Sustainability:
Climate emergency: delivering global soil health
Professor John Crawford is the Science Director for the Global Soil Health Programme that brings together a consortium of multinational organisations to implement a global framework for the improvement of soil health and the sequestration of carbon in soils. The programme, driven by a strategic partnership between the University of Glasgow and the University of Sydney, aims to deliver soil health at scale in the next 10 years. This will be achieved through a country-by-country coordination by partnering with the UN Global Soil Partnership, connecting the demand and supply sides of the carbon markets across north and south hemispheres. The programme is generating a new and potentially significant supply of nature-based carbon offsets, whilst delivering significant co-benefits related to emissions reduction, biodiversity, and the security of water and food. Professor Denis Fischbacher-Smith is delivering a risk and resilience perspective and providing systems-based expertise to the programme.
Digitalising sustainable consumption
Overconsumption by consumers is a key challenge to sustainability and climate emergency agendas. Professor Deirdre Shaw and Dr Katherine Duffy’s research focuses on shifting clothing towards more sustainable alternatives. For example, they have collaborated with the Save Your Wardrobe (SYW) app in an ESRC-funded project to examine the role of digitalisation in changing how consumers engage with their clothing, to support more sustainable and mindful behaviours. The collaboration was critical in providing an empirical evidence base for the app, reducing risk, attracting investment, and facilitating expansion. The findings have been disseminated widely with academic, practitioner and policy audiences. This project was a finalist in the Green Gown Awards 2020 and the work is ongoing. Professor Shaw and Dr Duffy also serve on the Glasgow City Council textile strategy action group and are affiliates of WRAP’s Textile 2030 policy group.
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Driverless cars
Professors Nuran Acur and Robbie Paton have joined forces with the European Space Agency (ESA), UK Space Agency and the telecommunication provider O2, in a research project to develop and commercialise the technology needed for driverless cars. They will research new business models, technology management and policies needed for successful commercialisation. The Glasgow-based researchers have received £881,279 as part of this large-scale endeavour, known as 'Project Darwin'. Dr Natalia Lukaszewicz serves as the Research Associate and Mr Carlos Carbajal Pina is the Research Assistant on this project.
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- Professor Nuran Acur
- Mr Carlos Carbajal Pina
- Dr Natalia Lukaszewicz
- Professor Robbie Paton
- Project Darwin
Combating energy poverty
Dr Yee Kwan Tang is a co-investigator on a £299,701 Innovate UK-funded project which aims to provide clean, affordable and secure electricity to a remote village in Bangladesh. This innovative collaboration between industry and academia involves Dr Chong Li (PI) from the James Watt School of Engineering, UK technology company SEMWaves Ltd and local partners in Bangladesh. The team will test build a solar-hydraulic power generation system and its distribution in the region. The project aims to support Bangladesh in meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on universal access to affordable clean energy.
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Baltic Street Adventure Playground
With funding from the European Social Fund, Dr Stephanie Anderson and Professor Deirdre Shaw worked directly with a local organisation, Baltic Street Adventure Playground, to support and develop an award-winning community food hub in a disadvantaged area of Glasgow. The hub has been critical to food provision in the area. The research obtained as a result of this partnership will be used to inform future interventions and influence policy decision-making. Professor Andrew Cumbers, Professor Robert McMaster and Dr Helen Traill also worked on this interdisciplinary project. Their work received the Best Community or Public Engagement Initiative Award at the UofG Knowledge and Public Engagement Awards, as well as the Making a Difference Award at the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards in 2020.
Related links
- Dr Stephanie Anderson
- Professor Andrew Cumbers
- Professor Robert McMaster
- Professor Deirdre Shaw
- Dr Helen Traill
- Baltic Street Adventure Playground
- European Social Fund
- Research paper: Scaling up community action for tackling climate change (2018)
- Research paper: The work of community gardens: reclaiming place for community in the city (2018)
- Research report: Baltic Street Adventure Playground Establishing a Community Food Hub (2020)
- University of Glasgow project profile