Green is the New Black: Understanding Current and Prospective Pro-Environmental Activities in Ritual and Practice on Death

Sammanfattning: Niche pro-environmental innovations in death practices are gaining attention from sector and public stakeholders but can be sidelined due to lack of ritual and practice to support their implementation. The way death practices are conducted in Sweden is examined using transdisciplinary research methods and the multi-level perspective to understand which niche innovations have and have not been incorporated into the regimes which contribute to the bereavement sector and subsequent landscape of Swedish culture. The results of interviews with key sector professionals and a participatory scenario planning exercise with lay persons are presented to assess existing implementation and the potential of current niches. This thesis provides an example of Sustainability Science principles applied in a culturally charged case. Cultural practices are key to consider from within sustainability science as, if harnessed, proenvironmental practices can become embedded culturally. This study highlights that a plethora of actions together make qualitatively significant socio-environmental contributions.