{"id":202,"date":"2026-05-07T10:15:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T07:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/?page_id=202"},"modified":"2026-06-10T15:18:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:18:46","slug":"sustainability-assessment-models","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/sustainability-assessment-models\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainability assessment models for forest-based businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uef.varbi.com\/en\/what:job\/jobID:945083\/\"><button>APPLY FOR THIS PhD POSITION <\/button><\/a>\u00a0<strong>Application period: 11 June &#8211; 10 August, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Research project description<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ongoing development in business environment &#8211; for example changes in consumers\u2019 behavior, green transition and requirements set by sustainable funding &#8211; highlight the need to carry out sustainability assessment of forest-based businesses on company level, including SMEs, MNEs and their value networks. Hence, effective and efficient sustainability assessment methods for forest-based businesses are needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Integrated with systemic understanding of sustainability transition in forest bioeconomy, quantitative measurement criteria and sustainability assessment models utilizing these criteria offers a novel approach to tackle the present sustainability challenges of forest-based businesses. When developing such models, special characterization of forest-based value creation must be understood. For example, timber production gives rise to several externalities related to other ecosystem services (carbon capture and storage, scenic beauty of forest landscape, social and cultural aspects etc.) and biodiversity. These externalities have very strong effects on the overall sustainability of the corresponding business activities. <strong>In this research project, effective and efficient methodology for sustainability assessment of forest-based businesses is developed. <\/strong>The methodology is also widened to the level of companies\u2019 value networks. i.e., models for calculating the values of sustainability indicators on the level of companies\u2019 value networks are developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Academic background and skills of the applicant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An ideal candidate holds <strong>a master\u2019s degree in forestry, business administration, engineering, or a closely related field<\/strong>. The candidate is expected to have a basic understanding of sustainable business and forest-based value creation, encompassing both timber and non-timber forest products and ecosystem services. The position requires a strong interest in developing quantitative methods for sustainability assessment, such as multi-criteria decision analysis and the modelling of expert knowledge. The candidate should also demonstrate the ability to identify, integrate, and link relevant data sources with the sustainability assessment models under development. The selected candidate must fulfil the language skills requirements of the Doctoral Programme in Science, Forestry and Technology at UEF (see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uef.fi\/en\/degree-programme\/doctoral-programme-in-science-forestry-and-technology\">https:\/\/www.uef.fi\/en\/degree-programme\/doctoral-programme-in-science-forestry-and-technology<\/a> (Eligibility and admission criteria)).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Doctoral programme and research group<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Doctoral education in the University of Eastern Finland is arranged in seven discipline specific or thematic doctoral programmes. This research project will be located in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uef.fi\/en\/degree-programme\/doctoral-programme-in-science-forestry-and-technology\">Doctoral Programme in Science, Forestry and Technology<\/a>, and the submitting department is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uef.fi\/en\/unit\/school-of-forest-sciences\">School of Forest Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The candidate will join the Forests and society research group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Partners \/ Secondments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Potential secondments will be decided during the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Other interdisciplinary, international, intersectoral collaboration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Intersectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration is strengthened through DP-FOBI&#8217;s three summer schools involving academic supervisors, non-academic partners, and other stakeholders, enabling hands-on interaction and knowledge exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Supervisors and related research<\/h2>\n\n\n\t<div id=\"accordion-block_7946780f7f16799458932de6a151a745\" class=\"accordions\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion accordion-js\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"accordion__button\" aria-controls=\"content-6887\" aria-expanded=\"false\" id=\"accordion-control-6887\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"accordion__heading\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJouni Pyk\u00e4l\u00e4inen\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion__content\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-control-6887\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"content-6887\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uefconnect.uef.fi\/en\/jouni.pykalainen\/\">Jouni Pyk\u00e4l\u00e4inen<\/a> has background in research of multi-objective forest planning. In the field of forest planning, he has studied especially interactive and participatory planning where multi-criteria decision analysis has been used for supporting planning participants\u2019 decision making and learning processes. Lately, his research work has focused on, among others, forest bioeconomy foresight and sustainable forest-based business models.<\/p>\n<p>Pyk\u00e4l\u00e4inen has extensive experience in doctoral supervision, having supervised 16 doctoral theses, of which nine are currently ongoing. In addition, the supervisor serves as a member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aka.fi\/en\/about-the-rcf\/rcf-organisation\/decision-making-bodies\/scientific-councils\/scientific-council-for-biosciences-health-and-the-environment\/\">Scientific Council for Biosciences, Health and the Environment<\/a> at the Research Council of Finland.