Kiyo Kurisu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. Kiyo is an interdisciplinary researcher specializing in environmentally responsible behavior. Her research focuses on quantifying the environmental impacts associated with human consumption behaviors, while exploring effective strategies to promote more sustainable choices. To achieve this, she combines engineering-based approaches with investigations into psychological factors influencing behavior, as well as the effects of information provision and communication.
Main Research and Professional Interests
In my laboratory, we conduct people-centered research aimed at building a sustainable society. Our research spans multiple scales—from national and regional systems to individual consumption behaviors—but all of our work shares a common focus on human actors as key agents of change.
My main research interests include:
- Information provision to promote environmentally responsible behavior
- Sustainable food systems
- Consumer acceptance of environmental policies
- Assessment of regional vulnerability for climate change adaptation
Core Perspectives Guiding My Research
Although my research covers a wide range of topics, it is fundamentally guided by three perspectives:
- Quantitative evaluation of target behaviors and policies
- Assessment of determinants influencing those behaviors and policies
- Design, implementation, and evaluation of information provision and educational interventions that encourage behavioral and societal change
By integrating these perspectives, I aim to bridge fundamental scientific understanding with practical implementation in society.
Recent Publication
Kurisu, K., Hasegawa, Y., & Fukushi, K. (2026).
Can simply illustrated life cycle-based environmental information help promote Life Cycle Thinking? Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 22, 100431.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2026.100431
Promoting environmentally conscious attitudes and behaviors requires more than simply presenting carbon footprint numbers. It is essential to foster Life Cycle Thinking (LCT)—an understanding of when and where environmental impacts arise throughout a product’s entire life cycle.
Our group has previously developed a board game to encourage Life Cycle Thinking among university students in Japan (Kurisu et al., 2021, Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 3, 100033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2021.100033). Building on this work, we asked whether simpler forms of information provision could also enhance people’s LCT literacy.
In this study, we developed four types of simple illustrated information materials—each designed to fit on a single smartphone screen—focusing on key components of Life Cycle Thinking across five domains of daily life:
(i) transportation, (ii) clothing, (iii) food, (iv) shopping, and (v) other daily activities.
We then evaluated their effectiveness in improving LCT literacy. The assessment instrument was revised from our previous study (Kurisu et al., 2021) and reconstructed as a 15-item questionnaire covering multiple life domains.
We believe that the materials developed in this study—including the information content, the evaluation results, and the assessment instrument—will serve as useful resources for researchers working in this field.
