Fredrik Wikström, Professor of Energy and Environmental Technology

Fredrik Wikström was born and raised in Uppsala. He has a Degree of Bachelor of Science in Physics from Uppsala University, where he also studied biology for a year. He has a PhD in Systems Ecology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU.

Fredrik Wikström was hired by Karlstad University in 1996, first as a teacher for the natural science preparatory year, and then as a substitute teacher and programme convenor for the Energy and Environmental Engineering degree programme. He has also conducted research in this field.

"These last fifteen years I have mainly spent researching how packaging affects the amount of food waste from consumers. This can be everything from how much food the packaging contains, to how the expiration dates are perceived."

Food production is the biggest cause of environmental problems on Earth, if you consider the whole process from production to consumption. Despite this, about a third of all food is wasted.

"One solution is to design packaging that meets the consumers’ needs in a better way, for example by containing less food so all of it is eaten before it expires. It is important to emphasise that the packaging is not just bad for the environment, but can also contribute to less food waste."

Public authorities, the food industry and the retail industry, as well as many consumers, will see packaging and food waste in a different light when they hear about the research conducted in this area at Karlstad University.

"I am a little bit proud of having worked in such an interdisciplinary manner. The big challenges for our society are related to a number of different subjects. Thus, many more researchers must participate in interdisciplinary collaborations in order to contribute to a sustainable development. A few of my colleagues and myself are natural scientists, but we work at the Service Research Center to collaborate with psychologists, economists and designers."

If possible, Fredrik Wikström would like to conduct even more research in collaboration with businesses and organisations, in order to spread the knowledge throughout the wider community.

"It is concerning that academic research is not implemented more in society."

At home, Fredrik Wikström is the proud father of three children. He loves to go kayaking in the archipelago, as well as hiking in the mountains in the winter.