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HTML Document Facts about Mikael Backman

Release date 21/07/2008
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Mikael Backman is an Associate Professor at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University, Sweden. His experience in environmental research goes back to the late 70s and covers a wide range of issues, mainly addressing policies, strategies and instruments to promote preventative approaches to solving environmental problems. His focus is on applied action research, with the goal of reaching short- and long-term results that can be used in practice by decision-makers at all levels in society. To achieve this, most of his work has been conducted in cooperation with organizations where the results are to be implemented. One illustrative example is his recently initiated project on Industrial Symbiosis in the city of Landskrona, Sweden, including over 20 both private and public organizations.

Besides a large number of projects addressing the implementation of Environmental Management Systems and Cleaner Production strategies in Swedish industry, Mr Backman has been working for the Swedish government and the Nordic Council of Ministers on the development of policy instruments to promote Cleaner Technologies, Waste Minimization, and Eco-Products. Ever since its establishment, he has also been involved in the UNEP Cleaner Production Programme, by arranging a series of expert seminars related to the preventative environmental approach.

The last couple of years, as a manager of the tourism research at IIIEE, Mr Backman has been working together with leading national and international organizations, as well as tour operators and tourist destinations, to promote the concept of sustainable tourism to be adopted and practiced at all levels. This work has included the coordination of an EU funded research project focusing on networks to promote sustainable tourism, and recently an interregional project particularly addressing the socio-cultural aspects of tourism development in rural areas. Assigned by the Nordic Council of Ministers, Mr Backman has also been actively involved in developing strategies and action plans for the implementation of sustainable tourism policies in the Nordic countries.

Relevant Publications and Articles

  • Instruments to Promote Sustainable Industrial Activity; 1989: co-author Thomas Lindhqvist; contribution to the Expert Workshop on Sustainable Industrial Activity, Warshaw, Poland
  • Preventative Environmental Protection Strategy - First results of an experiment in Landskrona, Sweden; 1989; co-authors D Huisingh, E Pehrsson, L Siljebratt; in proceedings of the ICC/IEB-Symposium on Special Wastes, Geneva, Switzerland
  • The Environmental Label - An Instrument to Promote Recycling; 1989; co-author Thomas Lindhqvist; in proceedings of the fifth international conference on Solid Waste Management and Secondary Materials, Philadelphia, USA
  • Systematic Environmental Audit Process - A general introduction; 1989; co-author D Huisingh, Discussion paper for the ECE seminar on Economic Implication of Low-Waste Technology, The Hague, Holland
  • The Nature of the Waste Problem - A Question of Prevention; 1990; co-author T Lindhqvist; Contribution to the Discussion meeting on Approaches to the Handling and Treatment of Wastes, Royal Society, London, U K
  • Environmental Auditing in Cleaner Production Strategies; 1992; contribution to the TeknoVision Conferences, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Cleaner Production - Research Experience in Sweden and Governmental Action in Norway; Contribution to the First Cleaner Production National Conference, University College Cork, Ireland, 1993
  • Environmental Auditing; Contribution to UNESCO Series of Learning Materials in Engineering Sciences, Postgraduate Course in Environmental Engineering, Module on Selected Topics in Environmental Management, UNESCO, 1993
  • Environmental Auditing Case Study - The Swedish Rail; Contribution to UNESCO Series of Learning Materials in Engineering Sciences, Postgraduate Course in Environmental Engineering, Module on Selected Topics in Environmental Management, UNESCO, 1993
  • Introduction of Environmental Management Systems in Sweden; 1994; Contribution to the UNEP Cleaner Production Programme Expert Seminar on Environmental Management Systems in the Promotion of Cleaner Processes and Products, Imperial College, London, UK
  • The Nordic White Swan - Issues concerning some key problems in environmental labelling; 1995; co-authors T Lindhqvist and Å Tidell; in proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Consumption, Lillehammer, Norway.
  • The Development of Environmental Management Systems and its Relevance for Environmental Insurance; 1995; Paper presented at the 6th Joint Conference between the European Association of Law and Economics and the Geneva Association, on Law and Economics of Industrial Risks, Waste Treatment and Environmental Accidents, Yvoire, France.
  • Swedish national environmental policy and environmental management systems in industry; 1997; in Environmental Management Systems and Cleaner Production (ed. Ruth Hillary) John Wiley & Sons, UK.
  • The industrial challenge; 1999; co-author Karl Lidgren; in Changing Environmental Behaviour (ed. Lars J. Lundgren); Swedish Council for Building Research and Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
  • Inventory and evaluation of environmental diploma initiatives in Sweden; 1999; co-authors H Löfqvist, J Birkenheim, and P Arnfalk; in proceedings of the 1999 Eco-management and auditing conference; University of Leeds, UK
  • Environmental management in Swedish manufacturing industries; 1999; co-author P Heidenmark; in proceedings of the 1999 Eco-management and auditing conference; University of Leeds, UK
  • Challenging Diversity – A review of Environmental Recognition Schemes and Other Sustainable Tourism Activities in the Nordic countries; 2000; IIIEE in collaboration with Helsinki School of Business administration and RAMBOLL Denmark.
  • A tour to Sustainability – About intermediaries in the tourism industry and their responsibility; 2001; in Sustainable Travel and Tourism 2nd Edition; ICG Publishing Ltd, UK