Books & publications by Johanna Flood
Image of the book Konsumindre.
 a practical non‑fiction guide

Konsumindre – a book about overconsumption 

Live more with lagom

Konsumindre means to consume less in Swedish. It is a pun, and as always, puns don't translate well. Neither does the book currently, but Sustainabler offer workshops on overconsumption in English. Here you can find an article in the IEMA Magazine Transform about the book.

Konsumindre - a book about why we overconsume and how we can stop

Johanna Flood is a journalist who became a global environmental leader in a major corporation before resigning to figure out what she truly wanted. One of the answers became the book Konsumindre — a research‑informed exploration of why we overconsume and how we can break the cycle.

With more than ten years of experience in sustainability strategy, Johanna has helped companies develop frameworks, targets, and action plans to reduce their negative impact on people and the planet. But when it came to individuals wanting to do the same, she noticed a gap. There were no practical tools.

Konsumindre fills that gap

The book functions as a kind of management system for humans — a sustainability plan for people who want to stop engaging in one of the middle class’s biggest drivers of environmental harm: overconsumption.

Johanna draws on ancient Stoicism, the Inner Development Goals (IDGs), and modern addiction therapy to explain why we crave, buy, and repeat — and how we can actually change.

“I love that restless, electric rush of wanting something — a soap‑bubble feeling of desire and hope for a better life. Tapping the card on something slightly too expensive. Tap. Then hours later, the feeling is gone. We forget why we bought anything at all, even as the world is burning and people are being exploited. Our shopping is like an addiction that doesn’t make us happier.”
— Johanna Flood

What the book gives you

Konsumindre offers both an eye‑opener and a set of practical tools:

  • A “red pill” that helps you see the consumption patterns you usually look away from

  • Ancient guidance from Stoic philosophy to deal with emotions and reality

  • The Inner Development Goals applied on a personal level

  • ISO‑style structures and methods adapted from corporate sustainability work

  • A pathway to living a more intentional and meaningful life with less consumption and more clarity

More about Konsumindre in Swedish
The cover of the book Ina and the Polarbear Club

Ina and the Polarbear club – a book about climate action and hope

In 2023, Johanna Flood had just handed in her resignation letter. With no clear plan, she needed time to listen to her own thoughts. That same evening, she sat at her kitchen table, had a beer, and entered a state of deep creative focus. Within a few hours, she wrote the first version of a story about a girl and polar bears.

After hundreds of revisions, the story evolved into a powerful children’s book about Ina, a young girl who starts a club to protect polar bears and fight climate change.

Behind the book Ina and the Polarbear Club

Ina and the Polarbear Club is a creative collaboration with:

  • Nancy Grönholm – illustration

  • Malin Ringsby – graphic design

  • Jenny Asp – text and editing

Like many children today, Ina feels overwhelmed by melting ice, endangered wildlife, and climate anxiety. Instead of giving up, she takes action by:

1️⃣ Creating a clear vision
2️⃣ Teaming up with others
3️⃣ Changing what she can influence

Through courage, teamwork, and hope, Ina shows that even small actions can make a big difference.

Support the real Polarbear Club

At isbjornsklubben.se, a real polar bear community is growing. Together with Anna Sanneviken, Johanna Flood is looking for partners who want to help develop this meeting place for children—where climate anxiety is transformed into action. Would you like to be part of it? See how you can support the initiative here.

Hindering and supporting factors towards net-zero

Never before have more companies had net-zero targets, and never before have the CO2 emissions been higher. What is stopping companies from acting and what factors can help them move forward? These were my research questions for my masters' thesis Net-zero transition for companies – hindering and supporting factors.

I interviewed nine professionals in sustainability, both consultants and in-house experts.

From the interviews, three types of factors emerged:

  1. Internal factors - those that the companies could influence themselves, both hindering and supporting.

  2. Value chain factors - the type of factors that the companies could only influence but not fully control, both hindering and supporting.

  3. External factors - those that the company could only influence to a minimum.

Read more about what hindering and supporting factors I found in organizations wanting to reach net-zero here.

Want to read my findings? Here is the full thesis.