Anthony Halog visited ASA, IIASA

Talk summary

In the coming decades the world that we know today will be drastically transformed. Population and economic growth, particularly in developing countries, are radically changing the demand for food and natural resources. Due to the transformations caused by these megatrends, especially economic growth which is rapidly expanding the middle class and changing consumption patterns worldwide, it is expected that this will result to an increase of approximately 40 percent in the demand for food, water, energy and other resources in the next decades. To fulfil this demand in a sustainable and efficient manner while avoiding food and water scarcity as well as environmental catastrophes in the near future, some industries, particularly the ones involved in food and energy production, have to drastically change its current production systems towards circular and green economy. In Australia, the agri- food industry has played a very important role in the scenario described above. It is one of the major food exporters in the world, supplying fast growing international markets in Asia and the Middle East. Though the Australian food supply chains are economically and technologically developed, it has been facing enduring challenges about its international competitiveness and environmental burdens caused by its production processes. An integrated framework for sustainability assessment is needed to precisely identify inefficiencies and environmental impacts created during food production processes.

Anthony Halog joined the University of Queensland from the University of Maine, USA where he was an Assistant Professor in Industrial Ecology. His research focuses on the sustainability of the human-nature complexity through understanding the nexus of material and energy systems. Over the past years, he has been working on the theoretical foundation and industrial applications of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), Circular/Green Economy, Sustainable Operations Management, Industrial Environmental Management, and Greening Supply Chains.
Dr. Halog is interested in the life cycle of manufactured goods and, ultimately, wastes-and in the environmental benefits and economic potential of circular and green economy. His strategy in research and international collaboration at UQ is to align the application of a set of methods and tools in systems theory and science with the research priorities of funding bodies in Australia and overseas, while operating within the research strengths of UQ and responding to global sustainability issues.
His Research Group in Industrial Ecology and Circular Economy at UQ endeavours to provide service/expertise for industry clients (e.g. agri-food sector) in transforming existing linear system-based value chains and operations towards circularity, which enhances their resource efficiency & productivity, creates added value products from wastes, and reduces their emissions into the environment for a more sustainable consumption and production in the future.