Last week, Matt Watson was working with sustainability staff in United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) on their decarbonisation agenda. UKRI oversees several billion £s of research funding each year, so it has a potentially very influential role in helping get research practice more sustainable across Universities. Thanks to Matt leading the University's development of a carbon neutral travel strategy, this discussion drew on his expertise on what changes are needed to cut air travel, both within UKRI's own work, and in leading change across the University sector in the UK.
This week he was one of a few academics in discussion with staff from the UK Government's Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and from the Behavioural Insights Team, on principles to inform policy approaches to social and behavioural change as part of the development of the UK's Net Zero Strategy. As Director of Research and lead of the Social Change and Economic Transformation Research Group, Matt was able to draw on a range of insights from the department's research, including his own work on understanding social change for sustainability in relation to energy, travel and food.