Sustainable Systems: Tools for Analysis and Design
Building on our international reputation in environmental systems analysis to apply a range of inter-disciplinary tools to the analysis, design and management of sustainable technologies, systems and infrastructures
This theme builds on the long standing strengths of CES in environmental systems analysis, linking to complementary expertise across the campus. The intention is to further develop a range of analytic and modelling tools and techniques for sustainability, informed by the conceptual and empirical research of the Social Research on Sustainability group. Expertise in established techniques such as Life Cycle Assessment, Value Chain Analysis and Industrial Ecology are built upon to address the strong business and policy interest in areas such as carbon accounting (footprinting), and research will expand into a range of newer approaches such as dynamic simulation, agent-based modelling and approaches to uncertainty. Example topic areas include:
- Decision support for sustainability in corporate investment and policy design
- Infrastructure design and implementation - including sustainable cities, supply chains, integration of innovative service delivery
- Sustainable energy systems and technologies - eg decentralised energy, bioenergy, clean coal, consumer information and smart meters
- Low carbon transitions - modelling a sustainable/low carbon society
- Water resources management
- Sustainable agriculture and food systems
- Transport planning and design - including aviation
- Commodity and resource flows and waste management - eg electronic goods, construction
- Towards an Integrated Regional Materials Flow Accounting Model
- Company Environmental Performance and Supply Chain Analysis
- Application of LCA to Waste Management
- Integrated Chain Management of Polymer Materials
- LCA and Decision-Making
- Integrating Environmental Life Cycle Assessment and Risk Management of Waste Technologies at a Local Level
- Industrial Ecologies for Steel and Aluminium
- A Material Flow and Ecological Footprint of the South East
- Sustainable Building Energy Services by Design
- Regional Visions of Integrated Sustainable Infrastructure Optimised for NeighbourhoodS consortium (ReVISIONS)
- Transition pathways to a low carbon economy consortium (Transitions)
- Flexnet consortium of EPSRC’s SUPERGEN programme
Academic staff working in this area:
| Dr Lauren Basson | l.basson@surrey.ac.uk | +44 (0)1483 686680 |
| Dr Jonathan Chenoweth | j.chenoweth@surrey.ac.uk | +44 (0)1483 689096 |
| Professor Roland Clift | r.clift@surrey.ac.uk | +44 (0)1483 689271 |
| Dr Lucia Elghali | l.elghali@surrey.ac.uk | +44 (0)1483 686674 |
| Professor Chris France | c.france@surrey.ac.uk | +44 (0)1483 686683 |
| Professor Tim Jackson | t.jackson@surrey.ac.uk | +44 (0)1483 689072 |
| Professor Stephan Jefferis | s.jefferis@surrey.ac.uk | +44 (0)1483 686670 |
| Professor Matthew Leach | m.leach@surrey.ac.uk | +44 (0)1483 689170 |
| Dr Jacquetta Lee | j.lee@surrey.ac.uk | +44 (0)1483 686686 |
| Dr Yacob Mulugetta | y.mulugetta@surrey.ac.uk | +44 (0)1483 686673 |
| Dr Walter Wehrmeyer | w.wehrmeyer@surrey.ac.uk |