Sarah Rhode

Education

• Master in Sustainability Science (Environment and Decision-making), University of Gävle (2022 – 2024)
  Thesis: “Waste beyond Watts: Applying a systems perspective to the barriers for recycling photovoltaic modules in South Africa and Sweden” External link.

• Bachelor in Ecotechnology, Mid Sweden University (2019 – 2022)
  Thesis: “Strengthening Ecological Connectivity: An exploratory study on establishing ecological corridors in Frösön, Sweden” External link.

Employment

• University adjunct in Sustainability Science, University of Gävle (2025)
  Subjects: Life cycle assessment, Project management, Governance of sustainability transformation
  
  
• Lead Project Officer and WP3 Lead in Cycle4Climate External link., University of Gävle (2025)
  International research project on promoting cycling in urban environments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions

Supply chain sustainability is often treated as a risk to manage. What if it were treated as a capability to develop together? Within sustainable supply chain management, sustainable supplier development (SSD) is emerging as a valuable and collaborative alternative to monitoring and compliance alone.

My doctoral research, funded by the Knowledge Foundation within the ENSURE research project, takes a transdisciplinary approach to studying how firms can co-design and govern SSD across buyer-supplier dyads. Through a multiple case study design with a cohort of manufacturing firms, I study how SSD practices such as knowledge exchange and joint development of sustainable innovation can strengthen upstream supply chain sustainability.

I aim to develop an empirically grounded framework describing various sustainability maturity levels and strategic pathways for capability development, supporting firms in their transition towards more collaborative approaches to upstream supply chain sustainability.