Birgit serves as an Associate Professor at both Chalmers and Gothenburg University in Sweden, and as Adjunct Professor at Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland.
She is also Editor-in-Chief for ACM TOSEM’s Sustainability Section and Associate Editor for the Requirements Engineering Journal and IEEE Software. Her research focuses on sustainability, well-being, and resilience in software engineering.
Can you tell us more about Chalmers University?
Chalmers University of Technology was founded in 1829, and it has about 11,000 students and 2,500 employees. Each year, around 350 Ph.D. and Licentiate degrees are awarded, as well as 1000 M.Sc.Eng and M.Arch. degrees.
Chalmers conducts research and offers education in technology, science, architecture, and maritime engineering. The university consistently ranks among Scandinavia's most respected institutions, attracting students and staff from over 70 countries, and offers over 40 master's programs taught entirely in English.
How does sustainability manifest in your organization?
Sustainability and equity are the two guiding pillars of the university's mission. We strive for a sustainable working and operational environment with strong climate goals: we’ve committed to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (from a 2019 baseline) and achieve net-zero by 2045.
These targets build on Chalmers’ long tradition of integrating sustainability into research, education, and operations. Since 2006, we've held a UNESCO Chair in Education for Sustainable Development.
We collaborate with other universities on climate programs and are signatories to the Climate Framework for Swedish Higher Education, contributing to the 1.5°C target.
Energy is one of the university's areas of advance and tops the budget list for our strategic research and educational plan. Notably, we offer specialized programs, including the MSc in Sustainable Energy Systems, Architecture and Planning Beyond Sustainability, and Sustainable Electric Power Engineering.
Finally, we partnered on the SE4GD (Software Engineers for Green Deal) program, the first software engineering program that considers sustainability as the main goal of software engineers.
Why did you join GSF?
Through my work on Software Engineering for Sustainability as a primary research topic for the past fifteen years, we've been deeply involved in green software. As this involvement evolves, joining the GSF was a natural step.
This commitment extends institution-wide—our research aligns with GSF's mission through groups like Sustainable Built Environments and the Centre for Sustainable Urban Futures, as well as industry partnerships with Volvo, ABB, and Vattenfall that ensure real-world impact.
With initiatives such as SE4GD, we strive to educate a new generation of software engineers who will emphasize the sustainability of software as well as the sustainability effects of software on society. Joining the GSF helps us advance this mission.
Are there any other sustainability initiatives that you can share?
Beyond our formal programs, Chalmers Students for Sustainability actively promotes positive change, with over half of our students engaged in sustainability activities. Our "practice what we preach" philosophy embeds sustainability in campus operations, from climate-friendly mobility to sustainable investment practices.
Our three-pillar transformation strategy, which involves creating neutral arenas for collaboration, building on individual engagement, and ensuring clear management commitment, has been documented as a model for other universities pursuing sustainability transformations.
Through active involvement in events such as the 2025 Green and Sustainable Software Engineering Summer School in Nigeria, we’re helping to spread green software education globally.
Complementing these educational efforts, I co-developed the Sustainability Awareness Framework (SusAF), a tool for thinking through short, medium- and long-term impacts of socio-technical systems on their surrounding environment. It has been referenced in various publications , and the workbook is freely available on Zenodo.
How do you hope to contribute to and benefit from the GSF?
We want to offer our contributions to the community, see how they integrate with other frameworks that have been developed, and look forward to collaborating with both other industry representatives and other universities.
With our research infrastructure, we can provide testing grounds and academic validation for GSF standards and tools.
Our partnerships at the intersection of academia and industry, combined with expertise in software sustainability, position us to bridge theoretical frameworks with practical implementation, contributing to GSF's goal of making green software practices accessible and actionable for the global software community.
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