Sophie Isaksson Hallstedt

Sophie I. Hallstedt is a Full Professor at Chalmers University of Technology and conducts research in the field of Sustainable Product Development (SPD), with a focus on integrating a strategic sustainability perspective into the product innovation process. Her goal is to support companies in developing sustainable and value-creating lifecycle solutions while considering ecological, social, and economic aspects.

Sophie's research revolves around the strategic integration of a socio-ecological sustainability perspective in product development. She has led several research projects and has been publishing in this field for over 20 years, with more than 80 scientific publications and a significant citation frequency. Her work has resulted in the development of innovative methods, models, and decision support tools that enable product development teams to assess the maturity level of sustainability implementation, evaluate the sustainability impact of various solutions, and visualize progress in sustainability implementation.

Through collaborations with industry partners, Sophie's research has demonstrated possible applications in the industry, with validation of her methods. Her work goes beyond theoretical frameworks as she actively strives to bridge the gap between academia and industry. Her research has been recognized for its impact and relevance and has been nominated and included in the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA)’s 100-list both in year 2020 and in year 2023.

Sophie's expertise and leadership have led to her involvement in committees within the international Design Society network. She has also developed courses and master's programs, and she offers a PhD course titled "Sustainability in Product Development" for the Product Development Academy in Sweden.

Sophie's ongoing research has a particular focus on: enhancing the ability of product development teams to assess, anticipate, evaluate, and improve the sustainability performance of their solutions; developing methodologies and new approaches to create sustainable and circular value-chain solutions; integrating sustainability in new technology development to identify and address sustainability challenges before these technologies are established; and, anticipating user behavior from a sustainability perspective when the product is handled in a circular manner.