Innovation for sustainability
Innovating new sustainable products, services, business models and forms of consumption can help tackle global challenges.
Sustainability in Business (SUB)
Our mission is to provide knowledge about innovative business models and transition paths that enhance sustainable development. As complex sustainability challenges call for multi-disciplinary knowledge and societally impactful research, we co-create solution proposals together with partners from different sectors of society.
Research areas
Sustainability transitions
Our research looks at several dimensions of the transition toward sustainability societies.
Circular economy
Circular economy keeps materials in use longer using strategies like reuse, remanufacture, recycling, and replacing ownership with rentals.
Corporate responsibility
Cross-national governance of businesses make ethical issues urgent.
SUB Publications
The latest publications from SUB researchers
Sustainability teaching
Sustainability course offerings in the School of Business
SUB seminar series
The SUB lunchtime seminar series provides a monthly forum for all interested to discuss topical research in social and environmental issues in management.
Seminar Schedule
Spring 2025
Wednesday 23.4., 12:00-13:00
Ekonominaukio 1, U213
Soumyo Das, Emlyon Business School
Orchestrating the interplay of time and place to address grand challenges
Wednesday 16.4., 12:15-13:15
Ekonominaukio 1, U213
Tulin Dzhengiz, Manchester Metropolitan University
Samuli Patala & Minna Halme, Aalto University School of Business
When global formal meets local informal: institutional interfaces in circular economy transitions
Thursday 6.2., 11:30-12:30
Ekonominaukio 1, U213
Maria Ehrnström-Fuentes, Hanken School of Economics
Multispecies organizing as a matter of care: the ethico-political dimensions of building regenerative and socioecological just worlds
Thursday 16.1., 11:30-12:30
Ekonominaukio 1, U213
Sini Numminen & Mikko Jalas, Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture
Salvatore Ruggiero, LUT University
Arina Värä, University of Helsinki
Institutional complexity impacting electricity retailers’ tariff offerings and dynamic pricing and demand response services for households in and through the energy crises 2021–2024
Autumn 2024
Wednesday 11.12., 11:00-12:00
Ekonominaukio 1, V101 Istuntosali
Valentina De Marchi, ESADE Business School
Simone Carmine, IESEG Business School
Eleonora Di Maria, University of Padova
The tetris of sustainability: Configurations of sustainability activities toward integrated business models in hybrid organizations
Thursday 14.11., 11:30-12:30
Ekonominaukio 1, U213
Joshua Hurtado Hurtado, University of Helsinki
Pluriverse imaginaries and the socio-ecological imagination
Thursday 10.10., 11:30-12:30
Ekonominaukio 1, U213
Juliana Rodrigues, Aalto University School of Business
Unpacking frugality: (re)newed principles for alternative organizing in the Anthropocene (or in a post-growth era)
Awards and highlights
Leena Lankoski
Educational developer of the year 2023 award from the HSE Support Foundation. Read the announcement here.
Patrick Shulist
Teacher of the year 2023 award from the HSE Support Foundation. Read the announcement here.
Samuli Patala and Minna Halme
“Responsible Research in Management†Distinguished Winner for article: “Polycentric governance of privately owned resources in circular economy systems.†Journal of Management Studies, 59(6), 1563-1596. With Laura Albareda. 2023. Sponsored by the Academy of Management Fellows & Responsible Research in Business and Management. Read the announcement .
Minna Halme
Academy of Management, Social Issues in Management Division Best Paper Award of 2023. With Jennifer Goodman and Jouni Juntunen.
Minna Halme
Alfred Kordelin Prize for key future actors who have created the conditions for a stronger, diverse, and sustainable society as well as a better future, 2022
Minna Halme, Leena Lankoski and Mika Kuisma
Article "When Is There a Sustainability Case for CSR? Pathways to Environmental and Social Performance Improvements" (co-authored with Jukka Rintamäki and Jette Steen Knudsen) received Business & Society’s 2020 Best Paper Award
Inês Peixoto
Finalist for the EGOS Best Student Paper Award with the paper “Risk organization and moral multiplexity in the EU biofuels market†(presented at EGOS Edinburgh 2019)
Minna Halme
HSE Support Foundation Societal Impact Award, 2019
Elizabeth Miller
Thesis "Trash to Treasure: A Multiple Case Study of Finnish Companies That Create Economic Value from Waste Materials" received award for top university master's thesis, Association for Environmental Management (Ymparistöjohtamisen yhdistys ry), 2018
Samuli Patala and Minna Halme
Article "Polycentric Governance of Privately Owned Resources in Circular Economy Systems" received Carolyn Dexter Award for international papers, Academy of Management 2018
Jouni Juntunen, Minna Halme, Angelina Korsunova and Risto Rajala
Article "Powering sustainable innovations: Strategies for collaborating with deviant partners" won Best Academic Paper at R&D Management Conference 2016, University of Cambridge
Minna Halme, Sara Lindeman and Paula Linna
Article "Innovation for Inclusive Business: Intrapreneurial Bricolage in Multinational Corporations", Journal of Management Studies, 2012 received the Emerald Citations of Excellence for 2015
The latest from SUB
Dive deeper into SUB's work through our blog posts and news articles.
Kestävyyden ajan tavoitteiksi pitäisi nostaa eko-sosiaalinen hyvinvointi, pitkän aikavälin taloudellinen kannattavuus ja resilienssi.
Blog post for Journal of Management Studies by Samuli Patala, Laura Albareda and Minna Halme
The New Sustainability in Business online course strengthens knowledge of sustainable business
How can companies create sustainable value for the economy, the environment and society?
SUB scholars win Business & Society’s 2020 Best Paper Award
SUB scholars Minna Halme, Leena Lankoski and Mika Kuisma have won Business & Society’s 2020 Best Paper Award.
Sustainability in Business (SUB) group awarded funding to research transition risks for low-carbon shipping and aviation
The newly funded T-Risk research project aims to shed light on transition risks in the maritime and aviation sectors, crucial for global trade and transportation.
Jouni Juntunen nominated to Network for Business Sustainability Sustainability Centres Community (SCC) Advisory Board
Jouni Juntunen has been nominated to Network for Business Sustainability Sustainability Centres Community (SCC) Advisory Board for a three year period starting from 2021.
Aalto sustainability news
TUM + Aalto SGT summer course explores economic land dynamics in West-Africa through innovative simulation
The summer course offered a dynamic simulation on land economics tailored for West African countries: Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, and Benin.
SGT Studio'25: Students explore sustainable and affordable housing solutions in Senegal
For the first time, Aalto’s Sustainable Global Technology (SGT) Studio course has initiated a project in Senegal, focusing on affordable and sustainable housing.
Pollinators – tiny helpers in the work for biodiversity
Bee-assisted biomonitoring has started on the Otaniemi campus.
Groundbreaking grant model supporting student sustainability projects wins award in New York
Sustainability Action Booster grant model, developed by Aalto University, has received a prestigious international recognition from an UN-affiliated educational initiative. The model funds students' own experiments, ideas, and prototypes, and is now being praised for its bold, student-centered approach.Events
The world's most common element is helping solve the climate crisis
Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025: Aalto University’s Hydrogen Innovation Centre is accelerating the transition to a sustainable hydrogen economy.
Living Panels: Reimagining Materials with Nature
The exhibition showcases design artefacts that reimagine how we work with living and post-living systems, offering new ways to think about sustainability through partnerships with the more-than-human world. These student-led projects explore how design objects can evolve, adapt, and participate in ecological processes beyond human needs.These projects are a result of "BioMakerStudio Summer Course" - a cross-institutional collaboration between Aalto University and IAAC (Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia) - supported by the EU-funded COCOON Project.
A gem of a building made from demolition waste
Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025: Closing Loops is top-tier architecture that respects nature - most of the materials are salvaged from demolished buildings.
Tiny House Shadow: Living within planetary boundaries
Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025: The 34-square-metre Shadow incorporates carbon-free steel, old windows, and recycled car tires. And when the residents move, the home moves with them.Who we are
Member of the Sustainability Centres Community
SUB is a member of the (SCC), hosted by the (NBS).
Get in touch
Address
Väre, Otaniementie 14
02150 Espoo
Contact
Karelia Dagnaud
karelia.dagnaud@aalto.fi