Sustainable Development Research Cluster

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About us

About us

The Sustainable Development Research Cluster (SDRC) consists of academics from across all faculties that are dedicated to fostering the essential societal transformation towards sustainability. We organise events to bring together sustainability-related research from across Middlesex University’s four faculties and from external partners and interested stakeholders. Our goal is to offer a dynamic environment that promotes and enhances a proactive research culture, supporting collaborations that build on synergies between research interests, co-create research projects and support our ability to attract research funding. 

The SDRC draws on the diverse sustainability expertise across Middlesex University, on:

  • Governance: The representation of nature, environmental values and evidence in the governance process and the impact of this on the effectiveness and fairness of the aims and outcomes of governance interventions for sustainability. Effective flood risk governance, flood insurance, and risk communication. The feasibility of holding corporations accountable for their involvement in international crimes and human rights abuses, with a focus on international environmental law and posthuman theory. Staff members: Dr Meri Juntti; Prof Sally Priest; Dr Simon McCarthy; Dr Alessandra De Tommaso; Dr Patrick Elf; Dr Andrea Werner
  • Environmental management: integrating social, economic and environmental aspects in the sustainable management of natural resources (water, air, soil) and in the development of assessment techniques, models and decision support tools for stakeholders needs. Staff members: Dr Christophe Viavattene; Prof Lian Lundy; Prof Diane Purchase; Dr Huw Jones; Dr Doug Harman
  • Behaviour change: supporting policy makers and private sector actors as well as households to change to pro-social and pro-environmental alternatives. Collaborations and research projects include partnerships with The National Lottery Community Fund, IKEA UK & Ireland and UKRI. Staff members: Dr Patrick Elf; Dr Emma Dick; Dr Sian Stephens
  • Sustainable organisational studies: researching alternative organisations and their potential to drive sustainable development, provide care and foster wellbeing for people and planet. Staff members: Dr Patrick Elf; Prof Fergus Lyon; Dr Andrea Werner; Prof Robyn Owen; Dr Amy Burnett; Dr Christopher Moon
  • Design and architecture: sustainable and inclusive built environment research with a focus on people and planet, particularly application of data-driven approaches such as Digital Twin in enhancing energy performance. Methods and support for immersive, collaborative and scalable experiences and public engagement approaches for climate change research and engagement. Sustainable construction. Staff Members: Mr Wyn Griffiths; Dr Homeira Shayesteh
Our research

Our research - examples of recent projects

The project, realised in collaboration with the London Development Trust, aimed to improve awareness and understanding of the social impact of urban water features and green space in the context of housing regeneration, and to provide usable indicators and guidance that support the integration of this knowledge into community stewardship strategies. It builds on prior funding from SNN+ and Newton Funding (UKRI) and contribute do the REF 2021 case study benefits from knowledge exchange activities that received £3000 from the Middlesex University’s HEI funds for knowledge exchange and collated the findings from previous RCUK’s Newton Fund and Sustainable Societies Network+ funded projects dating back to 2015. In 2024, findings informed the Greater London Authority’s work on the new London Green Infrastructure Framework and the London Nature Recovery Strategy through staff involvement in consultation.

Staff contact: Dr Meri Juntti

Project outputs can be viewed here:

Long-standing partnership with IKEA UK & Ireland to support their sustainable living strategy supporting thousands of participants in their effort to live more sustainable lifestyles at home.

Staff contact: Dr Patrick Elf

Project outputs can be viewed here:

This project aimed to engage students and industry professionals in co-creating curricula that embeds sustainability, UNSDGs and Climate Framework. It received the internal Enhancing Education Award of £5000. The project has been presented in Advance HE Sustainability Symposium 2023, MDX Teaching and Learning Conference 2023 and (forthcoming 2025 paper). 

Staff contact: Dr Homeira Shayesteh

This project is a collaborative effort with IESVE towards achieving a sustainable and energy-efficient future for one of Middlesex University Campus Buildings. It explores strategic retrofitting options that promise not only to reduce the building’s carbon emissions but also significantly cut down on energy consumption. Focusing on the importance of data, it encapsulates the efforts of the team in leveraging advanced digital twin technology to enhance the building’s energy efficiency and sustainability.

Staff contact: Dr Homeira Shayesteh

More information:

Postgraduate research

Postgraduate Research

Our staff members supervise a broad range of Postgraduate Research students (please refer to individual staff profiles for details). We invite applications for admission to our PhD programme in any area of sustainable development.

Teaching - relevant programmes and CPD modules

Outputs

Please refer to individual staff profiles for further publications.

Our external partners

External collaborative partners

Events/Media

Events/Media

In 2023, we organised a number of events and workshops with both internal and external:

  • Walkshops for creative reflection sessions
  • Seminars with external experts (e.g. regenerative design, participatory theatre for plural values, entrepreneurship education etc)
  • ‘Pint of Science’ events showcasing sustainability research within the university
  • 15 of December 2023 Post-COP28: What’s next for sustainable consumption? As greenhouse gas emissions hit new highs, temperature records tumble and climate impacts intensify, COP28 inter alia launched a call to “join the world of actionism“. Just one month after Black Friday and days before Christmas, this hybrid event will take a closer look at the conference’s outcomes and explore the future of sustainable consumption research and practice to ensure we make progress towards achieving SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Speakers

  • Dr Natasha Parker, Head of Post Consumerism, Global Action Plan
  • Peter Andrews, Director of Consumer Rights, Innovation & Impact, Consumers International
  • Greg Lucas, Head of Sustainability, IKEA Group UK & Ireland
Get in touch

Get in touch

Best way to contact the SDRC is via email to one or both of the co-leads: