Sustainability and the Environment

Climate change and green infrastructure. Clean water and sanitation. The impact of plastics and pharmaceuticals. Low carbon design. Ecological systems and biodiversity.

These are just a handful of our research areas within the Sustainability and the Environment theme, led by Professor Steve Fletcher, Ocean Lead of the United Nations' International Resource Panel.

Our research promotes environmental awareness, explores ways to combat climate change, and we develop techniques for evaluating and improving damage to land and marine ecosystems.

Sustainability is also an integral part of the University's strategy. We aim to become a climate-positive university by 2030.

Our plastics research

The Revolution Plastics Institute is working with partners in business, government and academia around the world to find innovative solutions to the planet's plastic pollution crisis. This is supported by our research centres. From pioneering research into plastic-degrading enzymes through to our multi-disciplinary approach to inform blue governance policies around the world.

Revolution Plastics Institute

From developing sustainable fashion to combatting microplastics, we’re putting our research into practice, working with local groups, organisations, businesses and individuals to solve the planet's plastic problem.

Find out more

Centre for Enzyme Innovation

At the Centre for Enzyme Innovation, we are working to solve one of the most pressing environmental issues facing our planet.

petri dish from centre for enzyme research

Explore our research

Centre for Blue Governance

We're committed to the protection, restoration and sustainable governance of our aquatic environments

Areas of Expertise and Research Groups

Many of the University's research areas deal directly with issues of sustainability and the environment.

Find out more about some of our areas of expertise, including:

Environmental processes and impacts research group

We're looking at the Earth's changing environment and the influence of human activity on climate and ecosystems.

Pollution from factory rising into a dark grey sky

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Monitoring

We're examining how humans impact ecosystems, and developing new ways to assess and counteract our impact on the environment.

Renewable Energy and Sustainability Analytics

Modelling to answer a host of questions, from how to produce renewable energy more cheaply, to how the associated logistics can be sustainable.

Resource Economics and Environmental Policy

We examine how economics influences the preservation and sustainability of natural resources such as aquatic ecosystems.

Environmental Technology and Management

We're finding sustainable ways of tackling pollution, developing the technology needed to deal with new pollutants, and finding ways to build sustainable, environmentally-friendly urban landscapes.

Structural engineers in disaster relief training in earthquake ruins

Sustainability and Business

We're identifying how businesses can embed sustainability practices to contribute to achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A birds eye view of a circle of houses surrounding a cluster of trees

Research features

Explore our features for a snapshot of our recent research work in this research theme.

Could a mutant enzyme solve the planet's plastic problem?

A collaboration between the Centre for Enzyme Innovation, and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has created a new mutant enzyme that breaks down plastic bottles faster.