The biosphere integrity boundary of the Planetary Boundaries Framework seeks to highlight biodiversity loss and its effect on humanity's 'safe operating space'. Biodiversity plays a critical role in sustaining ecosystem function and by extension, the ecosystem services on which human wellbeing depends. As currently conceptualized, biodiversity and the provisioning and regulating ecosystem services with which it is associated, is not adequately captured in the boundary. Literature searches for data-synthesis were carried out to identify and assess the balance of evidence for the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services. The change in global ecosystem service trends over time were assessed along with the interactions between ecosystem services. Twelve provisioning and 9 regulating ecosystem services associated with biodiversity were identified in the literature. Biocontrol and carbon sequestration were the most studied services. The Fischer exact test showed that there was a significant difference between the extent to which provisioning versus regulating ecosystem services are studied. Mann-Whitney U tests showed non-significant relationships between provisioning services and regulating services for trend and effect size data. All provisioning services showed increasing trends over time. The results for regulating services were mixed. Of the 115 ecosystem service interactions assessed, 66 were trade-offs and 49 were synergies. Crop yield and climate-related ESS (carbon sequestration and carbon storage) represented almost one-third of these interactions (n = 22) while crop yield and erosion control represented over a quarter (n = 19). These interactions alone accounted for 36% of the total interactions. This paper provides an initial database which could be refined and expanded. It also demonstrates a comprehensive approach to assessing biodiversity ecosystem service relationships, providing a tangible approach to assessing a safe operating space for humanity. Further, it provides a platform for future research on biodiversity-ecosystem services human well-being links, which will provide better insights to policymakers, managers and practitioners. / <p>The presentation was done via Zoom during Covid 19 when Stockholm University was closed. </p>

Planetary Boundaries (PB) and Circular Economy (CE) are becoming the paradigm for sustainability. There is an increasing interest to operationalise PB into a framework for businesses to maximise profitability within environmental limits. The context of the cotton textile industry makes a good setting for understanding the casual chain of connections between the socio-economic system expressed by extensive global supply chain of cotton, and its ecological interconnection with the Earth’s system that is put under pressure. For this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) is recognised as a suitable approach for measuring the linkages between those two systems. Results show that among all phases of the life cycle of a cotton t-shirt, the usage phase is the most impacting for most of environmental indicators, followed by the manufacturing and farming phase. Production or extraction of raw material as elements considered upstream in the supply chain are the predominant cause of impacts in this case study. Increasing circularity of the system yields to an improvement in environmental performance. However, the system remains largely unsustainable when taking into account the state of the Earth’s system, through the PB. When assessing sustainability through LCA, ecological references like PB, must be considered to understand absolute environmental sustainability a product system. This will reveal whether less impacting options in the system, are still deteriorating a state of the environment as a part of the Earth’s system, which needs to be the area of protection. In conclusion, linking planetary boundaries to life cycle assessment can help assess the absolute environmental sustainability, as opposed to relative sustainability, of a production system. Combining an assessment of the state of the environment (safe, critical/uncertain, at risk), and the assessment of environmental hotspots of the system under scrutiny, will determine where priority for goals and actions of improvements for environmental sustainability needs most attention.

Med sin grund i klimatutmaningen och en utbredd klimatångest, försöker den här uppsatsen förstå hoppfullhet i miljödiskursen genom en socialkonstruktivistisk lins. En diskursanalys har genomförts av tre videokällor med talare som på olika sätt agerar som röster för miljörörelsen. Materialet som har analyserats i det här arbetet är ett TED-talk, ett tal från Climate Innovation Summit 2016 och ett avsnitt av det svenska tv-programmet Idévärlden. Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka hur en medvetenhet av begreppet Planetens hållbara gränser påverkar hoppfullhet och hopplöshet inom miljödiskursen. Resultatet visade att de flesta talarna tog del av en hoppfull diskurs med en viss tilltro till ekologisk modernisering och att en medvetenhet om Planetens hållbara gränser kan påverka hoppfullhet och hopplöshet på olika sätt. Studien är viktig för att en förståelse för miljödiskursen är ett steg mot att öka miljömedvetet beteende och minska klimatångest i en tid då vi behöver agera mot klimatförändringarna. Studien ger en genomgång av tidigare forskning samt en översiktlig historisk presentation av miljödiskursen och avslutar sedan med reflektion av det egna arbetet och förslag för fortsatta studier. / In light of the climate challenge and widespread climate anxiety, this thesis seeks to understand hope in the environmental discourse through a lense of social constructivism. A discourse analysis has been conducted of three video sources, with speakers who in different ways are voices for the environmental movement. The material investigated in this study is a TED talk, a speech from Climate Innovation Summit 2016 and an episode from the swedish tv-show Idévärlden (eng. The Idea World). The purpose of the study has been to investigate how an awareness of the concept of Planetary Boundaries affects hope and hopelessness within the environmental discourse. It was found that most speakers are part of a hopeful discourse with a belief in ecological modernisation and that an awareness of the concept of planetary boundaries can affect hopefulness or hopelessness in different ways. This is of importance because understanding the environmental discourse is a step towards pro-environmental behaviour and decreasing climate anxiety in a time when we need to take action against climate change. The thesis gives a review of previous research in the field as well as a brief historical presentation of the environmental discourse.

The production of food has increased over time due to modern agriculture methods. However, thisincrease has partly occurred at the expense of environmental and human health. There are severalenvironmental labels for food products, both at national and international levels, that try to create amore environmentally and socially sustainable agriculture by going beyond current legislation. Thisinvestigation is based on an analysis of rules connected to coffee, cacao and coconut oil for theenvironmental labels: EU Organic, Fairtrade, KRAV, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ. The purpose is toinvestigate if these environmental labels have rules that can contribute to an agricultural system withinthe planetary boundaries and also fulfill social conditions for a basic standard of living. The analysisof rules has been done based on the planetary boundaries and social conditions from the doughnuteconomics model. The five environmental labels have rules that can contribute to a more sustainableagriculture in different ways, but none of them cover all the planetary boundaries and socialconditions. Nor can they assure that none of the planetary boundaries won’t be exceeded since no oneknows exactly where the thresholds are. The environmental labels can be combined since they, tosome extent, have rules for different areas. Today, several combinations of environmental labels existon coffee, cocoa and coconut oil. The combination that occurs most often based on a sample in Coopsonline store is: EU Organic, Fairtrade and KRAV. This is not the combination that covers the greatestnumber of planetary boundaries and social conditions based on the result of this study, but it coversthe most problematic environmental and social aspects connected to production of coffee, cocoa andcoconut oil. / Produktionen av mat har ökat till följd av det moderna jordbrukets metoder, men denna ökning har iflera fall skett på bekostnad av miljö och mänsklig hälsa. Både nationellt och internationellt finns ettflertal miljömärkningar för livsmedel som driver på utvecklingen av ett mer miljömässigt och socialthållbart jordbruk genom att gå längre än nuvarande lagstiftning. Denna undersökning baseras på engenomgång av miljömärkningarna: EU ekologiskt, Fairtrade, KRAV, Rainforest Alliance och UTZregler kopplat till kaffe, kakao och kokosolja. Syftet är att undersöka om miljömärkningar har reglersom kan bidra till ett jordbruk som håller sig inom de planetära gränserna samtidigt som socialavillkor för en grundläggande levnadsstandard uppfylls. Regelgenomgången har gjorts utifrån deplanetära gränserna och sociala villkoren i donutekonomin. De fem miljömärkningarna har regler sompå olika sätt kan bidra till ett mer hållbart jordbruk men ingen av dem har regler som beaktar allaplanetära gränser och sociala villkor. Miljömärkningarna kan inte heller säkerställa att de planetäragränserna inte kommer att överskridas då ingen vet exakt var gränserna går. Eftersommiljömärkningarna delvis har regler för olika områden kan de med fördel kombineras. Olikakombinationer av miljömärkningar förekommer på kaffe, kakao och kokosolja idag, den kombinationsom förekommer mest utifrån ett stickprov i Coops e-handel är: EU ekologiskt, Fairtrade och KRAV.Denna kombination täcker inte in flest planetära gränser och sociala villkor utifrån resultatet i dennaundersökning men kombinationen har regler som berör de mest problematiska miljömässiga ochsociala aspekterna kopplat till odling av kaffe, kakao och kokosolja. / <p>2021-06-04</p>

