sustainability

Give local authorities more freedom to deliver sustainable cities

By Sally Gee and Elvira Uyarra Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: May 21, 2014

Public bodies play a unique role in renewing our urban infrastructure to make our cities more sustainable. The transformation of the Greater Manchester waste system illustrates how local government can accomplish this through ambitious procurement projects, argue Dr Sally Gee and Dr Elvira Uyarra. In 1999, local government faced a major problem. European legislation was […]

Dinner parties and healthy eating should share blame for food wastage

By Daniel Welch and David Evans Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: May 14, 2014

Eating ‘properly’ and special occasions are more to blame for household food waste than lazy consumers and supermarket BOGOFs, according to Dr David Evans and Dr Daniel Welch. We waste 15 million tonnes of food in the UK every year, according to a recent report from the House of Commons EU Committee. This has serious […]

Green policymakers should take a cue from Quorn’s success

By Claire Hoolohan Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: April 30, 2014

Last week Quorn announced it will invest £30m in its County Durham factory following significant sales growth in recent years. Claire Hoolohan argues that Quorn’s success is a signal to governments, policy makers, academics, and others that the time has arrived to move forward on the sustainable food agenda. Reducing the amount of meat in […]

Towards sustainable consumption: start by reframing the questions

By Daniel Welch and Nicola Spurling Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: April 22, 2014

Sustainable consumption is all too often framed in terms of individuals’ choices. The social practice perspective offers an alternative model, argue Dr Daniel Welch and Dr Nicola Spurling. “Do you find it easy to follow a sustainable lifestyle? Do you switch off every light? Plan each meal to avoid food waste? Why is behaviour change […]

Unsustainable practices: Why electric cars are a failure of ambition

By Nicola Spurling and Daniel Welch Filed Under: Science and Technology Posted: March 5, 2014

A focus on ‘techno-fix’ solutions to climate change like electric cars simply perpetuate current unsustainable practices and represent a failure of ambition, argue Nicola Spurling and Dan Welch. In January David Cameron announced that his cabinet might trade in their limousines for electric cars. It was the latest in a stream of initiatives to promote the […]

Avoiding catastrophe: the role of the state in the water-food-energy nexus

By Danny Fitzpatrick Filed Under: Science and Technology Posted: October 2, 2013

The recurring themes of water, food and energy in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals suggest the policy-making community is waking up to the deep inter-dependencies between these three essential resources. The role of central governments in translating such a ‘nexus thinking’ into meaningful action, in order to avoid a potential catastrophe, will be critical, writes […]

Give local authorities more freedom to deliver sustainable cities

Dinner parties and healthy eating should share blame for food wastage

Green policymakers should take a cue from Quorn’s success

Towards sustainable consumption: start by reframing the questions

Unsustainable practices: Why electric cars are a failure of ambition

Avoiding catastrophe: the role of the state in the water-food-energy nexus

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