Matthias started doctoral studies in January 2011. Prior to that he was working for the ’Copenhagen Resource Institute’, where he mostly participated in projects on consumption behaviour and its implications for public policy making, and climate adaptation policies. Matthias spent the early years of his academic career at Agricultural Institutions in Austria (BOKU University, Vienna) and Sweden (SLU, Uppsala), which left him with a broad understanding of sustainable agricultural practices and rural realities. He wrote his Master thesis about the difficulties Turkish organic small-scale farmers are facing in their attempt to make a living from sustainable agricultural practices. After this interdisciplinary and international (Ausria, France, Sweden, Turkey) educational career, Matthias has found a passion in studying consumption behaviour, the effects of consumerism and paths towards sustainable development.

• Consumer Behaviour • Green Consumerism • Sustainable Development • Sustainable Food Chains • Sustainable Public Policy-Making

For his dissertation, Matthias will study the role of retailers in promoting sustainable consumerism. How can retailers assist consumers to make sustainable purchase decisions and what do they need to know about the behavioural patterns and decision-making process of their customers in order to aid consumers’ attempts to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, are major concerns for his research. Matthias’ research is feeding into a major research project on sustainable retail at Lund University, involving 4 researchers (among others his thesis-supervisor Mikael Klintman) and a second PhD-student.

Master of Science in ‘Environmental Sciences/Sustainable Development’ from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden, December 2009. Passed with distinction

Bachelor of Science in ‘Environment and Bio-Resource Management’ from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria, June 2007. Passed with distinction

M. Lehner (2009) Hindrances local organic farmers are facing in the Turkish organic agricultural sector – an attempt to identify barriers and suggest ways to eliminate them. MSc Thesis, Uppsala: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Accessible online: http://stud.epsilon.slu.se/666/1/lehner_m_091201.pdf

M. Lehner (2007) Does ‘Gross National Happiness’ make the Bhutanese happy? – Has Bhutan’s development concept the potential to guarantee a happy and sustainable life?’ Bachelor Thesis, Vienna: University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU). In German

Lehner, Matthias (2007): ‘False hope for renewable energies? Why a relatively unknown concept (Emergy Analysis) puts into doubt the potential of renewable energy sources.’ Bachelor Thesis, Vienna: University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU). In German