Binks Institute for Sustainability - research themes

Research themes

Food

The Food theme is based on our strengths in sustainable crop sciences, which makes a significant contribution to NetZero and the Climate Action challenges including:

• Bioeconomy, biomass and cell walls related to carbon sequestration
• Biotic interactions (disease/beneficial) related to reduced inputs
• Genetics and genomics related to diversity, adaptation, resilience
• Plant morphology and development related to yield, quality, environmental interactions
• Regulation of stress responses to climate change​; sustainable production, environmental impact, natural capital, nature-based solutions.

The Binks Institute for Sustainability aims to enable research which goes beyond our current strengths to address wider food related challenges such as matters of consumption, transition, and biodiversity.

Energy and Water

The Energy and Water theme brings together our research strengths in environmental science, law, and policy, including climate change impacts, responses and transitions, earth observation for monitoring, management and early warning of climate events, water policy, law and science (UNESCO Centre for Water Law) and energy law, policy and management (Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy - CEPMLP).

The Binks Institute for Sustainability will enable collaboration between these areas of strength and widen the scope of our research potential in collaboration with academics from other disciplines to address for example just transitions, consumption, technology, citizen science, creativity, and design.

Design and Ecology Futures

This theme brings together expertise in design, planning and architecture and builds on successful programmes in the area of community-based planning, citizen science (generation, sharing and using information) related to growing food, soil health and issues related to the climate crisis.

The Binks Institute for Sustainability will provide a platform to bring together interdisciplinary expertise including ecology and environmental sciences, sustainable production, environmental impact, natural capital, nature-based solutions as well as agri-food sustainability, recycling of chemicals and metals and will be led by an arts, culture and design perspective focused on futures thinking.

Engineering Sustainability

The Engineering Sustainability theme is based on our research strengths in renewables infrastructure and sustainable materials, including advanced environmentally sustainable construction, repair and rehabilitation technologies, low carbon materials and design as well as renewable energy materials and devices and resilience to natural hazards.

The Binks Institute for Sustainability will provide a focus point to bring this research together, thus enhancing the University’s capability addressing NetZero and by building relationships between engineers, computer scientists and mathematicians and academics from other disciplines, address wider environmental sustainability challenges including transitions, consumption, nature-based solutions, and design.

Cross cutting themes

Net Zero

The term Net Zero means achieving a balance between the Carbon/Green Houses Gases (GHG) emitted into the atmosphere, and the carbon removed from it. This balance – or net zero – will happen when the amount of carbon we add to the atmosphere is no more than the amount removed. The UK Government has set a legislative target of achieving Net Zero by 2050. This will mean fundamental changes to the way energy is generated, transported, and used in all aspects of UK living/businesses.

The Net Zero cross cutting theme focuses on the policy environment and the priority industries and seeks to address the challenges which need to be overcome by bringing our expertise from across our 4 themes to this priority. This maps to the University’s strategic theme of Climate Action and Net Zero and maps to our partnership with Scotland Beyond Net Zero.

Just Transitions

A ‘just transition’ means moving to a more sustainable economy in a way that’s fair to everyone. Ensuring just transitions while tackling climate change and biodiversity loss is key to supporting inclusive economies and societies in the future.

This cross-cutting theme brings to all of our 4 themes the evidence and expertise from the social sciences and humanities to supporting a just transition and how we can shape a positive future locally, nationally, and globally. This aligns with the University’s strategic theme of equity and inclusion.

Environmental Education

Environmental education is the University’s opportunity to enable future generations to achieve a more sustainable way of life. This cross-cutting theme will embed sustainability in the University’s learning and teaching. It will develop scholarship on how we teach sustainability and will reach out to students locally and globally.