Mikael Säberg

PhD student

Artificial turfs and their environmental impacts have created a debate since the EU has decided to ban the sale of rubber infills in 2031. From a system perspective, how great are the environmental impacts considering different environmental factors?

Publications

2026

Mikael Säberg, Emma Lindkvist, Roozbeh Feiz, Patrik Thollander (2026)

Reply to Missing the goal: Comments on a comparative life cycle assessment of natural and artificial football turf, by Säberg et al. (2025) Cleaner Environmental Systems, Vol. 23, Article 100525 (Article in journal)

https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2026.100525

Emma Lindkvist, Patrik Thollander, Mikael Säberg (2026)

Barriers to and drivers for environmental, energy, and water management practices in football facilities-Toward increased sustainability in the sports community FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABILITY, Vol. 7, Article 1845069 (Article in journal)

https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2026.1845069

2025

Mikael Säberg, Emma Lindkvist, Roozbeh Feiz, Patrik Thollander (2025)

Life cycle assessment of football fields in Nordic climates: Comparing artificial and natural turf systems Cleaner Environmental Systems, Vol. 19, Article 100369 (Article in journal)

https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100369

Research

Sustainable football pitches

In this project, we focus on the environmental impact of both artificial and natural grass pitches, as well as their energy usage throughout their life cycle.

Organisation

Energy Systems (ENSYS)

The division of Energy Systems is involved in research, undergraduate and graduate education and collaboration with industry and public sector organisations in the field of energy.

Department of Management and Engineering (IEI)

The Department of Management and Engineering (IEI) strengthens and develops tomorrow’s industry, business world and society by ground-breaking research, education and innovation.

Studenthuset on Campus Valla in Linköping

About LiU

Linköping University, LiU, offers innovative education and boundary-crossing research. The students are among the most desirable in the labour market and international rankings consistently place LiU as a leading global university.

News

A man kneeling down on a field holding a grass mat.

Artificial turf in the Nordic climate – a question of sustainability

Artificial turf football pitches are better than natural turf from a sustainability perspective – with some reservations. This is demonstrated by researchers at LiU in a new study using life cycle analyses.