LU4Water aims to show how the complete water picture can be presented in Sweden and globally to allow for a comprehensive and sustainable water policy to be developed. This must contain reliable and sufficient knowledge of natural and anthropogenic water needs for present and future generations. LU4Water will combine cutting-edge research from six LU faculties to overcome unsustainable water use by developing a master plan for water policy starting with Swedish conditions.

Principal investigator

Kenneth M Persson, Division of Water Resources Engineering

Other involved researchers

• Britta Sjöstedt, Department of Law
• Charlotte Sparrenbom, Department of Geology
• Lea Fünfschilling, Department of Sociology
• Jonas Nordström, Swedish Institute for Food and Agricultural Economics
• Dan-Erik Andersson, Department of History

Global value chains are the foundation of today’s economy, account for 50% of global trade and have enormous social and environmental effects. The project is to examine the shift from global value chains to circular supply chains, which brings with it tensions between linear and circular business models and between global companies and local actors as well as a policy perspective on deregulation and forms of governance that include environmental and social consideration.

Principal investigator

Markus Grillitsch, Department of Human Geography

Other involved researchers

• Fredrik Nilsson, Department of Design Sciences
• Sylvia Schwaag Serger, Department of Economic History

The project will focus on how welfare systems in OECD countries can address challenges, such as increasing inequality, demographic changes and environmental crises in the absence of economic growth, which has proven to be difficult to disconnect from greenhouse emissions and ecological footprints. The project will collaborate nationally and internationally with different stakeholders and an international expert panel to develop and evaluate ways of pursuing welfare without economic growth. 

Read more about the project - portal.research.lu.se

Principal investigator

Max Koch, School of Social Work

Postdoc-researchers

• Riya Raphael, School of Social Work
• Jennifer Hinton, Centre for Environmental and Climate Science
• Timothée Parrique, Department of Business Administration

Other involved researchers

• Johanna Alkan-Olsson, Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC)
• Mine Islar, Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS)
• Alexander Paulsson, Department of Business Administration

This project aims to develop a conceptual framework for how nature-based solutions – actions that protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems – generate synergies and mitigate trade-offs between biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, public health and human wellbeing. The framework will be based on research in biodiversity, ecosystem processes, environmental psychology and epidemiology, and the common connections that can be found across subject boundaries. The research team’s framework will be used in a pilot study with stakeholders and the ultimate aim is to create a new field of research examining multifunctional nature, which encompasses biodiversity, climate, social aspects and health effects.

Read more about the project - portal.research.lu.se

Principal investigator

Henrik Smith, Centre for Environmental and Climate Science

Postdoc-researchers

• Pauline Rebouillat, Internal Medicine – Epidemiology, Department of Clinical Sciences
• Marlis Wullenkord, Environmental Psychology, Department of Architecture and Built Environment

Other involved researchers

• Cecilia Akselsson, Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
• Maria Johansson, Environmental Psychology, Department of Architecture and Built Environment
• Peter Nilsson, Internal Medicine – Epidemiology, Department of Clinical Sciences
• Per-Olof Östergren, Social Medicine and Global Health, Department of Clinical Sciences
• Jonas Björk, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine

Globally, the construction industry is a major producer of emissions. It uses considerable natural resources and energy and generates large volumes of waste. The industry is in great need of adaptation in order to be sustainable in the long term. Providing support for a circular building sector requires several approaches and the research project is intended to be part of a larger centre of expertise in which experience and knowledge are shared between academia, industry and local communities. The project will cover policies and regulations, responsibilities and agreements, economic models and goals for waste and district heating. 

Read more about the project - portal.research.lu.se

Principal investigator

• Dennis Johansson, Department of Building & Environmental Technology, Faculty of Engineering
• Ulla Janson, Division on Building Services, Department of Building and Environmental Technology

Postdoc-researchers

• Paul Gontia, The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE)
• Karin Farsäter, Department of Building and Environmental Technology, Faculty of Engineering (LTH)
• Sönnich Dahl Sönnichsen, Department of Business Administration

Other involved researchers

• Per Samuelsson, Department of Law
• Lena Neij, The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE)
• Jessika Luth Richter, The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE)
• Henrik Davidsson, Division of Energy and Building Design, Department of Building and Environmental Technology
• Johan Anselmsson, Marketing, Department of Business Administration
• Annette Cerne, Marketing, Department of Business Administration