Furthering lifecycle considerations through integrated product policy (FLIPP)

FLIPP is a joint research program between the two departments Environmental Systems Analysis at Chalmers University of Technology (ESA) and The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics at Lund University (IIIEE).

The FLIPP program aims at developing knowledge and understanding of the dynamics, mechanisms and interactions in complex product chains necessary to underpin life cycle based decision support systems. The knowledge generated from its multidisciplinary applied research approach aims to support policymakers in decisions on how and when to intervene in product chains, when to facilitate processes already set in motion by market actors and when to leave be. It will also support the actors in the product chains, in their chain-related decisions, such as procurement, product design, production and marketing. The program will strengthen Swedish research on product-oriented environmental policy. The research projects are adjusted to the needs of relevant users, primarily policymakers and businesses. The program will create a national competence centre for Swedish research within the field, and be a main actor on the international arena. The research has two main focus areas: 1) the relations between different actors within the product chain (the industry perspective), and 2) the possibilities of governments to control the environmental impacts in the product chain (the policy perspective). Research in these two areas has traditionally been divided, and FLIPP aims to better integrate the two perspectives.