Dr. Nicola Blum

Dr. Nicola Blum is a lecturer at the Group for Sustainability and Technology. She currently teaches the Download seminar Business Models for a Circular Economy. Nicola’s research and teaching centers around sustainable development and technological innovations in Switzerland and globally. She usually tackles questions of specific sustainability challenges by combining different perspectives, i.e. ecological with financial or economic with political.

Nicola worked in industry and academia alike. In her dissertation, Nicola investigated economic, political and social conditions for the (non-​) successful diffusion of renewable energy based village grids in South East Asia. Her most recent research focuses on the Download Circular Economy. More specifically, on the re-​configuration of linear value chains into circular ones, and the required policy and industry changes. Nicola co-developed and led from 2018-2022 the Download NFP73 project Download TACLE, as well as the Download Thematic Synthesis across several NFP73 projects on Creating a Sustainable Circular Economy. A strong additional pillar of Nicola’s work is outreach beyond academia as well as collaboration with industry. To this end, she has been part of the management board at Download Impact Hub Zurich from 2013 until 2017, where she was responsible for people and organizational development and the start-​up incubation services. She co-designed and lead the Download NTN Innovation Booster Circular Building Industry powered by Innosuisse and operated by sus.lab in collaboration with academic and non-academic partners. Further, Nicola is a member of the advisory board of the Download Stiftung Drittes Millenium as well as part of the Download sustainability advisory board of the Basler Kantonalbank.

Nicola holds a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering, a master degree in management, technology and economics and a diploma in didactics, all from ETH Zurich with stays abroad at KTH Stockholm and at TU Delft. Nicola gained further experience when working with Download ATD QUART MONDE in Paris, Download Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Zurich, Download responsAbility in Zurich, the clean energy investor Download E+Co in Amsterdam, and San José, Costa Rica, and the German International Cooperation Download GIZ in South East Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia). From 2018 until 2020 she was team coach at Download STRIDE, an entrepreneurial leadership un-​school. She also received several scholarships, including an 8-​year scholarship by the Download Swiss Study Foundation and the one-​year Download Mercator Fellowship on International Affairs (2010/11).

Working Papers

• Fuehrer, S., Blum, N.U., Brandão, M.: “Transition to a Sustainable Circular Furniture Industry: Integrated Environmental and Economic Impact Assessment” (Working paper)
• Kulakovskaya, A.; Knoeri, C.; Blum, N.U.: “CEACE: a Method for Measuring the Economic Impacts of Circular Value Chains” (Working paper)
  
• Blum, N.U.; Haupt, M.; Fuehrer, S.; Desing, H.: “A Perspective based on different Swiss Circular Economy Research Projects - Why Circularity is not enough” (Working paper)
   

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

• Kulakovskaya, A.; Knoeri, C.; Radke, F.; Blum, N.U. (2022): “Measuring the Economic Impacts of a Circular Economy: an Evaluation of Indicators”, Circular Economy and Sustainability. doi:Download https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-022-00190-w
  
• Bening, C.R.; Pruess, J.T.; Blum, N.U. (2021): "Towards a Circular Plastics Economy – Interacting Barriers and Contested Solutions for Flexible Packaging Recycling", Journal of Cleaner Production. Download doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126966
  
• Blum, N.U.; Haupt, M.; Bening, C.R. (2020): "Why “Circular” doesn't always mean “Sustainable”" Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 162, November 2020, Download doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105042
  
• Blum, N.U.; Sryantoro, R.; Schmidt, T.S. (2013): "Rural electrification through village grids - Assessing the cost competitiveness of isolated renewable energy technologies in Indonesia." Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 22, 482-496. Download doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2013.01.049
• Schmidt, T.S.; Blum, N.U.; Sryantoro, R. (2013): "Attracting private investments into rural electrification - a case study on renewable energy based village grids in Indonesia." Energy for Sustainable Development, 17, 581–595. Download doi: 10.1016/j.esd.2013.10.001
• Blum N.U., Bening C. R., Schmidt T. S. (2015):"An analysis of remote electric mini-grids in Laos using the Technological Innovation Systems approach." Technological Forecasting and Social Change. Download doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2015.02.002
• Bening, C.R.; Blum, N.U.; Schmidt, T.S. (2015): "The need to increase the policy relevance of the functional approach to technological innovation systems." Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 16, 73-75. Download doi: 10.1016/j.eist.2015.07.007