The appointment of Therese Lindahl as executive director comes at a time of organizational change and expansion. Through a new shared funding model, the House of Sustainable Society has gained more resources and strengthened its role in advancing sustainability research. Martina Björkman Nyqvist takes on the new role of center director to ensure continuity and strategic leadership.

Lindahl brings extensive experience from leading international research environments. After earning her PhD in Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics in 2005 she joined the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, where she later became program director for Behavior, Economics and Nature.

Tackling sustainability challenges through behavior

Lindahl’s research focuses on how human behavior interacts with the natural environment. Her work examines how people respond to shared challenges such as managing natural resources, and how to shift everyday behavior toward more sustainable patterns.

“Human decisions are at the core of most sustainability challenges,” says Lindahl. “If we understand what drives behavior, we can design better policies and solutions that actually work in practice.”

By combining insights from environmental economics, psychology and sustainability science, she connects individual behavior with broader societal outcomes. Lindahl will remain a part-time researcher at the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics alongside her new role as executive director.

Strengthening multidisciplinary research

Lindahl’s background aligns with the House of Sustainable Society’s ambition to bridge disciplines and connect research with real-world challenges. The new structure as a research house is designed to support this ambition by fostering collaboration across fields and scaling up impactful research.

“The House has a unique opportunity to connect insights from different disciplines and translate them into solutions with practical relevance for society,” Lindahl says. “With more resources, we can deepen that work and reach further.”