News from the House of Sustainable Society

April 22, 2020 marks 50 years of Earth Day. Amid the current crisis, it is more important than ever to protect our natural environment, as intact ecosystem are crucial for clean air, water and food supply or disease control and thus healthy and resilient societies. At SSE we have continuously increased the faculty of sustainability researchers, and dedicate courses in all our programs to topics like environmental economics and how businesses can respond to climate change and other sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Misum is welcoming Rieneke Slager as the 2020 Misum Research Fellow at the Sustainable Finance Initiative. Rieneke is Assistant Professor at the Global Economics and Management department at the University of Groningen. Her research focuses on active ownership, responsible investment behavior and private governance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

As countries all over the world struggle with mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating consequences for public health, but also for economic and the broader societal development, international collaboration is needed more than ever. Martina Björkman Nyqvist, Director of the Misum ‘Human Capital’ platform, on potential impacts and implications from previous pandemics in developing countries.

Lin Lerpold and Örjan Sjöberg from Misum point out how the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic are increasing inequality in Sweden. "Immigrants are affected to a much higher degree", they say, and stress the need for more far-sighted and comprehensive political measures in order to avoid "a very unsustainable labour market situation" in the long term, with far reaching consequences for integration and societal welfare.

Misum's Emma Sjöström recently participated in a discussion with the National Innovation Council, led by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, with an emphasis on how the financial markets can contribute to society's transition and adaptation to a changing climate. Furthermore, she discussed with the Council how politics can contribute to a long-term sustainable financial market.

Misum-forskaren Susanne Sweet är med på Kungliga Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademiens (IVA) ”100-lista” som korar forskningsinitiativ med störst potential för att bidra till Sveriges framtida konkurrenskraft. 2020 har Akademien lagt särskilt fokus på hållbar utveckling, med målet att förmedla kunskap om nya processer, produkter och affärsmodeller för företag och praktiker.