In a rapidly changing world, sustainability is becoming more and more of a priority for organizations. This paper evaluates the possibility of using the Doughnut Economics Model (DEM) as a tool to implement sustainability within an organization on the firm-level, highlighting the potential opportunities and limitations that it poses. Through case studies conducted with two organizations (Apotea AB &amp; Proton Group), both common and firm-specific gaps within sustainability strategies are identified, and the applicability of the DEM is appraised as a tool to help fill these gaps. A qualitative research method was employed, and interviews were held with sustainability managers from Apotea AB and Proton Group. A qualitative thematic analysis process led to the generation of initial codes, themes, and patterns that emerged throughout the interviews held. The results from this study highlighted the illustrative and visual nature of the DEM, and how it could help firms view sustainability from different perspectives. The visualisation of the model helps stimulate conversations about sustainability within the firm, and raising awareness on the topic of sustainability, promoting it within organizational culture. This study additionally concluded that the implementation of the DEM in only a firm-specific, directly impacted area, could help the firm with pinpointing niche areas where the enterprise can make its largest contribution towards a safe and just space for humanity. On the other hand, this study found and supported existing claims through past research on the model’s limitations in terms of its downscaling, as the planetary boundaries are designed for a global scale. Moreover, the model lacks in defining policies, indicators, or measurements regarding areas of improvement. The opportunities that lie in the DEM are plentiful, however, the downscaling process on a firm-scale is extremely challenging, and little-to-no existing research or literature exists on the topic.

The world is simultaneously facing social and environmental sustainability issues. There is a decreasing window of opportunity to limit global warming in accordance with the Paris Agreement, significant biodiversity loss, and mounting inequality. This raises questions about our current economic systems’ ability to tackle the problems, which has given rise to new economic approaches. One such approach is Doughnut Economics which functions as a compass for a safe and just space for humanity and prescribes seven shifts in economic thinking for getting there. Given the urgency to identify and implement solutions to current sustainability issues, it is paramount to gain an understanding of Doughnut Economics' transformative potential by engaging with examples where the approach is used. To build on the knowledge of Doughnut Economics' transformative potential, this thesis investigates the case of Bannau Brycheiniog in Wales through the lens of the three spheres of transformation: the practical, political, and personal. The methods employed were semistructured interviews with a purposive and snowball sampling method. Additionally, one workshop with stakeholders was attended and the park’s Management Plan was analyzed. The results show that there are several factors in the practical, political, and personal spheres enabling the use of Doughnut Economics. These include data availability, favorable national legislation, and values that resonate with the Doughnut. Challenges include using proxies and indicators, resistance from some parts of the political sphere, and other priorities stemming from shortfalls in the social foundation. Furthermore, the results indicate that the Doughnut has impacted, and has the potential to further impact the three spheres in numerous ways. For example, by expanding the BB National Park’s horizons and contributing to a holistic understanding of the park, legitimizing existing ideas, and inspiring other actors to follow suit. The study concludes that the use of Doughnut Economics shows potential for change in a sustainable direction in all three spheres and their interconnections. However, the use of the Doughnut without explicitly implementing its wider theoretical background as described in the seven shifts mitigates the transformative potential. Thus, the study recommends an explicit use of all the seven shifts.

Physical customer products have an environmental impact, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to the use of virgin resources from cradle-to-grave, especially when the origin of the material is from fossil resources. This thesis aims to create a circular business model, by investigating the product ‘stroller’ and place it in a Product Service System, where the user subscribes to the Stroller Service System. This means that the product gets a service function: ‘transportation of a child’, mapped with a user-centered approach. The main objective is to lower the ecological footprint by adopting a modular design including bio-based material and stainless steel, and also include services to address economical and social sustainability goals. The methodology that is used is divided into two parts: Status Analysis – which consists of stroller related literature study, literature review and case study, and the second part is the Design Process – creating the product-, service- and system design. The results are grounded in user insights, life cycle assessment and co-creation with experts, where the conclusions are that a PSS Model Stroller should be used by 4-6 users which translate to about 15-20 years of usage for the steel layer. The way of refurbishing the strollers is done by contract workers that exist where the users exists, i.e. Ease Stroller Hub, who change the bio-based material in-between the use-phases and hands over the refurbished stroller to the next user. Add-on services of access to car pools and grocery delivery is included in the system to ease the stroller user’s everyday life and is a way to designing out the need of owning a car, to lower the overall environmental impact.

