Our Research

The research connected to the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (The Natural Step Framework), is conducted by renowned institutions and universities around the globe and will support the world's decision makers in business, communities and governments as they implement sustainable solutions - ensuring that their decision making will be based on scientific foundations and will result in real change towards sustainability.

Below is a short list of these partners and some links to conducted research. 

Blekinge Institute of Technology (Karlskrona, Sweden)

Radboud University (Nijmegen, the Netherlands)

Carnagie Mellon University (Pittsburg, USA)

Sheridan College (Toronto, Canada)

University of Gothenburg (Sweden)

University of California (Berkeley, USA)

Linköping University Sweden

Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden)

Arizona State University (USA)

University of Graz (Austria)

Current research

• SPIRIT Center for Sustainable Product Service System Innovation, Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), SWEDEN
• CERO Climate and Economic Research in Organizations, Royal Institute of Technology, SWEDEN
• Emerging Communication Interfaces for Sustainability, Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, CANADA
• Energy Systems, Linköping University, SWEDEN
• Green Science, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
• Strategic Sustainability Management, University of Graz, AUSTRIA
• A Global Trade Reference Currency the Terra, USA, RUSSIA, SWEDEN
• Urban Regions in the Delta; Delta East, Radboud University Nijmegen, THE NETHERLANDS

Conducted research

• Eriksson, K.-E. and Robèrt, K.-H., 1991. From the Big Bang to Sustainable Societies. Reviews in Oncology. Vol.4, No.2, 5-14.
• Azar, C., Holmberg, J. and Lindgren, K., 1995. Socio-ecological indicators for sustainability. Ecological Economics, 18, 89-112. (Also in Spanish in La realidad Economica, Buenos Aires.)
• Holmberg, J., Robèrt, K.-H. and Eriksson, K.-E., 1996. Socio-ecological principles for sustainability. In: Costanza, R., Olman, S., and Martinez-Alier, J. (ed.), Getting Down to Earth — Practical Applications of Ecological Economics, International Society of Ecological Economics, Island Press. Washington DC.
• Robèrt, K.-H., Daly, H., Hawken, P., and Holmberg, J. 1997. A Compass for Sustainable Development. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol, 4, 79-92.
• Andersson, K., Hogaas, E.M., Lundqvist, U., and Mattson, B. 1998. The feasibility of including sustainability in LCA for product development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 6, 289-298.
• Holmberg, J. 1998. Backcasting — a natural step when operationalising sustainable development. Greener Management International. no. 23.
• Azar, C., Holmberg, J and Robèrt, K.-H., 1999. Fossil fuels and corporate economic risk assessment. Perspectives,Volume 14, Number 1, March 2000.
• Broman, G., Holmberg, J., and Robèrt, K-H., 1999. Simplicity without Reduction – Thinking Upstream Towards the Sustainable Society. Interfaces, International Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, Volume 30, No 3, May-June 2000.
• Holmberg, J., Lundqvist, U., Robert, K.-H., and Wackernagel, M., 1999. The Ecological Footprint from a Systems Perspective of Sustainability. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 6, 17-33.
• Holmberg, J., Lundqvist, U., Robert, K.-H., 1999. An Approach to Sustainable Product Development in SMEs. In: R. Hillary (ed.) SMEs and the Environment. Greenleaf publishing, Sheffield, United Kingdom, pp. 158-170.
• Messerle, H. K., 1999. Eco-Effectiveness and Sustainability. ATSE Focus, No108, 16-20. November/December, 1999.
• Rowland, E. and Sheldon, C., 1999. The Natural Step and ISO 14001. British Standards Institute (Bsi).
