Gudrun Obersteiner

Dipl.-Ing.Dr. Gudrun Obersteiner is an Associate Professor and Deputy at the Institute for Waste Management and Circularity at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU). She serves as a Deputy Member of the Senate and coordinates the research focus on food waste at the institution. Her contact information shows she is based at Muthgasse 107/III, 1190 Vienna with phone +43 1 47654-81319.

Dr. Obersteiner specializes in waste management, circular economy, and food waste prevention with approximately 20 years of research experience in these fields. Her work demonstrates significant focus on quantifying food waste patterns in Austrian households, where she has found that every household throws away up to 133 kilograms of avoidable food annually (worth €250-€800), with bread/pastries (28%) and fruits/vegetables (27%) being most commonly discarded. She has led research projects examining consumer behavior and waste prevention strategies.

Dr. Obersteiner has been actively involved in numerous research initiatives including circularhouseholds.eu, Plastic Pirates, Tid(y)Up, and URBANWASTE. Her recent and upcoming projects span from 2021 through 2025, demonstrating continued active research engagement. She has published research on waste management systems, food waste patterns, and environmental assessment methodologies.

• Teaching Award 2014 (3rd prize) for work with Andreas Pertl and Roland Linzner
• Coordinator of the university course 'Sustainability Assessment in Companies'
• Featured expert in the Natural History Museum's exhibition 'Expiry Date – When Food Becomes Garbage' (2021)
• Contributor to BOKU's press releases on food waste in 2021

As a recognized expert, Dr. Obersteiner has participated in panel discussions about food waste, including one at the Natural History Museum in February 2021. She leads research examining how exhibition visitors respond to food waste messaging, aiming to identify the most effective strategies for changing consumer behavior regarding food waste reduction.