As dietas monótonas, com elevado consumo de carnes e alimentos ultraprocessados pioram o quadro de segurança alimentar porque aceleram registros epidemiológicos de doenças crônicas enquanto degradam os ecossistemas. Indicadores ambientais aplicados sistematicamente no campo da alimentação revelam as evidências científicas e as justificativas éticas que suportam a integração de educação nutricional e ambiental nos guias alimentares nacionais. Um grande desafio da atualidade é fortalecer as métricas das dietas saudáveis e sustentáveis, o que inclui desenvolver indicadores ambientais atrelados à qualidade nutricional dos padrões alimentares. Primeiro, nós fizemos uma avaliação qualitativa de como os guias nacionais inseriram as questões ambientais nas suas recomendações, seguida de estudo quantitativo sobre quanto que a adoção de dietas saudáveis pelos brasileiros reduziria os impactos ambientais. Pela análise de conteúdo, usando técnicas como a triagem de expressões e a categorização temática, nós relacionamos um extenso repertório ambiental aos Limites Planetários dentro dos quais a humanidade pode viver em segurança: uso de água doce, poluição química, integridade da biosfera, mudanças no uso do solo e nos sistemas da Terra, mudanças climáticas e fluxo biogeoquímico. Guias integrados recomendaram escolher alimentos com etiqueta ecológica oriundos da produção local e orgânica, as preparações caseiras compostas principalmente por vegetais frescos e sazonais, e moderadas em carnes, evitando os alimentos ultraprocessados, as embalagens, o consumo excessivo e os desperdícios. Água e alimentos contaminados por patógenos, alimentos vegetais por pesticidas e peixes por mercúrio foram questões apresentadas mesmo por guias com escopo restrito à nutrição. As recomendações conectaram as mudanças climáticas ao consumo de carne, mas também ao uso de energia e ao transporte. Para o estudo quantitativo, nós criamos uma nova base de dados ambientais com pegadas de carbono e hídrica obtidas em publicações internacionais de avaliação de ciclo de vida para todos os itens de consumo presentes na Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (2008-2009) do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. As pegadas dos alimentos e das preparações culinárias consumidos pelos brasileiros estão disponíveis para uso direto como fatores de cálculos integrados à tabela de composição nutricional. Na primeira aplicação da base de dados ambientais, nós calculamos as pegadas de carbono e hídrica do consumo alimentar médio (4,1kgCO2eq e 4120 litros de água), de uma dieta saudável simulada (3,5 kgCO2eq e 3410 litros de água) e de cenários definidos por cinco estratos de participação percentual de energia na dieta provenientes dos alimentos ultraprocessados e cinco estratos das carnes em geral. Fizemos o estudo comparativo das pegadas com as dietas equalizadas em 2000kcal e 60g de proteína. Comparamos os impactos ambientais atrelados à qualidade nutricional por diferentes unidades funcionais (100g, 100kcal e grama de proteína). O maior consumo de carnes apresentou as pegadas mais altas (6,4kgCO2eq e 6293 litros de água). O maior consumo de ultraprocessados (4,2kgCO2eq e 3789 litros de água) apresentou pegadas comparáveis ao consumo médio. Se 200 milhões de brasileiros adotassem a dieta saudável, eles reduziriam as emissões em 45 milhões de toneladas de carbono ao ano. / Monotonous diets with high meat and ultra-processed foods consumption worsen the food security status because they accelerate epidemiological records of chronic diseases while degrading ecosystems. Environmental indicators systematically applied in the field of nutrition reveal scientific evidences and ethical justifications to support nutritional and environmental education integration in national dietary guidelines. A big challenge today is strengthening metrics of healthy and sustainable diets, which includes developing environmental indicators linked to nutritional quality of food patterns. First, we made a qualitative evaluation of how the national guidelines have inserted environmental issues in their recommendations, followed by a quantitative study on how much the healthy diets adoption by Brazilians would reduce environmental impacts. By content analysis, using techniques such as expressions screening and thematic categorization, we