Ongoing projects

Fossil Free Futures. Divestment across the Nordics (2022-2026). The project explores initiatives to divest the pension fonds from fossil fuels in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The project is funded by the research program Future Challenges in the Nordic (jointly funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, Svenska Litteratursällskapet i Finland and others). The project is hosted by Stockholm Centre for Organizational Research and is led by Linda Soneryd.

The Roles of Social Science Expertise for Transformative Change. This project investigates the conditions and challenges for developing social scientific expertise for transformative change and studies two global environmental challenges: climate change and biodiversity. The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council VR (2023-26) and is led by Rolf Lidskog and Karin Gustafsson is researcher in the project.

Environmental Expertise: Conditions and Challenges. This project compares conditions and challenges in developing an environmental expertise that is scientifically sound and policy relevant. The empirical material consists of two interview studies of scientific experts in the IPCC and IPBES. The project is granted by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (sabbatical grant) and Rolf Lidskog is working in the project.

What Can Science Deliver and What Does Policy Want? Expectations on Science in Support of Climate Change Action (2020-2023) funded by the Swedish Research Council, VR, and led by Göran Sundqvist, University of Gothenburg. Linda Soneryd is researcher in the project.

(Un)sustainable lifestyles: social (im)possibilities to consume less (2022-2024. This project studies social challenges to reduce consumption. Based on a qualitative interview study, experiences among people with attempts or plans to reduce consumption, is compiled. The project is funded by The Swedish Research Council Formas with Magnus Boström as project leader and Åsa Callmer as post-doc. 

AdvanCing behavioural Change Through an INclusive Green deal (ACCTING). The project’s research, co-creation activities and pilot actions aim to facilitate equal and just sustainable impacts. The project will study the impact of Green Deal policy initiatives on changes in individual and collective behaviours, with particular attention to vulnerable groups, and their effect on inequalities in the EU, on the basis of a multidimensional gendered and intersectional conceptual framework. The consortium includes 12 partners with Örebro University assuming scientific leadership. The project, funded by EU, is led by Sofia Strid at ORU, and participating researchers from environmental sociology is Magnus Boström, Carina Green and James White.

Climate neutral Örebro 2030. The project, led by Örebro municipality, will create a platform for collaboration that leads to structural and cultural system innovations for climate change, in both new and existing districts in Örebro. Örebro University is a partner and research from the environmental sociology unit, led by Magnus Boström, will contribute. The project focus on energy •     communities, citizen dialogues, digitalisation, consumption emissions, mobility measures, and more. The project is funded by the Swedish Energy Agency.

To trust or not to trust? Youth’s attitudes, emotions, and trust in climate change science. (2022-2024). This project focuses on one aspect of youth’s CC-engagement that has not been studied in-depth before, their relation to, and trust, in climate change science. The project focus on what role trust in CC-science plays in youth’s identity development, at an individual level and as actors in CC-organizations. The project, founded by the Swedish Research Council Forte, is led by Maria Ojala at ORU, and and participating researchers from environmental sociology is Karin Gustafsson.

The logic of measuring, managing and governing ecosystems (EcoLogic). (2021-2026) The project studies how environmental expertise on ecosystems is formed and how it performs in national policy-formation. It seeks to deepen the understanding of processes that makes ‘nature’ governable through specific government technologies, such as measuring environmental impact, the establishment of new national regulations and management systems and ways of justifying environmental impact. The project is funded by the Norwegian research council and led by Gisle Andersen, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre. Researchers at Örebro University are Hogne Sataoen and Monika Berg.

Digital Urban Communication – DURCOM (2020-2024). This project concerns Swedish municipalities risk communication for preparedness. It explores dilemmas, roles, and responsibilities in the emerging field of preparedness. An objective is to develop an officer-oriented guide on how to communicate risks and threats to citizens. The project is funded by the Swedish Agency for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (MSB). The project is led by Mats Eriksson, Media Communication, ORU with partnering researchers from ORU, Jönköping University and Gothenburg University. Participating from environmental sociology are Rolf Lidskog and Linn Rabe.

Social (im)possibilities of the formation of ethical consumption: A comparative study of Sweden and Iran (2021-2023). The aim of the project is to understand the potential impact(s) of the dominant social structure, norms, and conventions in the formation of ethical consumption. Considering consumption as a social practice embedded in different social settings, the project will apply the social practice theory (SPT) and the multi-level perspective (MLP) to compare ethical consumption in two countries: Iran and Sweden. Based on a qualitative interview study, and by identifying differences and/or similarities of ethical consumption patterns in Iran and Sweden, the project will contribute to further theorizing about ethical consumerism. This project is funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement and participating researchers are Sara Karimzadeh and Magnus Boström.