News
Spotlight on the latest news from across the Institute.
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The big business of sustainable food production and consumption: Exploring the transition to alternative proteins
27 Nov 2023
Animal agriculture is responsible for considerable environmental burden, and a key contributor to climate change. Meat alternatives are increasingly ...
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New Master’s Programme at The University of Manchester Takes a Fresh Approach to Tackling Climate Change
23 Nov 2023
A new postgraduate course addressing the global environmental crisis and the challenges of building sustainable societies has been launched by The ...
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Fatima Ibrahim to speak at SCI Annual Lecture
6 Nov 2023
We are delighted to announce that we are welcoming Fatima Ibrahim, co-founder and director of Green New Deal Rising, for the Sustainable Consumption ...
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Sustainable consumption by product substitution? An exploration of the appropriation of plant-based ‘mylk’ in everyday life
25 Oct 2023
Many mainstream visions of sustainable societies assume that ‘green’ products will come to replace existing ones, reducing the footprint of ...
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‘Facilitating the transition to net zero’ and institutional change in the Bank of England: Perceptions of the environmental mandate and its policy implications within the British state
25 Oct 2023
The role of central banks in perpetuating and tackling the economic patterns associated with climate change has increasingly been subject to academic...
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The Rise of Anti-Net Zero Populism in the UK: Comparing Rhetorical Strategies for Climate Policy Dismantling
30 Aug 2023
This article explores a backlash against the net zero greenhouse gas emissions target within the UK. It introduces the term “anti-net zero ...
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Towards new ecologies of automation: Robotics and the re-engineering of nature
3 Aug 2023
Written by Andrew Lockhart, Simon Marvin and Aidan While Climate/ecological breakdown and automation are two defining challenges of the current era, ...
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The Materiality of Nothing: Exploring Our Everyday Relationships with Objects Absent and Present
21 Jul 2023
The Materiality of Nothing explores the invisible, intangible and transient materials and objects of everyday life and the relationships we have with...
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The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Environmental Politics: ‘Continuity and change in carbon market politics’
21 Jul 2023
The complexities and scope of environmental issues have not only outpaced the capacities and responsiveness of traditional political actors but also ...
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How platform businesses mobilize their users and allies: Corporate grassroots lobbying and the Airbnb ‘movement’ for deregulation
10 Jul 2023
This article analyses and theorizes the political strategies of businesses in the new digital ‘platform’ economy. Airbnb, Uber and meal delivery ...
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Where are low-carbon places made? Conceptualising and studying infrastructure junctions and the power geometries of low-carbon place-making
9 Jun 2023
Written by Torik Holmes, Carla De Laurentis and Rebecca Windemer. The making of low-carbon places is crucial for achieving decarbonisation, but where...
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The UK’s recycling system is confusing, chaotic and broken – here’s how to fix it
6 Jun 2023
Maybe you have one bin or many boxes. You might even have a compost caddy. Whatever your recycling setup, chances are that at some point you’ve been...
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What would a Net Zero society look like by 2050?
25 May 2023
Dr Maria Sharmina has written a commentary for the Academy of Social Sciences about what a Net Zero society might look like by 2050, based on her ...
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Professor Ruth Lane, Monash University, Seminar, Households and Churn in the Circular Economy
11 May 2023
Product longevity is one of the most vexed issues in emerging Circular Economy initiatives as it is antithetical to prevailing corporate business ...
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Infrastructuring Urban Futures: the Politics of Remaking Cities
28 Apr 2023
Focusing on material and social forms of infrastructure, this edited collection draws on rich empirical details from cities across the global North ...
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One Bin to Rule Them All
5 Apr 2023
Plastic recycling remains a persistent and stubborn challenge. The UK simply does not recycle enough. And while waste reduction and reuse remain ...
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Citizens of Worlds: Open Air Toolkits for Environmental Struggle
4 Apr 2023
The seminar discussed Professor Gabrys’ recent book of the same title. The book is available open access here. Here is a synopsis: Environments ...
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UK recycling system requires 'dramatic overhaul', report finds
31 Mar 2023
The UK’s recycling system requires a dramatic overhaul to effectively tackle the issue of plastic waste, according to a new report published by The ...
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SCI blog post explores themes surrounding climate governance and central banking
8 Mar 2023
In this blog Prof Best and Prof Paterson discuss themes surrounding climate governance and central banking, which emerged during a recent workshop ...
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Research project exploring young people, climate change and migration ends with intergenerational workshops and new creative resources
28 Feb 2023
Young People at a Crossroads (YPAC) explored how migrant-background young people and their families are learning and talking about climate change in ...
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Sustainability transitions: catalysing innovation in the foundational economy for a green and just future
17 Feb 2023
PhD student Usman Aziz, Elvira Uyarra (MIOIR) and Jo Mylan have written an article on how green city regions can deliver policy to meet net zero for ...
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Towards sustainable consumption: reflections on the concepts of social loading, excess, and idle capacity
8 Feb 2023
Dale Southerton and Alan Warde have just published an essay on sustainable consumption in a collection of papers in honour of Hal Wilhite. Hal was a ...
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Between perceptions and practices: The religious and cultural aspects of food wastage in households
25 Jan 2023
SCI Honorary Researcher Tally Katz-Gerro co-published the paper ‘Between perceptions and practices: The religious and cultural aspects of food ...
