Working towards sustainability

Our researchers work to improve understanding of consumption and production processes, in order to help make consumption practices and business models more sustainable.

We look at the interactions between individual consumers, firms and other organisations over time - seeking to understand why they sometimes recur in the same way, but at other times are receptive to change.

We use research methods such as time diaries and longitudinal process analysis; the study of historical cases shows us how societies came to fulfil people’s needs in deeply unsustainable ways.

Our aims

This understanding allows us to drive transition towards sustainability while satisfying human needs.

Our researchers have delivered major contributions to understanding different ways to change energy and mobility systems, working with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and European Environment Agency (EEA).

Our work on consumption practices, meanwhile, has informed product and service development at companies including Tesco and Unilever.