In 2013 Mark graduated from Uppsala University with an MSc in Sustainable Development, and in 2015 he completed an MSc in Agricultural Development from the University of Copenhagen. He has taught at the Centre for Environment and Development Studies (CEMUS), Uppsala University. His research interests include food systems analysis, food policy, community-led sustainability initiatives, and agroecology.

Mark is a Tyndall Early Career Network (TECN) representative for the University of East Anglia. He also represents TECN on the Tyndall Council.

PhD Title: Consumer-facing innovations to reduce food-related GHG emissions

The aim of this project is to identify and characterise innovations which can demonstrably reduce food-related carbon emissions, and have the potential to be scaled up. The focus is on consumers and social initiatives, rather than farming practices or supply chains, in order to understand how user-centric innovations can reduce our climate impact.

The project will consider disruptive innovations within three broad categories; food waste, changes in diet, and urban food production. The next step will be to identify the value propositions, attributes, business models or interface forms which make these innovations appealing. In other words; ‘why do people like or engage with these innovations?’ Next, the diffusion processes and social influences will be analysed to understand how these innovations can spread from early adopters to wider social groups. Understanding the motivations and patterns of uptake will highlight possible leverage points for reducing GHG emissions at the consumer level.

Find out more at the SILCI project website

Thesis supervisor: Charlie Wilson