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Book launch event: Expansion Rebellion
23 Jan 2023
On Tuesday, 31st January, Celeste Hicks’ launch of her book ‘Expansion Rebellion: Using the law to fight a runway and save the planet’ is ...
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New resource to help educators teach young people about climate change
23 Jan 2023
A beautifully-illustrated new resource has been launched which seeks to help teachers to address climate change in their classrooms using real-world ...
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Towards green and just transitions in city regions
18 Jan 2023
The study was completed on behalf of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and was funded by Research England. The objective was to ...
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SCI research round up December 2022
18 Jan 2023
SCI Lecturer Jeremy Brice is the co-author on the open access paper ‘When you wish upon a (GWP) star: Environmental governance and the reflexive ...
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How do we teach young people about climate change?
6 Jan 2023
The conference kicked off with the first keynote from high school English teacher and activist Matt Carmichael on "Climate change: What's at stake in...
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Video: SCI Seminar on water security, peace, and sustainability
4 Jan 2023
Water-related risks undermine human development and can contribute to migration and displacement, food insecurity, political instability, and ...
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SCI Researchers write about alternatives to agriculture in new blog
15 Dec 2022
In this new blogpost the authors ask ‘Should we abandon agriculture altogether?’, which may sound strange at first. This likely comes from an ...
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Professor Kate Raworth gives SCI Annual Lecture
13 Dec 2022
We were honoured to welcome renegade economist Professor Kate Raworth, founder of the Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL), on Tuesday, 6th December....
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Educators’ guide for climate change education in schools out now
7 Dec 2022
The Educators’ guide presents a brief ‘setting the scene’ review of research and policy developments to explain how a whole school approach to ...
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Climate change for food projects
5 Dec 2022
Many people working in local or community food projects already know that they need to review how they operate in order to ensure they are doing as ...
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Capturing the carbon opportunity: Making carbon capture and storage a reality for UK businesses
2 Dec 2022
‘Capturing the Carbon Opportunity’ draws on expert research from The University of Manchester academics on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and ...
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Interview: Investment, Power and Protein in sub-Saharan Africa
18 Nov 2022
SCI Lecturer Jeremy Brice was interviewed for the podcast FEED about his new report: Investment, Power and Protein in sub-Saharan Africa. The place ...
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Creative, sensitive and grounded in diverse perspectives: Why we need inclusive climate change education
16 Nov 2022
SCI Researcher Catherine Walker published a new blog post on the SCI Blog entitled ‘Creative, sensitive and grounded in diverse perspectives: Why ...
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Confronting the climate on Manchester’s Curry Mile
14 Nov 2022
The purpose of the event held at the Whitworth Art Gallery on 8th November was to have a community-facing, friendly and generative discussion about ...
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The unknowing expert – paper on ignorance in expert interviewing
11 Nov 2022
The paper is part of a forthcoming special section of Area on working with the spoken word in human geography and can be accessed online via open ...
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SCI Researcher investigates the digitalisation of off-grid water infrastructure in peri-urban Ghana
9 Nov 2022
Ensuring adequate access to clean water remains a major challenge throughout the world, particularly in off-grid and low-income neighbourhoods in the...
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Dr Maria Sharmina appointed Co-Director for Science and Engineering for Policy@Manchester
7 Nov 2022
Maria brings experience of working with policy makers, particularly across Government Departments. Her research on low-carbon energy and circular ...
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Investment, Power and Protein in sub-Saharan Africa
4 Nov 2022
The report argues that in order to understand the changing place of protein in sub-Saharan African diets and food systems, it is important to ...
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Methods4Change project team at ESRC Festival of Social Sciences
2 Nov 2022
The team of the Methods for Change research project is holding two sessions at the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences open to anyone with an interest ...
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Kate Raworth to speak at SCI Annual Lecture
31 Oct 2022
We are delighted to announce that we are welcoming bestselling author and renegade economist Professor Kate Raworth for the Sustainable Consumption ...
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Water for Peace and Development: SCI PhD student attends World Water Forum
28 Oct 2022
Drawing on her experiences at the conference as well as her own research Chantal encourages an approach that uses water resources as a tool of ...
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Upcoming event: Mangoes, Meat & Motors - confronting the climate on Manchester’s Curry Mile
24 Oct 2022
Mangoes, Meat & Motors: Confronting the Climate on Manchester's Curry Mile is an event to explore how life/work/play on the Curry mile helps ...
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Young People at a Crossroads: Stories of climate education, action and adaptation from around the world
21 Oct 2022
Catherine Walker has published her creative project book as part of the Young People at a Crossroads project. Entitled Young People at a Crossroads: ...
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New SCI blog on the challenges, strategies & opportunities of (re-)making infrastructures in the face of the climate crisis
20 Oct 2022
The aim of the workshop was to bring together academics from diverse backgrounds to collaborate and focus on different infrastructures in the UK and ...
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New publication on how the inequality crisis is linked to the sociogenesis of climate change
18 Oct 2022
The paper develops an approach to the emergence of multiple economies of water in India’s capital Delhi, using a neo-Polanyian approach of ...
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Upcoming seminar: Water security, peace, and sustainability
14 Oct 2022
Join us for an online discussion on "Water Security, Peace, and Sustainability" with SCI PhD student Chantal V. Bright on 2nd November from ...
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SCI Director speaking at Conservative Party Fringe event
7 Oct 2022
He spoke alongside Akash Paun (Institute for Government), Ben Houchen (Tees Valley Mayor), Rain Newton-Smith (Confederation of British Industry), ...
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