sustainability Archives

Research Outreach – Issue 133: Bee farming, electrical eye activity, and IP disputes

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In the last issue of 2022, Research Outreach contains a sparkling array of articles covering the latest studies into topics such as intellectual property, health and gender inequality, and an eye-opening experiment on detecting vision problems in alcoholics. We feature some fascinating interviews, talking to leaders in their fields about the importance of critical pedagogy and how a programme assessing […]

Sustainability asymmetries in buyer–supplier relationships

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A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This is easy to say, but the reality is more complex. New research into sustainability and Strategic Supply Chain Management (SSCM) shows that buyer–supplier relationships are far from straightforward, and differences between buyers’ and suppliers’ approaches to sustainability can both positively and negatively affect buyers’ financial and market performance. Led […]

World Science Day for Peace and Development 2022: Join in #ScienceDay

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Highlighting the importance of science and science communication for World Science Day 2022 - celebrating peace and development!

It’s World Science Day for Peace and Development! Celebrated every 10th of November, #ScienceDay highlights the importance of science for the world – both for protecting our fragile planet, and for improving the lives of the people who call Earth home. On this day, conversations surrounding emerging scientific issues are encouraged, plus the importance of communicating science to the public. […]

The life of a lithium-ion battery

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A review of lithium-ion batteries for Research Outreach issue 133

If you’re reading this on a laptop or mobile phone, it’s likely powered by a lithium-ion battery – a huge amount of our everyday technology, from computers to medical devices and electric vehicles, relies on them. With so much demand, it’s no surprise that there is a significant amount of research into maximising the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries and working […]

Predictive discarding for sustainable Industry 5.0

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The computer chip shortage has prompted Dr Geert van Kollenburg and his colleagues at Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands, to find data-driven methods to optimise chip manufacturing processes. As part of the MadeIn4 project, they have developed a predictive discarding framework in which quality predictions from artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are used to decide on whether to discard an […]

Research Outreach – Issue 129: Sustainability, ethical banking, and baby robots

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Although this issue was published earlier in the year, the scientific research was too good not to round up here on the blog. This issue of Research Outreach investigates a number of ways that sustainability issues are being tackled, including strategies in green central banking, opportunities to improve urban transport and a transdisciplinary approach to restoring the river Thames. Research […]

Cactus: The new leather?

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An image of a prickly pear cactus with fruits growing from the top. This type of cactus is being used to develop plant-based alternatives to leather.

It’s widely known that the production of animal leather is very harmful to the environment, but leather is a staple of many industries. As an answer to this problem a variety of more eco-friendly leather alternatives have recently been developed. One of these is an organic material called Desserto®, made of nopal (or prickly pear) cactus. This alternative has the look and […]

(Un)sustainability in the Swiss fish market

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Research into the sustainability practices and issues with the Swiss fish market and its approach to sustainable aquatic agriculture.

Sustainability of fish as a food is a highly complex issue, especially in a global market with wildly varying measures and priorities in fish production and harvesting. Urs Baumgartner, environmental scientist, and Dr Elisabeth Bürgi Bonanomi, legal scientist and expert in sustainable trade regulation, tried to get a clearer picture of sustainability in the fish market of Switzerland, which imports […]

Autoneum – making sustainable acoustic and thermal management of cars a reality

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The team at Autoneum are designing acoustic and thermal management systems for vehicles with sustainability.

The automotive manufacturing industry has reached a point of no return. Advancing electrification and increasing sustainability standards have forced manufacturers to change strategic tack and design vehicles that are more environmentally responsible in every phase of their lifespan. Swiss company Autoneum is at the cutting edge of acoustic and thermal management solutions for automobiles – an increasingly important component to the […]

Waste management and transition to a circular economy

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Dr Pekka Peura reviews the evolution of a waste-management system which has been in place since 1984 in Finland, driving the move to a circular economy

As opposition to society’s ‘throwaway culture’ grows, so does the realisation that recycling and waste management are not only needed but desired by the public. Dr Pekka Peura at VEBIC, University of Vaasa, Finland, in collaboration with Dr Olli Voutilainen of the Natural Resources Institute Finland and Professor Jussi Kantola of the University of Turku, review the evolution of a […]