For the third year in a row, the Agenda 2030 Award is presented at Lund University. The award was established by the interdisciplinary Agenda 2030 Graduate School in cooperation with the textile service company Elis Sweden to recognise innovative research that contributes to sustainable development. In connection to the award two honorable mentions are appointed and one of them is former doctoral student at LUSEM and the Agenda 2030 Graduate School, Phil Flores. 

The 2024 winner is Christie Nicoson and Alezini Loxa received the other honorable mention. All three are part of the Agenda 2030 Graduate School and this is the first time anyone from the school has won the award.

Shared micromobility

In his thesis ”Not all green innovations are created equal: Consumer innovativeness and motivations in the adoption of shared micromobility” Phil Flores investigated why people use shared micromobility such as e-scooters and e-bikes. His research shows that for many people, shared electric scooters are used because they contribute to positive emotions – the joy of the ride is important. When interviewed as a newly appointed doctor by LUSEM's communication officer Louise Larsson in the autumn 2023, he shared that the inspiration for his thesis struck him while strolling to his office in Lund:

“What is this? I thought. I got curious and started googling and discovered that at that point there wasn’t any actual academic research on e-scooters. So, from then on, I knew what to write my thesis about,” he said.

At the Lund University Agenda 2030 Award Ceremony 2024 on 10 April Phil Flores will give a speech about his thesis on micromobility such as electric scooters from a green innovation perspective.

This article is based on the articles Five years since electric scooters’ introduction in Sweden – here’s why people use them by Louise Larsson and Agenda 2030 Award for research on climate change, gender and peace by Sara Håkansson.