med 1,5-gradersmålet. En forskningsbaserad guide or read this news article about the project (in Swedish): Ny forskning: livsstilsförändringar avgörande för att nå klimatmålen.

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 business model pattern is knowledge based on experience, which includes a statement of a challenge, and a suggestion for a solution to address this challenge, with the deliberate aim of creating sustainable value. Thus, patterns represent templates to be adapted from one context to another to support creativity and experimentation. We provide several examples of patterns, as well as ways that practitioners may use patterns in their context. This episode is the final episode of our fourth season – we will be back in September 2022 with a new episode every month! Until then!

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 important role to play as more than half of the targets will need engagement from local and regional authorities in order to be achieved. How then are these international goals integrated into local city planning and development? In today’s episode we address this question, and explore how academia and cities may support each other in this endeavour. We talk to Roland Zinkernagel, a municipal PhD student who shares his unique experiences from working with sustainable urban planning in the Swedish city of Malmö, while also researching how the SDGs can be applied in a local city context.

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, which examined historical data among 60 countries, and modeled an average maximum growth rate of wind and solar of approximately 1% per year. However, this growth rate has not been sustained over time in any country at the levels needed to meet many of the climate mitigation scenarios. To understand the implications of their research, we learn about the technology adoption lifecycle and the technology diffusion process. Finally, we discuss why technological learning may not speed up future growth, as countries lagging behind adoption of renewable energy may have less favorable conditions compared to early adopters. Learn more about their research at https://www.polet.network/.

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 licensed psychologist, who meets with clients and works with young people experiencing climate anxiety. Also, we hear from staff and students at the IIIEE about their experiences with climate anxiety. Through our conversations and research, we provide some suggestions to cope with climate anxiety – find a community, take an authentic action, focus on what you can control, take time for self care, ask for help when needed, and remember you are not alone. <3

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 organisations accountable to meet our sustainability goals. In this episode, we discuss policy evaluation for a sustainability transition, and how evaluators (and citizens) can think more holistically and integrate learnings across public policies. This is the second episode as part of a trilogy, highlighting the contributions of graduating PhD students at the IIIEE. We are joined by PhD Student Sofie Sandin, co-founder and previous co-host of the podcast! She defends her doctoral thesis on transformative policy evaluations in May. Sofie is also joined by Per Mickwitz, the previous director of the IIIEE, and currently the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Research, Sustainability, and Campus Development at Lund University.

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 important trends within the sector, and share tips on how individuals may incorporate sustainable finance criteria into their portfolios, specifically, pension funds. We are joined by Emelia Holdaway, Policy Program Director at the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change and by Mike Toulch, alumni of the IIIEE and a senior analyst in the Shareholder Engagement and Policy team at the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE). While we highlight research and findings about sustainable finance, it is of course important to conduct your own research when making decisions about your personal finances.

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, distribution via local smart grids, or energy efficiency projects. But, how may energy communities support the transition to a more sustainable and just energy system? We discuss with researchers Jenny Palm and Daniela Lazoroska. We also share preliminary research findings that point towards gender discrimination throughout our energy system. This, in turn, suggests that greater efforts are needed to increase participation and ensure a more just energy system is achieved.

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 the office to home, we hope this episode is meaningful to you. We also acknowledge so many others that have lost their jobs or have a position where working from home is not possible, including our healthcare professionals. Our thoughts are with you and our entire podcast community as we overcome the global pandemic together.

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 implications of closed, semi-open, and open intellectual property models. A fully closed model prevents the diffusion of sustainable solutions while a fully open model disincentivises innovation. So, what can be done to encourage innovation as well as advance sustainable solutions? Find out in our new episode on intellectual property rights for sustainability!