Dr Heinz Schandl is a sociologist investigating the social dimensions of resource use and possible sustainability transitions.

Dr Heinz Schandl: informing policies for sustainable use of natural resources

With a background in Sociology and Social and Economic Sciences, Dr Heinz Schandl investigates the co-evolution of social and ecological systems and their transition to sustainability.

• 25 March 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

• Current activities
• Background
• Current and past research
• Academic qualifications
• Scientific and professional appointments 

Current activities

Dr Heinz Schandl leads CSIRO's research group for Social Systems, Institutions and Governance in the Social and Economic Sciences Program at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems.

He is leading CSIRO's Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Research Area within the Sustainable Cities and Coasts theme of the Climate Adaptation Flagship.

The Social Systems, Institutions and Governance research group is a group of sociologists, anthropologists and human geographers delivering a social perspective into the study of complex interactions of social, economic and political processes with the environment at multiple levels.

The group's research delivers to government departments and communities in Australia, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region.

The research into Sustainable Use of Natural Resources broadens the knowledge about resource use in industrial and developing countries and its relationship to sustainability.

The project investigates the causes and consequences of resource use, and the potential for a transition towards sustainable resource use patterns in Australia and beyond.

The research integrates biophysical, economic and social analysis and employs accounting, modelling and scenario approaches with a view to inform policy, practice, management, and mitigation and adaptation responses to resource use challenges in Australia and the Asia-Pacific.

Background

Dr Heinz Schandl joined CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems in October 2006.

His previous affiliation was with the Institute of Social Ecology in Vienna, which is part of the faculty for Interdisciplinary Studies (IFF) at Klagenfurt University, Austria where he worked as an Assistant Professor and group leader.

His role included research and teaching and the coordination of mostly international research projects in Europe and Southeast Asia.

Current and past research

Dr Schandl's current and past research includes:

• research leader for a report on Resource Efficiency: Economics and Outlook for the Asia- Pacific for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
• main contributor to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia-Pacific (UN ESCAP) Regional 2010 Sustainability Report for Asia-Pacific where he contributes research on resource use, emissions and resource efficiency to inform regional policy makers.
• leading research for lifestyles and consumption of Australian households and their consequences for resource use and emissions to identify policy contexts where households may consider adopting lifestyle and consumption alternatives that are more environmentally sound and less carbon intensive.
• leading research into Mining and Sustainable Development of the Surat Basin in Southern Inland Queensland and has been advising the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet in regard to social impacts of mining in NSW.
• coordinated research into employment outcomes and skill and knowledge required for a low carbon economy in Australia summarised in a report Growing the Green Collar Economy.
• coordinated a European union funded research project 'Southeast Asia in Transition' looking at the potential for sustainable development in four Southeast Asian economies involving 10 international partner institutes from Asia and Europe.
• was involved in a three-year project funded by the Austrian Science Foundation looking at the industrial transformation of the United Kingdom and Austria as a process of society-nature interaction developing concepts and methods for addressing the biophysical and social changes involved.
• co-leading research on material flows and resource productivity, contributed to a prestigious report by the World Resources Institute 'The Weight of Nations' documenting resource use and emissions in five industrialised economies.
• leading the methodological development of resource flow accounting in his role as a EUROSTAT material flow task force member and as a consultant at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Group for Environmental Information and Outlooks.  

Academic qualifications

Dr Schandl has been awarded:

• Master of Social and Economic Sciences from the University of Vienna, Austria, 1997
• Doctor of Philosophy in sociology from the Institute of Sociology, University of Vienna, 2001.

Scientific and professional appointments

Dr Schandl's professional appointments include:

• Adjunct Associate Professor at the Australian National University (ANU) Crawford School of Economics and Government (2009–11)
• Visiting Professor at the University of Nagoya Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Japan (2009–10)
• Associate Editor of the Journal of Industrial Ecology
• Editorial board member of the Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management
• Scientific board member of the International Society of Industrial Ecology Section 'Material Flow Analysis – ConAccount'
• Chair of the International Society of Industrial Ecology membership committee.

Learn more about CSIRO's work in Social and Economic Sciences.