linked an extensive environmental repertoire to the Planetary Boundaries within which humanity could live safely: freshwater use, chemical pollution, biosphere integrity, land use and the Earth systems change, climate change and biogeochemical flow. Integrated guidelines recommended choosing eco-labeled food from local and organic production, home made meals mostly composed by fresh and seasonal vegetables, moderate in meat, avoiding ultra-processed foods, packaging, overconsumption and waste. Water and food contaminated by pathogens, plant foods by pesticides and fish by mercury were issues presented even by guidelines with scope restricted to nutrition. Food recommendations connected climate change to meat consumption, but also to energy use and transportation. For the quantitative study, we created a new environmental database with carbon and water footprints obtained from international life cycle assessment publications for all consumption items in the Family Budget Survey (2008-2009) of the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. The footprints of foods and culinary preparations consumed by Brazilians are available to direct use as calculations factors integrated to the nutritional composition table. In the very first application of the environmental database, we calculated the carbon and water footprints of average food consumption (4.1 kgCO2eq and 4120 liters of water), a simulated healthy diet (3.5 kgCO2eq and 3410 liters of water) and scenarios defined by five quintils of dietary energy participation of ultra-processed foods and five quintils of red meats in general. We compared footprints using equalized diets in 2000 kcal and 60 g protein. We compared environmental impacts linked to nutritional quality by different functional units (100g, 100kcal and grams of protein). The highest meat consumption had the highest footprints of all (6.4kgCO2eq and 6293 liters of water). The highest consumption of ultra-processed had footprints (4.2kgCO2eq and 3789 liters of water) comparable to the average consumption. If 200 million Brazilians would adopt the healthy diet, they would reduce emissions in 45 million tons of carbon per year.

As dietas monótonas, com elevado consumo de carnes e alimentos ultraprocessados pioram o quadro de segurança alimentar porque aceleram registros epidemiológicos de doenças crônicas enquanto degradam os ecossistemas. Indicadores ambientais aplicados sistematicamente no campo da alimentação revelam as evidências científicas e as justificativas éticas que suportam a integração de educação nutricional e ambiental nos guias alimentares nacionais. Um grande desafio da atualidade é fortalecer as métricas das dietas saudáveis e sustentáveis, o que inclui desenvolver indicadores ambientais atrelados à qualidade nutricional dos padrões alimentares. Primeiro, nós fizemos uma avaliação qualitativa de como os guias nacionais inseriram as questões ambientais nas suas recomendações, seguida de estudo quantitativo sobre quanto que a adoção de dietas saudáveis pelos brasileiros reduziria os impactos ambientais. Pela análise de conteúdo, usando técnicas como a triagem de expressões e a categorização temática, nós relacionamos um extenso repertório ambiental aos Limites Planetários dentro dos quais a humanidade pode viver em segurança: uso de água doce, poluição química, integridade da biosfera, mudanças no uso do solo e nos sistemas da Terra, mudanças climáticas e fluxo biogeoquímico. Guias integrados recomendaram escolher alimentos com etiqueta ecológica oriundos da produção local e orgânica, as preparações caseiras compostas principalmente por vegetais frescos e sazonais, e moderadas em carnes, evitando os alimentos ultraprocessados, as embalagens, o consumo excessivo e os desperdícios. Água e alimentos contaminados por patógenos, alimentos vegetais por pesticidas e peixes por mercúrio foram questões apresentadas mesmo por guias com escopo restrito à nutrição. As recomendações conectaram as mudanças climáticas ao consumo de carne, mas também ao uso de energia e ao transporte. Para o estudo quantitativo, nós criamos uma nova base de dados ambientais com pegadas de carbono e hídrica obtidas em publicações internacionais de avaliação de ciclo de vida para todos os itens de consumo presentes na Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (2008-2009) do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. As