Job Description
If you are looking to establish yourself as a researcher at the intersection of absolute sustainability assessment and innovation towards sustainable food production, this PhD position offers a unique opportunity. At DTU's Centre for Absolute Sustainability, you will help develop new approaches that enable companies and technology developers to analyse and identify food production systems and technologies that can enable a transformation of national and global food production to operate within planetary boundaries.
Working closely with leading researchers from DTU Sustain, DTU Food and DTU Construct, you will contribute to the next generation of methods and tools that support sustainability transformation in practice.
You will work on the absolute environmental sustainability assessment of food provision and food production systems and develop methodological elements that are missing. Working with food technology researchers from DTU on a selection of cases, you will develop the absolute sustainability targets and identify improvement options that can inform food system engineering of a route towards a food production that meets the nutritional needs and operates within the planetary boundaries that respect the carrying capacity of the planet.
The position is offered under the Centre for Absolute Sustainability and affiliated with the Section for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment of the Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering (DTU Sustain). The centre spearheads the development of absolute environmental sustainability assessment methods. You will become part of an ambitious and team-based research environment with around 50 international staff members, postdocs, and PhD students.
Responsibilities And Qualifications
The successful candidate will contribute to the evaluation of absolute sustainability of food production and identification of improvement options for selected food technologies. The main tasks are:
Review of existing studies that perform absolute environmental sustainability assessments of food production and suggest roadmaps to make it sustainable in absolute terms (e.g. the Eat Lancet reports). Identify methodological shortcomings that need to be improved in order to develop relevant food (technology) roadmaps for different geographical regions
Develop AESA methodology to meet these shortcomings, enabling e.g.
forecasting of future development in eco-efficiencies of novel food production techniques under consideration of potential rebound effects
regionalized impact assessment and carrying capacity determination for non-global impact categories
Apply and demonstrate the developed methodology to a selection of food production cases covering novel fermentation techniques and use of alternative raw materials for food ingredient production.
Using Denmark as a testbed and an example of an affluent welfare state with an open economy and environmentally unsustainable patterns of food production and consumption, develop a roadmap for the transition of the national food sector and food consumption that operates within its fair share of the environmental carrying capacities.
These tasks require experience in life cycle assessment and/or absolute environmental sustainability assessment. Mathematical, environmental, and geospatial modelling skills are an advantage. The candidate is expected to participate in the department’s teaching activities.
You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree in environmental engineering, food engineering, sustainability assessment or similar.
Approval and Enrolment
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education .
Assessment
The assessment will be made by a committee consisting of representatives from DTU Sustain, DTU Food, DTU Construct and the Centre for Absolute Sustainability.
We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.
Salary and appointment terms
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Please see DTU’s salary structure for scientific staff: www.inside.dtu.dk/en/human-resources/during-employment/salary/salary-structures
Starting date is as soon as possible. The position is full-time and will be based at DTU Lyngby Campus within DTU Sustain.
The PhD will be done under the DTU Centre for Absolute Sustainability and jointly supervised by researchers from DTU Sustain, DTU Food and DTU Construct.
The period of employment is 3 years.
You can read more about career paths at DTU here .
Further information
Further information may be obtained from Prof. Michael Hauschild, email: mzha@dtu.dk
You can read more about the DTU Centre for Absolute Sustainability at https://sustainability.dtu.dk/ .
If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark . Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “ PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar ” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU.
Application procedure
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 22 September 2026 (23:59 Danish time). Applications will be evaluated continuously, and qualified candidates may be invited for interview before the deadline.
Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file. The file must include:
A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
Curriculum vitae
Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale
A brief statement (maximum 2 pages) describing your research interests and motivation for undertaking the PhD project
Documentation of any relevant scientific publications, project work, thesis work, or professional experience
You may apply prior to obtaining your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it.
Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.
The Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering (DTU Sustain) is one of the largest university departments specializing in environmental and resource engineering in Europe. The department conducts research, development, scientific advice, and provides educational programs and services to society. We work to develop new environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies, methods and solutions, and to disseminate this knowledge to society and future generations of engineers. The department has approximately 300 employees of more than 30 nationalities.
The DTU Centre for Absolute Sustainability is a cross-departmental initiative at DTU with the mission of enabling societies, organisations and technologies to operate within planetary boundaries. The Centre develops methods, tools and scientific knowledge that support fact-based sustainability decision-making and sustainability transformation across sectors. By bringing together leading researchers in sustainability assessment, engineering design, systems modelling, innovation and implementation, the Centre bridges the gap between sustainability science and real-world transformation. Through close collaboration with industry and public stakeholders, the Centre seeks to translate sustainability ambitions into measurable action and long-term societal impact.
DTU – For the benefit of society since 1829
DTU is one of Europe's leading elite technical universities. Through research and education at an international top level, we create solutions to the major societal challenges of our time and help secure Europe's global leadership in sustainable technological development. Since Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU almost 200 years ago, our mission has remained the same: We develop and create value through the natural and technical sciences for the benefit of society. DTU has 13,800 students, 1,600 PhD students, and 6,500 employees. We work in an international environment and have an inclusive, stimulating, and informal work culture. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland and collaborates with the best universities around the world.
