News
Understanding the Decline of Technologies to Accelerate Sustainability Transitions
Our new study, published in Research Policy, introduces the concept of "decline functions" for analyzing how technology innovation systems decline. It illustrates its usefulness by investigating the decline of four energy technologies: incandescent light bulbs, oil-based heating, nuclear power, and ICE cars.
SusTec welcomes Paula Baumann as a PhD student!
Paula joined the group in February 2025 as a PhD student at SusTec.
What influences the deployment of mechanical and chemical plastic recycling technologies?
Our new study, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, reveals how technical trade-offs and value chain configurations shape the deployment of mechanical, solvent-based, and chemical recycling technologies in the European automotive sector.
How real are carbon credit emission reductions?
Our new study published in Nature Communications conducted the largest systematic assessment of carbon credit quality to date and found that less than 16% of studied carbon credits represent real emission reductions.
The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC5) failed to deliver a global treaty to end plastic pollution – Ricarda Fieber on site.
Our PhD candidate Ricarda attended INC-5 in Busan, Korea, where countries aimed to finalize a global plastics treaty. While UN member states failed to reach an agreement, unity amongst those member states favoring an ambitious framework offers hope for future negotiations.
Circular Building Unconference – Building Circular Realities
The third and biggest Circular Building UnConference 2024 so far was a great success! On the 24th of October, the third edition took place at the Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich and welcomed almost 200 participants to exchange innovative and collaborative approaches to make circularity a reality.
New SusTec publication: Look before you leap: Are increased recycling efforts accelerating microplastic pollution?
This paper examines how increasing recycled content in plastics, while addressing sustainability goals, can inadvertently amplify microplastic pollution due to material degradation during production, use, and recycling. By proposing a risk assessment framework and analyzing cases like textiles and wood–plastic composites, the study highlights critical areas for policy intervention and sets a research agenda to guide informed decision-making.
SusTec welcomes Tatjana Zurbriggen as an intern!
Tatjana joined the group in October 2024 as a intern at the Sustainability in Business Lab (sus.lab).
SusTec at STEPS towards sustainable plastics conference, Lund
SusTec Phd Candidates Alberto Arcà and David Pfeffer presented their research at the STEPS Towards Sustainable plastics conference in Lund 7-9th of September.
The age of the agent: Alejandro Nuñez-Jimenez wins Ambizione fellowship to develop agent-based models for energy systems
Our senior researcher, Alejandro Nuñez-Jimenez, has secured an Ambizione fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Over the next four years, Alejandro will lead a team in developing a modelling framework capable of simulating policies for net-zero emission technologies from a new perspective.