Focus areas
We have identified a set of ‘foundations’, or areas of focus, that encapsulate the sustainability research and activity at the University.
Key focus areas
These reflect key outcomes or objectives for sustainability areas towards which much of the current research is directed and which are shaping future plans.
1. Life cycle assessment
A systems analysis approach to quantifying and representing environmental impacts of products/services, underpinning carbon, water and environmental foot-printing. Often used by industry and policy makers.
Under this foundation we include extended analyses such as:
- Social life cycle assessment
- Life cycle costing
- Life cycle sustainability assessment
- Supply and value chain analysis etc.
- Liquid Fuel and Bioenergy Supply from CO2 Reduction; funded by EPSRC - Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CES)
- Integrated Assessment of Palm Oil Mill Residues to Sustainable Electricity (POMR-SE): A case study from Peninsular Malaysia; funded by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), Malaysia - Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CES)
2. Food, energy, water (and nexus)
Research that encompasses diverse aspects of practice and policy for the development and management of these key underpinning provisioning services for sustainability.
The Nexus concept considers the interdependencies and interactions between the food, energy and water systems within the context of sustainable development. It reflects an approach to simultaneous, integrating thinking about these systems that transcends individual, isolated sectoral, policy and disciplinary silos.
- Agro Industry and Clean Energy in Africa; funded by UK Research Councils’ Energy Programme, Department for International Development (DfID) and Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) - Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CES)
- ISABEL: how to promote local waste treatment, energy generation and food production through biogas systems; funded by European Commission - Sociology
- Water, Energy, Food: Stepping Up; funded by EPSRC - Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CES)
- Synthetic biology for bioenergy and biotechnology; funded by BBSRC - Systems Biology Research Section
3. Climate change science
Research on all aspects of the science of climate and especially climate change that impinge on earth systems and their functioning. The application of insights from this to inform policy and responses to climate change.
4. Sustainable living and behaviour
Research that considers the ways in which livelihoods and lifestyles impact on, and respond to, perspectives about living sustainably and well. Includes evaluation of the ways that human and systems behaviour can adjust to support sustainable living.
- Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP); funded by ESRC - Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CES)
- e-Cook: a transformational household solar battery electric cooker for poverty alleviation; funded by Innovate UK - Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CES)
5. Industrial ecology and circular economy
Research on resource conservation and efficiency in industrial and business systems to reduce burdens on the environment. Includes evaluation and modelling of industrial ecosystems, waste management and recycling and business models.
- Temperature and alkali stable polymer electrolytes for hydrogen and carbon dioxide alkaline electrolysers; funded by EPSRC - Materials Research Group
- RENESENG: Renewable Systems Engineering Grant; funded by European Commission
- Process & Information Systems Engineering Research Centre (PRISE) - Chemical and Process Engineering
- Novel low energy plasma/catalytic gas cleaning process to deliver high quality syngas from the gasification of waste biomass - Energy and Materials
- Computational modelling and optimisation of carbon capture reactors; funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council - Energy and Materials
- Manufacture of safe and sustainable volatile element functional materials; funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) - Centre for Engineering Materials
6. Policy and development and governance
Research on concepts of sustainability e.g. UN sustainable development goals, absolute sustainability and planetary boundaries, corporate social and environmental responsibility that inform policy, civil society and business models. Includes support for, and analysis of, voluntary and regulatory schemes and policy impact analysis.
- Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus; funded by ESRC - Sociology
- Out of sight, out of mind: the problem of invisibility for environmental policy; funded by British Academy - Sociology
- Formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) through taxation: the case of Zambia - Business Transformation and Sustainable Enterprise
- SESAME: Development of tools and a regulation framework for the security of the European power grid against natural, accidental and malicious attacks; funded by European Commission - 5G/6G Innovation Centre.
7. Pollution management and mitigation
Research focused on the harmful effects of anthropogenic emissions to water, land, air and human health. Includes systems analysis of pollution mitigation options and developments.
- Decommissioning, Immobilisation and Storage soluTions for NuClear wasTe InVEntories (DESTINCTIVE); funded by University of Leeds - Chemistry
- Towards an online emission inventory for the Middle East area; funded by Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station - Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE)
- Improving the smart control of air pollution in Europe; funded by European Commission - Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE)
- An integrated study of air pollutant sources in the Delhi national capital region; funded by Natural and Environmental Research Council (NERC) - Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE)