Welcome to Life Cycle Talks! A series of talks presenting the research front to keep you up to date with the science and application of the life cycle perspective. Our next guest is Michael Martin, Senior Researcher and Adjunct Professor at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Michael’s lecture critically examines the use of LCA in food systems, focusing on how methods, standards, and sustainability claims are applied, interpreted, and sometimes misused in research, industry, and policy.

Presenter

Michael Martin is an industrial ecologist whose research focuses on LCA, life cycle management, and circular economy approaches are applied to food systems, urban agriculture, and sustainability transitions. His work examines how sustainability information and environmental footprinting are used in decision-making, governance, and communication, with a particular interest in how standards, metrics, and indicators shape understandings of sustainability in research, industry, and policy. In his lecture, drawing on examples from the controlled environment agriculture (e.g. vertical farming and greenhouse) sectors, he will share reflections and experiences on the opportunities, limitations, and politics involved in assessing and communicating sustainability of food products, and in particular emerging food systems.

More information

Michael Martin, Mugahid Elnour, Aina Cabrero Siñol., 2023, Environmental life cycle assessment of a large-scale commercial vertical farm. Sustainable Production and Consumption, Volume 40, September 2023, Pages 182-193.

Michael Martin, Niclas Svensson, Mats Eklund., 2015, Who gets the benefits? An approach for assessing the environmental performance of industrial symbiosis. Journal of Cleaner Production 98 (2015) 263-271.

Michael Martin, Mirjami Heiska, Anna Björklund., 2021, Environmental assessment of a product-service system for renting electric-powered tools. Journal of Cleaner Production 281 (2021) 125245.

Michael Martin, Elin Bengtsson, Laura Carotti, Kristin Orrestig, Francesco Orsini., 2023, Environmental assessment of greenhouse herb production: A case of longitudinal improvement options in Sweden. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Volume 193, June 2023, 106948.

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