Sustainability
We develop interdisciplinary research in social science for ecologically sustainable and socially just futures
About us
We lead and facilitate research seeking ways to ensure human wellbeing and equity in harmony with other species and within the Earth's limits. Taking a strong ecological perspective, we explore sustainability in a range of systems and across a range of scales in space and time, from the local to the global. We also work to ensure research is sustainable as a practice in the sense that it is non-exploitative of the human and non-human communities that it enrols.
Latest News
Browse our latest events, project highlights and blog posts below. If you would like to feature your work on our page, please email sustainability-irt@glasgow.ac.uk.
EVENT | Stepping Up to the Sustainable Development Goals
Tuesday 23 April, in person
Justice, Insecurity, & Fair Decision Making and Sustainability IRT team up with Scotland’s International Development Alliance (SIDA) to discuss how collaboration is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals...(read more)
EVENT | Agricultural Extension that Better Benefits Female Farmers
Monday 26 February, in person
Sustainability IRT & the Centre for Research & Development in Adult & Lifelong Learning Seminar on research into the accessibility of education & advice to female farmers in the Global South...(read more)
RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT | Water Treatment Technologies
Explore the pioneering work of Research Fellow , as she harnesses sustainable, biology-based techniques to purify drinking water...(read more)
EVENT | Carbon Capture (Use) & Storage
Monday 29 January, in person
Join the Sustainability IRT for an opportunity for researchers interested in the sociocultural implications of carbon capture, use and storage to share ideas in a novel way...(read more)
RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT | Water & Waste
Glasgow Water Cluster member Professor Jude Robinson examines the critical issues of water, waste, and the disparities that exist in these domains...(read more)
EVENT | Microbes & Sustainability/Fermentation in 20th Century East Asia
Tuesday 21 November 2023 in person
The Sustainabilty IRT hosted Victoria Lee to discuss their work, The Arts of the Microbial World: Fermentation Science in Twentieth-Century Japan...(read more)
EVENT | Strengthening resilience in natural and built environments
Thursday, 23 November in person
Our Sustainability IRT held a research development and networking session for members of UofG Research Community interested in resilience in natural & built environment...(read more)
EVENT I ICAI Learning Event: Aid to Agriculture in a Time of Climate Change
In September 2023, we were joined by the Independent Commision for Aid Impact and Farm Africa for this hybrid learning event on aid to agriculture in a time of climate change....(read more)
EVENT I Evidence for Change - Building partnerships between academia & third sector
Tuesday 10th October, 2023 (hybrid)
Join researchers, practitioners and advocates to discuss building partnerships between academia and the third sector in the Global South...(read more)
What Sustainability Means To Me
Our aim is to lead and facilitate social science research around key sustainability challenges. In 2023, our activities will focus on the following areas:
- Ecologies - Environmental sustainability under climate change and human activities
- Just transitions - What kind of societal transformations do we need to achieve eco-social sustainability?
- Governance - Reforming governance and management systems of natural resources, including sustainable water and land use.
- Methodologies - Exploring interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary methodological approaches to research on sustainability
Anna Wilson
Anna Wilson is a Reader in Interdisciplinary Research in the School of Education. She approaches Sustainability from a complex ecological perspective on learning and knowledge generation. She is interested in how we (individuals, groups and organisations) learn both about and from our environments, and how we can unlearn unsustainable habits and practices.
Sustainability to me...
Karen Bell, Just Transition Lead
Karen is a Senior Lecturer in Urban Sustainable Development in the Department of Urban Studies. Her concerns are inequities in environmental burdens, inclusion in environmental decision-making and eco-social policy making. She researches environmental justice, Just Transition and military impacts on the environment or the ‘Treadmill of Destruction’.
Sustainability to me...
Cecilia Tortajada
Cecilia is a Professor in Practice in the School of Social & Environmental Sustainability. She has over 30 years of experience working on water, environment and natural resources management in the overall context of development. Cecilia is currently working on impacts of global changes on water resources, environment, food, and societies, and their inter-linkages.
Find out more about Cecilia's research >>
Sustainability to me...
Jill Robbie, Governance Lead
Jill is a Senior Lecturer in Private Law at the University of Glasgow. Jill's research interest lies within the field of property law and natural resources. She is currently investigating the tensions between social justice, economic development and environmental protection in the context of the law regulating land use. She is particularly interested in analysing these tensions in relation to water.