pegadas dos alimentos e das preparações culinárias consumidos pelos brasileiros estão disponíveis para uso direto como fatores de cálculos integrados à tabela de composição nutricional. Na primeira aplicação da base de dados ambientais, nós calculamos as pegadas de carbono e hídrica do consumo alimentar médio (4,1kgCO2eq e 4120 litros de água), de uma dieta saudável simulada (3,5 kgCO2eq e 3410 litros de água) e de cenários definidos por cinco estratos de participação percentual de energia na dieta provenientes dos alimentos ultraprocessados e cinco estratos das carnes em geral. Fizemos o estudo comparativo das pegadas com as dietas equalizadas em 2000kcal e 60g de proteína. Comparamos os impactos ambientais atrelados à qualidade nutricional por diferentes unidades funcionais (100g, 100kcal e grama de proteína). O maior consumo de carnes apresentou as pegadas mais altas (6,4kgCO2eq e 6293 litros de água). O maior consumo de ultraprocessados (4,2kgCO2eq e 3789 litros de água) apresentou pegadas comparáveis ao consumo médio. Se 200 milhões de brasileiros adotassem a dieta saudável, eles reduziriam as emissões em 45 milhões de toneladas de carbono ao ano. / Monotonous diets with high meat and ultra-processed foods consumption worsen the food security status because they accelerate epidemiological records of chronic diseases while degrading ecosystems. Environmental indicators systematically applied in the field of nutrition reveal scientific evidences and ethical justifications to support nutritional and environmental education integration in national dietary guidelines. A big challenge today is strengthening metrics of healthy and sustainable diets, which includes developing environmental indicators linked to nutritional quality of food patterns. First, we made a qualitative evaluation of how the national guidelines have inserted environmental issues in their recommendations, followed by a quantitative study on how much the healthy diets adoption by Brazilians would reduce environmental impacts. By content analysis, using techniques such as expressions screening and thematic categorization, we linked an extensive environmental repertoire to the Planetary Boundaries within which humanity could live safely: freshwater use, chemical pollution, biosphere integrity, land use and the Earth systems change, climate change and biogeochemical flow. Integrated guidelines recommended choosing eco-labeled food from local and organic production, home made meals mostly composed by fresh and seasonal vegetables, moderate in meat, avoiding ultra-processed foods, packaging, overconsumption and waste. Water and food contaminated by pathogens, plant foods by pesticides and fish by mercury were issues presented even by guidelines with scope restricted to nutrition. Food recommendations connected climate change to meat consumption, but also to energy use and transportation. For the quantitative study, we created a new environmental database with carbon and water footprints obtained from international life cycle assessment publications for all consumption items in the Family Budget Survey (2008-2009) of the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. The footprints of foods and culinary preparations consumed by Brazilians are available to direct use as calculations factors integrated to the nutritional composition table. In the very first application of the environmental database, we calculated the carbon and water footprints of average food consumption (4.1 kgCO2eq and 4120 liters of water), a simulated healthy diet (3.5 kgCO2eq and 3410 liters of water) and scenarios defined by five quintils of dietary energy participation of ultra-processed foods and five quintils of red meats in general. We compared footprints using equalized diets in 2000 kcal and 60 g protein. We compared environmental impacts linked to nutritional quality by different functional units (100g, 100kcal and grams of protein). The highest meat consumption had the highest footprints of all (6.4kgCO2eq and 6293 liters of water). The highest consumption of ultra-processed had footprints (4.2kgCO2eq and 3789 liters of water) comparable to the average consumption. If 200 million Brazilians would adopt the healthy diet, they would reduce emissions in 45 million tons of carbon per year.

Pets like dogs and cats have a considerable importance for humans and research demonstrate a variety of positive economic and social effects in society due to our pet companions. The presences of pets are increasing on a global scale with correlation to economic development in low- and middle income countries. For example dogs have doubled in India over a five year period. The feed industry for dogs and cats is also the fastest growing sector in the food industry and certain pets have a significant animal protein intake which, depending on the choice of resources may provide a high ecological footprint. Examples of environmental effects with distribution and manufacturing of pet food are increased greenhouse gas emissions, waste, use of water and energy. Pet food producers have an important role to play in terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development efforts, especially in their choice of sustainable protein resources as by-products from sustainable fisheries and livestock production. The purpose of this study was to investigate how pet food industry for dogs and cats generally working on sustainable development and CSR from primarily an ecological perspective in terms of ingredients, communication and production process. Ecological sustainability within pet food industry is more or less unexplored, and this study aims to create a broader understanding and interest for further studies in this field. This study was conducted using the multi method research including qualitative and quantitative methods on a global and national scale.   The result is not possible to generalize, but some conclusions can be drawn. In relation to resources, by-products from food industry are a commonly used pet food content. But several companies are also marketing pet food containing “real meat, fish, poultry” with no or less byproducts. This seems to be a consumer driven trend. Indications that resources in pet food partly competes with human food system, give further considerations how to feed a growing human and pet population within planetary boundaries. All national and multinational cooperation’s in this study work more or less with CSR and sustainability from an ecological perspective. Generally there is visibly a weak relationship between companies’ sustainability activities and animal protein which should be a prerequisite in a production that is largely made of this resource, in relation to acute environmental degradation like climate change and depletion of fish stocks. Another conclusion is that corporate communication of environmental CSR and sustainability efforts on different pet food brand websites are almost non-existent. Finally, working with this study gave rise to many further questions and study subjects in relation to ecological sustainability within Pet food industry, not at least it´s relation to food industry and how this may effect global human meat consumption. / Sällskapsdjur i form av hund och katt har stor betydelse för människan och forskning påvisar en mängd positiva ekonomiska och sociala effekter som dessa ger oss. Förekomsten av sällskapsdjur visar en tydlig korrelation med ekonomisk utveckling och hundägandet har exempelvis fördubblats i Indien under en femårs period. Foderindustrin för hund och katt är samtidigt den snabbast växande sektorn inom livsmedelsindustrin. Hund och katt har som regel ett högt intag av animaliskt protein vilket beroende på resursval kan ge ett påtagligt ekologiskt fotavtryck. Själva foderproduktionen samt transporter ger också upphov till miljöpåverkan i form av t.ex. ökade  utsläpp av växthusgaser,  ökad vatten- och energianvändning samt avfall.  Foderproducenterna har en viktig roll att fylla vad gäller sitt företagsansvar (CSR) samt arbete med hållbar utveckling ur ett ekologiskt perspektiv. Exempel på detta kan vara val av proteinresurser som biprodukter ifrån hållbart fiske och animalieproduktion. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur foderindustrin för hund och katt generellt arbetar med hållbar utveckling samt CSR ur framförallt ett ekologiskt perspektiv vad gäller produktionsförfarande, kommunikation samt om foderingredienser kompletterar eller konkurrerar med livsmedelsingredienser. Området är relativt outforskat och studien syftar till att skapa en bredare förståelse samt intresse för djupare studier inom området. Undersökningen har utförts med hjälp av flermetodsforskning i form av kvalitativ samt kvantitativ metod på global och nationell nivå.  Resultatet går inte att generalisera på foderindustrin globalt även om vissa slutsatser kan dras. I relation till resurser är förekomsten av biprodukter ifrån livsmedelsindustrin vanligt foderinnehåll men flera företag marknadsför också foder som innehåller ”riktigt kött, fisk, fågel” med frånvaro av eller lägre innehåll av biprodukter. Detta verkar vara en konsumentdriven trend. Både nationella samt multinationella företag i studien arbetar mer eller mindre med CSR och hållbarhet ur ett ekologiskt perspektiv. Generellt är det dock en svag koppling mellan miljöarbetet och animaliskt protein, vilket borde vara en förutsättning i en produktion som till stor del består av denna resurs i relation till akuta miljöproblem som klimatförändringen samt utfiskning. Ytterligare en slutsats är att företagens kommunikation av miljömässigt CSR- och hållbarhetsarbete på sina varumärkens hemsidor är närmast obefintlig. Slutligen väckte arbetetet med uppsatsen ett antal djupare frågeställningar samt ideér till fortsatta studier i relation till ekologisk hållbarhet inom foderindustrin. Inte minst avseende foderindustrins relation till livsmedelsindustrin och hur detta samband eventuellt kan påverka global köttkonsumtion. Foder för hund och katt konkurrerar dessutom till viss del med livsmedel vilket skapar utmaningen att föda både en ökande befolkning samt population av sällskapsdjur som skall livnära sig inom planetens gränser i framtiden.