• Robèrt, K.-H., 2000. Tools and concepts for sustainable development, how do they relate to a framework for sustainable development, and to each other? The Journal of Cleaner Production. Volume 8 (3) 2000, 243-254.
• Holmberg, J. and Robèrt, K.-H., 2000. Backcasting – a framework for strategic planning. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. Volume 7 (4 ) 2000, 291-308.
• Robèrt, K.-H., Schmidt-Bleek, B., Aloisi de Larderel, J., Basile, G., Jansen, L., Kuehr, R., Price Thomas, P. and Suzuki, M., 2000. Strategic sustainable development – selection, design and synergies off applied tools -. UNEP Industry and Environment Review – Volume 24 – No. 1-2. Cleaner Production 6th International High- level Seminar – Montreal.
• Robèrt, K.-H., Holmberg, J., and Von Weizsäcker, E. U., 2001. Factor X for subtle policymaking — Objectives, potentials and obstacles. Greener Management International – Issue 31, ISSN 0966-9671, Greenleaf Publishing.
• Robèrt, K.-H., Schmidt-Bleek, B., Aloisi de Larderel, J., Basile, G., Jansen, L., Kuehr, R., Price Thomas, P. Suzuki, M., Hawken, P., and Wackernagel, M. 2001. Strategic sustainable development – selection, design and synergies off applied tools -. The Journal of Cleaner Production, 10 (2002) 197-214.
• Broman G.I., Byggeth S.H. and Robèrt K-H., 2002. Integrating Environmental Aspects in Engineering Education. International Journal of Engineering Education. Volume 18 number 6.
• Robèrt, K.-H., 2003. “Integrating Sustainability into Business Strategy and Operations: Applying The Natural Step Approach and Framework and Backcasting from Principles of Sustainability,” in Sissel Waage, Editor. Re-Shaping Business through Nature, Genius, and Compassion. Sheffield, U.K.: Greenleaf Publishing.
• Korhonen, J., 2004. Editorial article Industrial ecology in the strategic sustainable development model: Strategic applications of industrial ecology. Journal of Cleaner Production 12. 809–823. www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro. Research Institute for Social Sciences, University of Tampere, Kanslerinrinne 1 (Pinni B), 33014 Tampere, Finland.
• Waage, S., Smith, T., Stanley-Jones, M., Girshick, S., Meydbray, O., Shah, R.. High technology and Turn- Arounds: Impacts of the Past and Options for the Future. International Journal for Sustainable Business. Vol. 11, Issue. 2004. ISSN 1066-7938.
• Craig, J.L. Science and sustainable development in New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Volume 34, Number 1, March 2004, pp 9-22.
• Ny, H., Broman, G., MacDonald, J.P., Yamamoto, R., Robèrt, K.-H. Strategic LCA- Reframing Traditional Boundaries Using Sustainability Constraints. Submitted for publication in The Journal of Industrial Ecology. Nov. 2003.
• Tippett, J. The value of combining a systems view of sustainability with a participatory protocol for ecologically informed design in river basins. Centre for Urban and Regional Ecology, School of Planning and Landscape, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK. Received 6 January 2003; received in revised form 21 July 2003; accepted 1 December 2003. Elsevier, Environmental Modelling & Software 20 (2005) 119-139.
• Herbertson, J. Sustainability: every journey is unique. WME – Waste Management and Environment. Volume 15, Number 3. April 2004.
• Waage, S.A., Geiser, K., Irwin, F., Weissman, A.B., Bertolucci, M.D., Fisk, P., Basile, G., Cowan, S., Cauley, H., and McPherson, A. Fitting Together the Building Blocks for Sustainability: A Revised Model for Integrating Ecological, Social, and Financial Factors into Business Decision-making. Submitted for publication in The Journal 0f Cleaner Production. June 2004.
• Waage, S., and Francis, C. The Elephant in the Room: Core Stumbling Blocks to Operationalize Sustainability. Greenmoney Journal. Summer 2004. Business and Sustainability.
• Shah, R., and Waage S. Surf’s Up: Can the Hi-Tech Sector Catch the Next Wave? Corporate Environmental Strategy: International Journal for Sustainable Business. Vol. 11, Issue 10 (November/December 2004) ISSN 1066-7938. 2004.
• Robèrt, K.-H., Strauss-Kahn, D., Aelvoet, M., Aguilera, I., Bakoyannis, D., Boeri, T., Geremek, B., Notat, N., Peterle, A., Saramago, J., Lord Simon of Highbury, Tietmeyer, H., and Ferrand, O., Rapporteur. 2004. Building a political Europe. Abridged Sustainability Version, formed on the initiative of the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi.
• MacDonald, J.P., 2005. Strategic sustainable development using the ISO 14001 Standard. Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (6): 631-643.
• Robèrt, M., 2005. Backcasting and econometrics for sustainable planning – Information technology and individual preferences of travel. Journal of Cleaner Production 13, 841-851.
• Ny, H., MacDonald, J.P., Broman, G., Yamamoto, R., and Robèrt, K.-H., 2006. Sustainability Constraints as System Boundaries – an Approach to Making Life Cycle Management Strategic. Journal of Industrial Ecology. 10 (1-2).
• Ny, H., MacDonald, J.P., Broman, G., Yamamoto, R., Robèrt, K.-H., 2006. Sustainability Constraints as System Boundaries – an Approach to Make Life Cycle Management Strategic. Journal of Industrial Ecology. Volume 10, Number 1-2.
• MacDonald, J.P., Ny, H., Byggeth, S., Robèrt, K.-H., 2006. Templates for sustainable product development: a case study of televisions at Matsushita Electric Group. Journal of Industrial Ecology.
• Korhonen J., Special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production, 2006. From Material Flow Analysis to Material Flow Management. J Clean Prod, doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.08.005.
• Robèrt, M., and Jonsson, R.D., 2006. Assessment of transport policies toward future emission targets. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 8:4, 1-28.
• Robèrt, M., and Börjesson, M., 2006 Company incentives and tools for promoting telecommuting. Environment and Behavior 38, 521-549
• Johnston, P., Everard, M., Santillo, D., Robèrt, K-H., 2007. Reclaiming the Definition of Sustainability. Discussion Articles. Env Sci Pollut Res 14 (1) 60-66.
• Byggeth, S.H., Broman, G.I., Robert, K.H., 2007. A method for sustainable product development based on a modular system of guiding questions. Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (1), 1–11.
• Johnston, P., Everard, M., Santillo, D., Robèrt, K-H., 2007. Reclaiming the Definition of Sustainability. Discussion Articles. Env Sci Pollut Res 14 (1) 60-66.
• Robèrt, M., 2007. A model for climate target-oriented planning and monitoring of organizations' travel and climate change policies. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 1:4, 1-17.
• Robèrt, M., Hultén, P., and Frostell, B., 2007. Biofuels in the energy transition beyond peak oil. Energy 32:11, 2089-2098.
• Robèrt, M., 2007. Incentives and policies toward car-sharing and ride-matching. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management.
• Ny, H., Byggeth, S.H., Robèrt, K.-H., Broman, G., and MacDonald, J.P., 2008. Introducing Templates for sustainable product development through a case study of Televisions at Matsushita Electric Group. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 12(4): 600-623.
• Schiller, M., Pelzl,  B., Dolan,  P., Hofer,  A., and Messner, W., 2008. “How Can I Go On – Towards a Sustainable PVC Stabiliser?” PVC ’08, Brighton, U.K.
• Hallstedt, S., Ny, H., Robèrt, K-H., and Broman, G., 2010. ‘An approach to assessing sustainability integration in strategic decision systems’, Journal of Cleaner Production 18: 703–712.
• Missimer, M., Robèrt, K.-H., Broman, G., Sverdrup, H. 2010. Exploring the possibility of a systematic and generic approach to social sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production 18, 1107-1112.

For any questions related to these research documents, contact Freek van der Pluijm at freek.vanderpluijm@flexibleplatform.org