Episode 28 of the Saving the World webinar series features Roxana Claudia Tompea, Hothouse PhD Candidate.
Roxana’s research examines regulatory reforms on environmental sustainability and corporate practices in the food sector, focusing on greenwashing and ultra-processed foods. Climate change and food systems are deeply intertwined, and when transforming current food systems is one of the defining challenges of our time, she asks what misleading sustainability claims reveal about our progress towards this goal.
Rather than treating greenwashing as isolated corporate misconduct, Roxana's research conceptualises it as a structural marker of climate obstruction embedded within contemporary food systems. Through a case study of the European Union, she analyses evolving regulatory regimes and corporate sustainability strategies, reflecting on corporate power, accountability, and the prospects for achieving equitable and environmentally sound food systems.
The ‘Saving the World’ webinar series, presented by the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse, releases a new episode each month, discussing the intersections between climate change, inequity and human health. The webinars focus on actions that enable transformative change away from the harmful consumptogenic system to systems that promote good health, social equity and environmental wellbeing.
Event Speakers
Roxana Tompea Hafner
Roxana is a Laureate PhD candidate at the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse. Her research examines regulatory frameworks to curb environmental deception in food systems, focusing on greenwashing in ultra-processed foods. She is particularly interested in misleading marketing practices and the commercial determinants of health in the food sector.
Professor Sharon Friel
Sharon Friel is an ARC Laureate Fellow and Professor of Health Equity in the School of Regulation and Global Governance. She is Director of the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse and Australian Research Centre for Health Equity (ARCHE) at the Australian National University.