Advancing Sustainable Solutions

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 topic, hosted in October 2020 by the IIIEE. We also discuss with Kes McCormick – associate professor at IIIEE and moderator of the Summit – as well as Li Strandberg – IIIEE's new Communications Manager – about the event and the importance of communication and engagement when involving citizens and stakeholders in creating and implementing missions.

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.

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 and research of the Graduate School to support Agenda 2030. We discuss complementary currencies as a community-tool to incorporate social and environmental values into our economic systems. We also highlight the need for financial inclusion to ensure all communities have access to basic needs. In light of the global pandemic, these discussions are more important now than ever before. As such, we share this episode with you to inspire discussion about the values of our current and future economic systems. In these difficult times, we are sending love and solidarity to our entire podcast community!

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!

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 McCormick and PhD Researcher Björn Wickenberg, who share their research on nature-based solutions. Kes introduces us to a new online course called ‘Urban Nature’ and Björn shares with us his perspective as a previous urban planner in how to invite nature into our cities.

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 field of the circular economy today and why policies should regulate the design of our products. Then, we sit down with Jessika Luth Richter, who shares her research on policies for a circular economy. We discuss policies for narrowing, slowing and closing resource loops and answer the question when longer product lifetimes are more or less desirable.

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 cities are so important in addressing our sustainability challenges. Then, we invite PhD Candidate Julia Nussholz as well as recent IIIEE Master’s graduate Felicia Gustafsson to join us to discuss their research. We explore examples of closing and slowing resource loops in the construction industry as well as consider how to design circular business models that facilitate customer acceptance. But, are businesses doing enough? And, what is the role of policymakers to promote a circular economy that truly delivers on its sustainability promises?

The circular economy is promoted by government and industry as an 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 participation as a coach in C:/BOOT, an international coaching programme for circular entrepreneurs.

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 the value of interdisciplinary knowledge and skills.

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 research regarding research impact and knowledge dissemination. We provide listeners an overview of how research is funded, conducted and evaluated as well as call on all of us to think more deliberately about the impact of academic research. With this episode, we also celebrate 3000+ downloads of our podcast as well as the end of our first season by reflecting on the significance of the podcast to our Institute and listeners like you.