Development manager, Leading researcher
PhD (Environmental Science and Policy), Docent / Associate professor (Environmental policy)
© Kuvatapio
Contact information
Email: firstname.lastname@syke.fi
Tel. +358(0)295251457
Finnish Environment Institute (Syke)
Climate solutions
Address: Latokartanonkaari 11,
00790 Helsinki, Finland
Task
I work as development manager and leading researcher in the Climate solutions unit of the Finnish Environment Institute. I am also Docent (i.e. Associate professor) in Environmental policy at Helsinki University.
Research and expertise
- sustainable public procurement
- sustainability assessment of goods, services and consumption
- carbon footprint assessment, life cycle assessment
- eco-labels, green claims
- eco-design of products
- eco-efficiency of city planning
Background
I have always been interested about the question, what makes a product ‘ecological’ or ‘green’ or ‘environmentally sound’ or ‘environmentally preferable’. And how companies can produce and market more green products. I made my first research report about public procurement to the City of Espoo (published 1991) and the next one to the Ministry of Environment (1993 about state procurement). In the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) I have been working since February 2001.
I have been the Project manager for dozens of R&D projects. For example, ‘Solutions for passive office buildings and their eco-efficiency’ (Synergia-pilot), 2009–2011 funding 237 250 € by Tekes. Now the project Climate-smart health technologies (CLISHEAT) with funding 399 000 € from the Academy of Finland. The publications from the projects can be found in GoogleScholar and ORCID.
In the European Union, I was a member of the working group 'Product information needs’ for 2005–2006, and of the informal Green Public Procurement advisory group for 2010–2012. I have also been a member in different working groups and expert groups of the Nordic Council of Ministers during the years 2001–2017. The chair I was for the expert group 'Product group' 1/2007–12/2008, and for 5/2015–5/2017 for the Sustainable Consumption and Production Working Group.
I was a member in the jury of yearly Ekoauto competition for 2005–2014 (Tuulilasi car magazine), and a member in the Eco-label Board 2010-2020. I have been in the CSR Board of the Chamber of Commerce since June 2019. I have given 7 expert statements in the Parliament to the Environmental and the Economic Committees in years 2006-2024.
I have been teaching to university students and other students and to professional audiences, and given whole-day lectures also in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. I have guided three doctoral thesis in Aalto University and Helsinki University, and I am guiding a doctoral candidate in University of Jyväskylä. I was the main organizer for the Nordic Environmental Footprint Conference, 18.9.2018 Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, for 150 participants. Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgGFtRVUTORQabMceLFNeyob6ubMf96JV
Regarding TV programs, I was the ‘Climate Doctor’ in 2010 for the TV program ‘Climate diets’ of the National broacasting company YLE, advicing 4 celebrity families, in 5 chapters, and publishing calculator www.climatediet.fi (www.ilmastodieetti.fi). TV-News have interviewed me many times, about e.g. flights and consumption by YLE 1.4.2018 and 22.8.2023, and by the other major channel MTV 26.12.2017 and 15.1.2018.
I am an author of over 40 articles in refereed journals and research books, and of over 100 other publications. I am the subject editor of the series ‘Reports of the Finnish Environment Institute’ since 2018.
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arinissinen/
GoogleScholar: https://scholar.google.fi/citations?user=PEPI0yMAAAAJ&hl=fi
References in ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3413-2581
Some recent publications