Our EMP student Maria Jäppinen was awarded first prize in SYSAV’s thesis award 2020 (Sysavstipendiet). Maria was awarded 20 000 SEK for her master’s thesis entitled “Exploring waste prevention possibilities through public procurement in public institutions – A case study from Bornholm, Denmark”.

The motivation for the award was: "Using Bornholm as an example the thesis shows on opportunities for decision makers to collaborate in preventing waste through public procurement. Maria points out that it takes a strong political will and forerunners showing the way, and she further points out the need for clear definitions and objectiveness (“green products” are not always the most expensive). The thesis is well-structured and concludes with useful, concrete conclusions, of which several can be applied by e.g. Sysav and its owner municipalities."

Aake Thidell from Iiiee was the main supervisor of the thesis, and Stig Hirsbak from Aalborg University was co-supervisor.

Emilia Sevelius from Centre for Environmental and Climate Research, CEC, supervised by Carl Dalhammar at Iiiee, was awarded second prize.