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion accordion-js\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"accordion__button\" aria-controls=\"content-7100\" aria-expanded=\"false\" id=\"accordion-control-7100\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"accordion__heading\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIrina Mihailova\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion__content\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-control-7100\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"content-7100\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uefconnect.uef.fi\/en\/irina.mihailova\/\">Irina Mihailova<\/a> <\/span>has extensive expertise in the field of international business with particular focus on the internationalization of sustainable business models, international scaling, and strategic responses to the institutional pressures. Lately, Irina has been involved in the projects related to the forest-based pulp industry conducted in cooperation with FOBI research group and business models of bio-based textle firms as a part of MSCA DN \u2018Destiny\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Mihailova has experience in doctoral supervision, having supervised six doctoral theses, three of which are currently ongoing. In addition, the supervisor serves as UEF\u2019s representative on the Kataja FIGSIB board.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion accordion-js\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"accordion__button\" aria-controls=\"content-9268\" aria-expanded=\"false\" id=\"accordion-control-9268\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"accordion__heading\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAnu Laakkonen\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion__content\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-control-9268\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"content-9268\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uefconnect.uef.fi\/en\/anu.laakkonen\/\">Anu Laakkonen<\/a> has experience in studying value networks, sustainable value creation and sustainability transition within the Finnish forest sector. She has also researched corporate foresight in the forest-based bioeconomy and is currently investigating business models and forest management planning following the principles of strong sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>Laakkonen currently serves as a co-supervisor for one ongoing doctoral thesis. In addition, the supervisor is a member of the board of the Social Scientific Biosociety Research (SOBIO) Network and the Finnish Forest Economist Club.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion accordion-js\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"accordion__button\" aria-controls=\"content-743\" aria-expanded=\"false\" id=\"accordion-control-743\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"accordion__heading\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRelated articles\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion__content\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-control-743\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"content-743\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>Rusanen K.,\u00a0Hujala T. &amp; Pyk\u00e4l\u00e4inen J.\u00a02026. \u201cWe are already in the frontline\u201d \u2013 Sustainable value creation and entrepreneurial orientation in forest-based small and medium-sized enterprises.\u00a0Silva Fennica\u00a0vol.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.silvafennica.fi\/volume\/60\/1\">60<\/a>\u00a0no.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.silvafennica.fi\/issue\/3296\">1<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Keya, S.A., \u00a0\u00a0Emmanuel, R., Haapala, A.,\u00a0Pakarinen, T. &amp; Pyk\u00e4l\u00e4inen, J. 2025. Urban morphology-energy consumption nexus: A multi-criteria weather vulnerability analysis model for city planning. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption. Volume 19.<\/p>\n<p>Rusanen, K., Hujala, T. &amp; Pyk\u00e4l\u00e4inen, J. 2024. Research approaches to sustainable forest-based value creation: A literature review. Forest Policy and Economics. 163.<\/p>\n<p>Mihailova, I., &amp; Svystunova, L. (2025). A problematizing review of organizational responses to institutions in emerging markets: Towards development of an agency-based view. Journal of Business Research, 114975. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jbusres.2024.114975\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jbusres.2024.114975<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mihailova, I., Rantanen, S., Tahvanainen, V., &amp; Pyk\u00e4l\u00e4inen, J. (2024). MNE-led industry emergence in a developing economy: Uruguay\u2019s forest-based pulp sector. Multinational Business Review, 33(1), 97\u2013121. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi-org.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443\/10.1108\/MBR-01-2024-0006\">https:\/\/doi-org.ezproxy.uef.fi:2443\/10.1108\/MBR-01-2024-0006<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mihailova, I. (2023). Business model adaptation for realized international scaling of born-digitals. Journal of World Business. 58(2),\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jwb.2022.101418\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jwb.2022.101418<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Laakkonen, A., Heiskanen, A., N\u00e4yh\u00e4, A., Toppinen, A. &amp; Hurmekoski, E. 2025. Foresight-related dynamic capabilities in Finnish forest-based bioeconomy SMEs. Futures &amp; Foresight Science, 7(1). <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/ffo2.70007\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/ffo2.70007<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Laakkonen, A., Rusanen, K., Hujala, T., Gabrielsson, M. &amp; Pyk\u00e4l\u00e4inen, J. 2023. Implications of the sustainability transition on the industry value creation logic \u2013 case of Finnish pulp and paper industry. Silva Fennica, 57(3).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>APPLY FOR THIS PhD POSITION \u00a0Application period: 11 June &#8211; 10 August, 2026 Research project description Ongoing development in business environment &#8211; for example changes in consumers\u2019 behavior, green transition and requirements set by sustainable funding &#8211; highlight the need to carry out sustainability assessment of forest-based businesses on company level, including SMEs, MNEs and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1364,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-202","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sustainability assessment models for forest-based businesses - Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/sustainability-assessment-models\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sustainability assessment models for forest-based businesses - Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"APPLY FOR THIS PhD POSITION \u00a0Application period: 11 June &#8211; 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