Papers by Michael Soegaard Joergensen
Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy
Sustainable buildings have often been niche products, but in recent years a new approach has emer... more Sustainable buildings have often been niche products, but in recent years a new approach has emerged in Denmark aimed at mainstreaming and normalizing this mode of construction and seeking to attract ordinary Danes through market conditions. The aim is to present an alternative conceptualization of sustainable buildings to the ecocommunities' vision and to involve traditional building firms in their design and development. From a theoretical perspective, the mainstreaming of sustainable buildings can be seen either as an example of ecological modernization or technological transition. The new conceptualization has implied a narrower approach to sustainability and a lack of social sustainability measures. While earlier paradigms of sustainable buildings emphasized themes such as community building, self-provisioning, local empowerment, and shared facilities, such objectives are largely absent in the new types of sustainable buildings. We question to what extent it is possible to design sustainable settlements without social sustainability. By viewing sustainable buildings as technological configurations, we argue that the multiactor approach, fragmentation of roles, and absent initiatives for social sustainability influence the buildings' environmental performance and should be important for the next generation of these structures.
The concept of Science Shops was developed in the 1970s at Dutch universities as a means to stren... more The concept of Science Shops was developed in the 1970s at Dutch universities as a means to strengthen the influence of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on societal issues through access to scientific knowledge. Since then Science Shops have been developed in several European and nonEuropean countries, mostly as university-based Science Shops but also some as community-based Science Shops. Based on examples within air pollution and an Actor-Network Theory (ANT) approach the article discusses what influence co-operation between Science Shops and CSOs can cause. The article concludes that scientific knowledge in itself is not sufficient to ensure influence. A report or another type of scientific product can be used by the CSO to open discussions related to an issue, but to obtain influence the involved scientists may need to apply an impact-seeking approach. This implies that the scientists discuss premises and possible implications of the produced knowledge with the CSO and maybe h...
The Danish government's vision about Denmark as a society independent of fossil energy has in... more The Danish government's vision about Denmark as a society independent of fossil energy has initiated several Danish energy and climate action plans during 2009-2010 with visions and measures for a 30-40 year time perspective. The paper analyses differences and similarities in action plans from the Danish Society of Engineers, a renewable energy NGO, an environmental NGO and a national climate change commission. The aim is to identify shared and contested elements, which need to be addressed in attempts to establish alignment around transition efforts towards a fossil free Danish society. The analyses are conducted as part of a project about sustainable transitions towards a low carbon society. The plan from the renewable energy NGO is an energy plan, while the other plans are climate plans, which include non-energy related greenhouse gasses from land use changes and use of fertilizers in agriculture. The plans differ with respect to whether and how agricultural production and Da...
This working paper presents a set of propositions about the agency and dynamics of transformative... more This working paper presents a set of propositions about the agency and dynamics of transformative social innovation (TSI) that have been developed as part of an EU-funded research project entitled “TRANsformative Social Innovation Theory” (TRANSIT; 2014-2017). These TSI propositions represent first steps towards the development of a new theory of TSI, taking the form of proto-explanations of the agency and dynamics of TSI, based on the bringing together of our empirical observations on TSI and the project's theoretical reviews and theoretical framings. Ideally this working paper should be read in conjunction with the working paper entitled “A framework for transformative social innovation” (Haxeltine et al 2016) which presents in skeletal terms the theoretical and conceptual framing of TSI developed in the TRANSIT project. This TSI framework builds on sustainability transition studies, social innovation research, social psychology studies of empowerment and other several other a...
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D1.2 Report on the conceptual, innovative, evaluation and ethical framework for youth citizen soc... more D1.2 Report on the conceptual, innovative, evaluation and ethical framework for youth citizen social science [m11] stems from the work, that has been conducted under WP1. This report describes the conceptual framework for youth involved citizen social science in the YouCount project. Moreover, the report presents the use of citizen social science as a mean for social innovation, highlights the dialogical framework for co-creative youth citizen social science, explores the conceptual and methodological framework for evaluation of the outcomes, and discusses ethical considerations and risk mitigation strategies when conducting youth involved citizen social science. The conceptual, innovative, evaluation and ethical framework is a starting point for setting a strategy of empirical research and, as a living document, will be developed during the implementation of the YouCount project.
The paper starts out with a short introduction to theoretical approaches to analyses of sustainab... more The paper starts out with a short introduction to theoretical approaches to analyses of sustainable housing and other sustainability initiatives as innovation processes. Afterwards some social and political characteristics of Denmark are presented and one of the recent sustainability initiatives in Denmark, the climate plan from the Danish Society of Engineers is described. The second part of the paper discusses Danish sustainable housing strategies focusing on new houses and refurbishment of existing houses. Finally some recent experiences from a local climate cooperation between a technical university, a municipal administration and the local branch of a national environmental organisation is presented.
Circular economy is currently getting a lot of attention among businesses as environmental strate... more Circular economy is currently getting a lot of attention among businesses as environmental strategy, because it is said to be restorative and regenerative by design. However, circular economy is not without shortcomings as strategy for sustainable development. A circular economy with main focus on closing material flows through recycling has limited value for both businesses and society. In order to contribute to substantial reductions in resource consumption, then it is necessary to understand the dynamics of the present linear economy and the speed and volume of the resource flows by questioning what we produce and why products lose value to their users and become waste. Additionally, a narrowing and slowing of the resource flows are also on the agenda as part of a circular economy. The paper is analyzing to what extent it is a practice, a challenge or a potential for businesses to slow down resource flows by prolonging the product lifetime and narrowing the resource flows by opti...
Environmental Engineering and Management Journal
The article describes and discusses the concept of corporate environmental competence and a metho... more The article describes and discusses the concept of corporate environmental competence and a methodology for its use in analyses of the shaping of corporate environmental competence in companies and product chains. The focus is on a number of themes in relation to corporate environmental practice: • Prevention at the source • Life cycle perspective • Integrated perspective on external environment and work environment • Employee participation in corporate environmental activities. The article is based on a number of studies of the shaping of environmental practice in Danish companies and the interaction within supply chains and other types of network relations.
for 3 International Climate Change Conference 21-22 July 2011, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Shared and ... more for 3 International Climate Change Conference 21-22 July 2011, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Shared and Contested Elements in Climate Plans towards a Danish Low Carbon Society Michael Søgaard Jørgensen, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark msj@man.dtu.dk The industrialized countries must make efforts to reduce their climate impact through increased renewable energy capacity and energy saving efforts. The Danish government's vision about a society independent of fossil energy has initiated several Danish energy and climate plans describing visions and measures in a 3040 year perspective. The presentation analyses four Danish action plans from the Danish Society of Engineers, a renewable energy NGO, an environmental NGO and a report from a governmental, independent climate change commission. The aim is to identify shared and contested elements, which should be addressed in order to align future transition efforts towards a low carbon Danish socie...
Purpose: To analyse the interaction between hospital employees’ working conditions, and their hea... more Purpose: To analyse the interaction between hospital employees’ working conditions, and their health and dietary habits, including the role of canteen take-away schemes. Design/Methodology/approach: An international literature review combined with case studies based on stakeholder research interviews of the social shaping of canteen take-away schemes at two Danish hospitals. Findings: Hospital employees seem to be under pressure because of their working conditions, including insufficient possibilities for taking regular breaks, which reduce the possibilities for eating regular meals. Nurses seem in some cases to internalize the tensions between the work load and the possibilities to have regular breaks and regular meals during the work day, which causes risk of ‘overeating’ or ‘undereating’. Canteen take away-schemes might improve the accessibility of regular meals for employees at evening and night shifts if the ordering and delivering structures are organized with respect to this ...
Introduction Most of the research on low carbon society in Denmark has hitherto focused on develo... more Introduction Most of the research on low carbon society in Denmark has hitherto focused on developing scenarios and analyzing possible policy instruments, including market mechanisms, costs and impacts in relation to known options and impacts. The Danish Council of Strategic Research funds the four year research alliance “Enabling and governing transitions to a low carbon society” during 2010-2013. The aim of this alliance is to conceptualize the dynamics of transition processes towards a low carbon society by involving the diverse set of actors from consumers to governmental agencies, companies and organizations.
for the 4th Living Knowledge conference, Belfast August 2009 Local climate activities in co-opera... more for the 4th Living Knowledge conference, Belfast August 2009 Local climate activities in co-operation between municipality, civil society and science shop Michael Søgaard Jørgensen, The Science Shop, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark. Tel.: +4545256024 Email: msj@man.dtu.dk Web site: www.vb.dtu.dk The Science Shop at DTU co-operates with the local municipal administration and the local branch of an environmental NGO about climate change. The co-operation was initiated by a proposal to the Science Shop from the municipal administration. Since the Science Shop requests civil society involvement in projects it was proposed to involve the local branch of the environmental NGO. The starting point was topics developed by the administration and the NGO together and announced to students as part of the Science Shop project supply. The focus is climate impact of local activities and strategies for reduction of the impact. M...
Use and single copy/print of this report is free. The use of parts of the text, tables, figures e... more Use and single copy/print of this report is free. The use of parts of the text, tables, figures etc. of the report is allowed free of charge when full reference is made to the report.
The paper analyses the impact of university-based science shops on university curricula and resea... more The paper analyses the impact of university-based science shops on university curricula and research. Science shops are organisations offering community groups access to scientific knowledge and research. A number of science shops are part of a university, where students and researchers co-operate with citizen groups as part of the curricula or as research activity about the knowledge need put forward by the community group. Experience show that besides assisting citizen groups, science shops can contribute to the development of university curricula and research. The paper discusses the impact of science shops on university curricula and research based on a questionnaire sent out to science shops and through follow-up interviews with employees from nine different university-based science shops. The case studies have been supplemented with articles and reports.
This report is the outcome of the Workpackage 4 of the EU project: ISSNET (Improving Science Shop... more This report is the outcome of the Workpackage 4 of the EU project: ISSNET (Improving Science Shop Networking), which is a 'Thematic Network' in the 5th Framework Programme of The European Commissions Directorate-General Research. 5 organisations, from Germany, Romania, Austria and Denmark has participated this workpackage. The objectives of this workpackage relates to the facilitation of transnational research cooperation among Science Shops and development of concepts and procedures for cooperation between the International Science Shop Network Living Knowledge's members, on community based research themes that cross borders. The report considers a series of activities that initially involved cooperation between ISSNET partners on a specific topic (Sustainable Water Management and Land Use), as well as international research projects undertaken previously through intermediaries such as Science Shops. The findings of this workpackage are structured under the headings: • Opportunities for transnational cooperation within the field of sustainable water management and land use • Dissemination tools and events • Previous and recent experiences with transnational research cooperation among Science Shops • Identification of other relevant topics and tools for thematic cooperation Opportunities for transnational cooperation within the field of sustainable water management and land use The basis of analysing opportunities for transnational cooperation within the field of sustainable water management and land use (a pilot project) is represented by case studies of 12 Science Shop/transfer organisation projects. The analyses shows that NGOs usually cooperate with all kind of By Caspar de Bok-ISSNET project coordinator Science Shop for Biology,
The paper discusses the mechanisms in the shaping of organic food as strategy in the Danish food ... more The paper discusses the mechanisms in the shaping of organic food as strategy in the Danish food sector based on an analysis of the development since the 1980'ies as a contribution to the discussion of strategies for sustainable transition. The background of the paper is the major achievements since the 1980'ies, but also the recent reduction in the increase of land being converted to organic farming. The analysis is based on Karnøe's and Garud's approach for analyses of the creation of new technological fields, which sees this as a combination of path creation and path dependency combined with analysis of typology for governance. Focus is on the shaping of new institutions, structures, new knowledge fields and on the re-use and reshaping of existing institutions, structures etc. These processes involve an ongoing interaction between production, consumption/use, knowledge and regulation, where these systems constantly are co-shaping each other. The focus of the transition is shaped along the transition. The analysis shows how the organic farming and the retail sector strategy on organic food are coshaped. The definition of organic agriculture in the national regulation is also part of the shaping of the transition. Focus is on certain values of the organic agriculture as developed by organisation for organic farming by focusing on the principles of biological proximity and not the values of social proximity. The analysis shows the role of the initial conditions in the shaping of the transition as constraining, as well as enabling factors. Among the important conditions have been the big pork export and the specialised farms, which has implied a limited focus on organic pig production and more focus on the production, which more easily can be converted (dairy cattle). The close links between big dairy companies and a cooperative retail chain has been important, because the retail chain was able to influence the dairies to start buying and processing organic milk. The regulation of organic food and most of the regulation of environmental aspects of agriculture in general has been based on policy integration, since the governmental regulation has been organised within the ministry regulating food and agriculture. Denmark was the first country to introduce a national support scheme for organic farming and for research and development (1988) based on a law on organic farming (1987). The idea was to generate consumer confidence in organic food in order to develop a market for organic food. It was also agreed that there was a need for developing the supply and demand of organic food further. Therefore the scope of the support scheme for organic far ming was extended, so it also covered support for the development of new organic food products. Activities for the development of the demand for organic food was also supported, e.g. campaigns for organic food by retail chains and public procurement by support to the development of strategies for the usage of organic food in public institutions, hospitals etc. The shaping of the limited role of organic farming and food as elements a strategy for sustainable agriculture is very important. Organic food is seen as a strategic product niche and as a threat to the conventional agriculture and not as a possible environmental strategy for the conventional agriculture, although organic farming is given some preference in the granting of applications for environmentally related subsides to the agriculture in general. The market-based approach has caused several problems in the regulation of demand and supply because of the strong price competition in the Danish retail sector. Policy integration is also practised in the environmental regulation of the conventional agriculture through limits to the number of pesticide sprayings, taxes on pesticides and the request for fertiliser accounts, so that two competing development paradigms today are regulating via policy regulation. Some considerations for organic farming as an environmental strategy in the future are presented.
Many companies in industrialised countries are outsourcing production or sourcing materials and p... more Many companies in industrialised countries are outsourcing production or sourcing materials and products in countries with lower environmental protection than the companies' countries of origin. The background is access to special materials and/or lower costs, but some times also the market opportunities by being present in the country where the sourcing takes place. The paper discusses different modes of environmental management in such transnational product chains based on a number of cases, and explores the links to the business strategy of the companies and national and international regulation and standards. The roles of the involved nation states are often limited. In some cases international regulatory initiatives may shape the environmental management in product chains. The interpretative elements in ISO 14001 imply that some companies are sceptical about this kind of management in supply chains and practice in stead direct control based on more specific demands. More analyses of environmental management in transnational product chains is needed, including the role of general and more specific international guidelines and standards in combination with initiatives like customers' own control, facilitating stakeholders etc.
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Papers by Michael Soegaard Joergensen