The Service Research Center (CTF)

Kristina Palm, Poja Shams, Nina Löfgren and Maria Åkesson from CTF, along with Calle Rosengren from Kristianstad University and Carin Håkansta from Karolinska Institutet, are running the 2-year project, starting in June 2025. Strawberry Hotel, Furhat Robotics and Compare Karlstad are also taking part in the project.

- We gather “the whole system in the room”, a methodology that ensures an active contribution from all parties involved towards sustainable and practical solutions, says Johan Quist, CEO of Samhällsnytta.

Samhällsnytta along with other public agencies as well as advocacy groups will receive SEK 7 million for the project from Vinnova, Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency. The project will be carried out within the SustainGov innovation programme.

The researchers have identified initiatives and measures that resulted in less food waste in restaurants, schools, retail businesses and Nordic households. Based on that, the researchers propose a number of measures for halving food waste by 2030.

– It’s everything from implementing political measures in order to reduce food waste, to reinforcing the Nordic collaboration through more clearly defined requirements regarding data sharing, as well as assessment and reporting of food waste, says Helén Williams, associate professor of Environmental and Energy systems.

The theme this year was “dissonance” – methods and examples to bridge the gap between what we know we must do and what we actually do.

– Most of us are also guilty of some degree of ignorance, said Jerker Moodysson, Vice-Chancellor of Karlstad University. For instance, I drive more than I’m entirely comfortable with, despite knowing it’s harmful to the environment and that we must make significant changes in every possible way to avoid further environmental decline.

This year's Service Innovation Day attracted just under 200 visitors to Karlstad. Lectures with a focus on behavioral science, digitization and innovation were on the agenda - knowledge that can be used to create better products and services and a more sustainable social development. Per Kristensson is satisfied with this year's edition.

I have just returned from Madrid, where I attended a large international gathering with a focus on customer-driven innovation. The event was organised by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and researchers from all over the world attended. Several interesting conclusions were drawn, including that research shows that organisations conduct their innovation work based on an internal organisational logic, while at the same time claiming that the ability to understand the customer’s value creation is an important success factor.