Other green networks and partnerships

The transition towards sustainable food packaging demands technical solutions in terms of new materials and technologies for recycling. However, the food itself has a much bigger footprint than the packaging and food waste minimization is central to sustainable solutions; new recycling technologies require standards that affect international trade; and legislation needs to balance consumer protection and sustainability. Finally, this transition co-exists with other transitions that affect the availability of energy and resources. Given this complexity, interdisciplinary research is essential and in response to this, we establish an interdisciplinary network running over a funding period of two years.  The network includes scientific disciplines belonging to four faculties of University of Copenhagen, Science (Department of Food Science, Chemistry, Plant Science,

Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Food and Resource Economics, and Computer Science), Law (Centre for private governance), Social Sciences (Department of Economics) and Humanities (The Saxo Institute) as well as partners form Lund University and CBS. A living scientific community is established by biannual workshops involving network members as well as invited external speakers in order to develop a common language and mature research ideas. Network funding is allocated for hiring young researchers as support for developing larger research projects on EU and national level. Highlights of the network process is integrated as modules and cases in teaching at three faculties at the University of Copenhagen in order to link education and ongoing interdisciplinary research within the green agenda.

Main participant: Associate Professor Jens Risbo, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Science

Participants:

Aquaculture is the fastest growing sector for animal production for consumption globally and has become an increasingly attractive approach to enhance food production with high quality proteins. The GGE from aquaculture is low compared to e.g., ruminant meat products, and the efficiency of feed conversion into biomass in fish production is 3-10 times higher than in terrestrial livestock farming. The relatively low emission from animal aquaculture production represents a strong potential as a sustainable future food supply. The proposed network will be an excellent starting point for pursing long-term goals for a green transition of the Danish food production by focusing on aquatic production, and at the same time identifying specific research projects that can target national and international funding and help to move the field forward.

 The aim of the research network is therefore to 1) Map the cross-disciplinary expertise on aquaculture-based food production at KU, including technical, environmental, health, socio-economics and ethical aspects of the production and consumer chain; 2) Identify external national and international research groups, stakeholders and aquaculture-related industries to establish partnerships aimed for specific research proposals; 3) Prepare a catalogue of potential research projects involving KU researchers, which target specific research calls from national and international funding agencies.

Main participant: Professor Mathias Middelboe, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science

Participants:

Read more: Cross‐disciplinary network for supporting a green transition in the aquaculture sector

The purpose of CArGo is to advance research in Arctic governance to meet the climate and sustainability challenges the world is facing. CArGo’s subject areas and activities will focus on Arctic socio-economic systems and the different legal, political, geographical and cultural regimes at play. The network incorporates scholars from law, political science, geoscience and humanities to explore research synergies on this topic. While CArGo’s founding partners represent law, political science, humanities and science, the network is open to all disciplines and researchers, and it is the goal of CArGo to incorporate more scholars over time to broaden views, approaches and funding opportunities.

Participants: 

Interdisciplinary reserach network on Climate Arctic Governance_CArGo
Contact: Beatriz Martinez Romera

The Sustainable Drug Discovery Network connects scientists interested in all aspects of sustainable drug discovery to foster collaborations seeking green solutions funding.

https://sustainabledrugs.ku.dk/ 

The Sustainable Drug Discovery Network has focus on the multitude of factors involving sustainability in drug discovery and production. Particular focus is on the bioactive compounds sourced from traditional medicinal plants with local indigenous ownership. The compounds can e.g., be used as drugs, health-promoting agents, flavors, and fragrances as well as a reservoir for larger chemical biodiscovery work. 

Today, the path from biodiscovery in nature to development and large-scale sustainable production remains largely unchartered and disconnected, especially when it comes to sustainability. Collective action across continents is needed to combine societal challenges such as minority and intellectual properties rights, regulatory frameworks, and equitable access to medicine with sustainable drug discovery and transition to large-scale green production of drugs. 

The network will bridge all UCPH faculties and focus on the exciting but challenging research questions arising by combining research disciplines in order to explore and combine moral, legal, and social sustainability with green development and production. The aim is to develop and mature grant applications through a series of online and in-person meetings.

Main participant: Centre manager and Professor Dan Stærk, Natural Products Research Group and Copenhagen Small-Molecule NMR Centre, Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Participants:

Sustainable Drug Discovery Network
Contact: Dan Stærk

A significant share of the necessary green transition must come from changes in behaviour towards a more sustainable food consumption pattern. However, embedded conflicts of interest may impede optimal decision making at both a personal, household, community, organisational and societal level.

This dietary shift therefore requires that citizens themselves (individually and collectively) are agents of change. To achieve this goal of substantial individual and collective change, the multi-disciplinary approach provided by this network is crucial to overcome the barriers to adopting alternative diets.

The Plant Food and Pleasure network will identify the most relevant research and the needs for interdisciplinary research related to sustainable food consumption. This will create a holistic roadmap necessary to accelerate the necessary transition to a sustainable plant-based diet. The research network consists of researcher from 5 different departments, spanning faculties of humanity, social sciences, law, and science.

Main participant: Associate Professor Michael Bom Frøst, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Science and  Wesley Dean, Department of Food and Resource Economics (IFRO), Faculty of Science.

Participants: