Themes
Explore the pathways to absolute sustainability through systemic modelling, systematic engineering, and strategic implementation, as we address the environmental, technological, and societal transitions needed for a sustainable future.
The conference will delve into the concept of absolute sustainability through the three main pillars of the Centre for Absolute Sustainability (CfAS), namely systemic modelling, systematic engineering, and strategic implementation:
Systemic Modelling
What are the maximum environmental impacts of a truly sustainable society? Systemic modelling of our production and consumption against Earth's carrying capacity can clarify the necessary impact reductions to stay within limits, hence informing science-based targets. This requires methods that cover multiple environmental impacts and models that allow us to evaluate the dynamics and constraints in society.
This theme includes research on:
- The methodological development of life cycle assessment for products and systems
- Life cycle impact assessment
- Planetary boundaries
- Environmental carrying capacities at the regional scale
- Allocation of carrying capacities to different activities
- Approaches to aggregating complex assessment results for decision-support
Systematic Engineering
Technology will be vital in the sustainability transition. We need a targeted development and scaling of solutions with potential to take part in sustainable societies. This needs data-driven insights, models, and decision-support tools for effective implementation at a systems level.
This theme includes research on:
- LCA and absolute sustainability assessment of emerging technologies
- Circular economy initiatives
- Industry case studies
- Proof of concept for data-driven development
- Decision support tools.
Strategic Implementation
Achieving absolute sustainable production and consumption requires full societal integration of the right technologies. This demands strategic analysis of barriers, technology foresight, framework conditions, and roadmaps to ensure impactful societal change.
This theme includes research on:
- Sustainable solution implementation
- New strategies
- Engineering for absolute sustainability
- Green growth & degrowth
- Sustainable design and business models
- Philosophy of sustainability
- Transition plans for meeting science-based targets in an organizational setting
- Barriers and rebound effects.
Research that overlaps between the topics and in particular involves more than one of the overarching topics will be given priority, as the interaction and co-consideration of aspects from several topics is crucial for the agenda of an absolute sustainable transition.