In the late afternoon of Tuesday 17 January, more than 200 people attended the launch of this new Institute. Academic and professional Bath staff, external partners from industry, policymakers and other stakeholders convened at the end of the work day to see the University open a new chapter in its quest for excellence in research and collaboration – the new University of Bath Institute for Sustainability (IfS).
At such an important time to be starting such a venture, I was honoured to be an invited speaker to celebrate this milestone in this opening event, along with our Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Ian White and Chair of Council Pamela Chesters.
Once again, we must capitalise on the importance of sustainability and decarbonisation, and the deep changes that we must make to achieve net zero. The Net Zero Review launched on 13 January highlights the speed needed for action. The review makes recommendations that cover the greater role that business and industry can play, highlights the economic benefits that can come from net zero and sustainability, and outlines the economic loss that will fall upon those who fail to keep up with these new and necessary trends.
The new Institute’s foundation lies in the hugely successful Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies (CSCT) and its longstanding tradition of interdisciplinary research and collaboration with industry and business. With sustainability being one of the University’s priority research areas, the IfS is in an excellent ecosystem to continue growing and focusing on real change – one that demands interdisciplinary thinking and interdisciplinary action.
With a catchy tagline ‘Science and Technology Driven Sustainability’, the IfS will do exactly what it says on the tin, focusing on sustainable technologies and circular systems, with work ranging from lab-scale research of novel techniques and processes that can lead to long-term change, to on-the-ground real and near-time changes to process and practice.
The IfS counts on an incredibly diverse community of experts from every Faculty and School at Bath. And by doing so, it provides both a breadth of expertise and a depth of knowledge in sustainability that makes this venture so unique, and which is so imperative if we are to make a difference handling complex issues such as the climate crisis.
Alongside its research activities, the IfS will also focus on training and researcher development, growing a next generation of professionals who truly understand how to tackle the complexity of these issues and how to use the transformative power of collaboration and engagement beyond academia.
I am truly pleased to see the start of this fantastic project that brings together some of the richest, most critical and innovative minds in our community, to deliver the impact that we know we need to secure a better tomorrow.
Congratulations to the IfS team for organising such an enjoyable event and set the tone for many more futures successes!
