Sahar Azarkamand, researcher of the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ESCI-UPF), will start leading the postdoctoral research fellowship that ARECO signed two years ago with the Chair.
The aim of this grant is to promote research projects on the circularity of packaging in agri-food distribution, as well as other scientific developments to assess the sustainability of these elements, especially around concepts such as life cycle analysis (LCA), carbon footprint and circular economy.
Sahar Azarkamand, of Iranian origin, holds a degree in Natural Resources Engineering from the Islamic Azad University of Tehran, a master’s degree and PhD in Environmental Management from the same University and a PhD in Sustainability from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
She has been director of two Masters at the Islamic Azad University, researcher in life cycle assessment at the BETA technology center and has participated in the European projects Circular Biocarbon and Fertimanure on sustainable management of waste and manure. In addition, she has published articles in several leading international scientific journals and two books on sustainable management of supply chains and environmental management of cities.
As head of the ARECO fellowship, Sahar will implement several projects for the analysis of packaging circularity in agri-food distribution, the assessment of food waste during transport and conservation at the point of sale and a study on the advantages of using recycled material in the manufacture of new packaging, among other topics.
Sahar Azarkamand, researcher of the ARECO grant, says: “To improve the sustainability of the agri-food system we need to optimize the use of resources, avoid waste and reduce environmental impacts. The key is to implement a truly circular system. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate the circularity of agri-food distribution systems, as we are doing in the framework of the ARECO Grant.”
