Vision Statement:
The Queen’s University Belfast Institute for a Sustainable World aims to be an internationally recognised centre for interdisciplinary excellence in education and research which will provide innovative solutions through science, engineering and the social sciences to the challenges posed by the social, economic and environmental transitions required for one-world living.
The influence of the human race on Planet Earth continues to grow and, for the first time in history, is having a global impact on land, sea and air with consequences for the quality of life for the current generation and massive change for future generations.
Queen's University Belfast is attempting to solve many of the pressing problems, including the prevention of pollution, the remediation of polluted sites, the development of clean water technologies, and the development of social and ethical policies through the creation of The Institute for a Sustainable World. The aim of the ISW is to provide an environment which encourages high-quality, innovative, inter-disciplinary research, to develop new modules and degree courses, particularly at postgraduate level, and to play a lead role in the 'greening' of QUB.
The QUB Vision of Sustainable Development
Sustainable development poses some of the most serious challenges of the 21st century. QUB has decided to prioritise research and teaching on sustainable development as a major thematic focus for the coming years.
The QUB vision of sustainable development agenda is essentially a ‘triple bottom line’ analysis - which is explicitly supported by the UK Sustainable Development Commission.
The triple bottom line analysis is that sustainable development requires fundamental social, economic and environmental change. Achieving that objective requires a different way of working - in particular that we embrace a genuinely interdisciplinary approach in which all views have value.
In its initial phase, the new Institute for a Sustainable World will focus on 5 major research themes. They are:
- Energy and climate change
- Water for Life
- Justice and Governance
- Sustainable communities
- Sustainable industry, economics and innovation
These research themes are:
Interdisciplinary, innovative and international in focus.
They will individually and together make a significant contribution to knowledge production on complex problems posed by the SD agenda
The outcomes of this research will provide future generations with the tools and understanding necessary to sustain humanity.
Energy and Climate Change
Even without viewing Al Gore’s new film, An Inconvenient Truth, the profound questions raised by the twin issues of energy security and tackling climate change are now in the public mind as serious problems to be dealt with.
How we produce and consume energy represents perhaps the first ‘keystone’ policy area in the transition to a post-carbon sustainable economy and society. QUB research in this area will focus on:
- Research on renewable sources of energy such as wind, wave, biomass and energy from waste, including research into the socio-economic drivers of excessive energy consumption and inefficiency.
- The social acceptability of renewable technologies such as the siting of wind farms or anaerobic digesters and the ‘up streaming’ of public involvement in scientific and technological innovation.
- Ensuring our transport infrastructure, from road to air travel, is as sustainable and energy and resource efficient as possible
Water for Life
Water is essential for life! Water is crucial for sustainable development, including the preservation of our natural environment and the alleviation of poverty and hunger. Water is indispensable for human health and well-being. The United Nations General Assembly, in December 2003, proclaimed the years 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life'.
Furthermore the theme of water resource management is of central concern to the EU and articulated in the EU Water Framework Directive. Under this theme Queen's demonstrates its continuing commitment and development of the strong Research Profile in Coastal Engineering and Management, Flood Risk Management and Geo-hydrology. It will further strengthen our hydrologic and catchment management sciences unpacking the relationship between pollution pathways, filtration mechanisms, flood risk threats, water supply.
Justice and Governance
Ensuring a just distribution of the costs, risks and benefits of economic development lies at the heart of the principle of sustainable development. However, as societies make the transition towards sustainability it is becoming clear that there will be significant winners and losers. Understanding and responding to the ‘justice’ dimensions to sustainable development poses major economic, social and environmental challenges for societies around the world.
QUB research in this area will focus on:
- Understanding the differential impacts of environmental regulation
- Developing new strategies for environmental regulation designed to ensure a just distribution to the costs, risks and benefits of economic development
- Understanding the rights and responsibilities inherent in the concept of environmental citizenship
- Developing a new policy cycle that is capable of meeting the complex interdisciplinary challenges inherent in decision-making for SD
- The potential role of environmental justice for securing the objectives of sustainable development, particularly in ‘divided’ societies.
Sustainable Communities
The focus on Sustainable Communities within the QUB SD initiative will follow closely the overall UN sustainable communities objective to improve the social, economic and environmental quality of human settlements and the living and working environments of all people, in particular the balance between urban and rural poor. Such improvement should be based on technical cooperation activities, partnerships among the public, private and community sectors and participation in the decision-making process by community groups and special interest groups such as women, indigenous people, the elderly and the disabled. These approaches should form the core principles of regional, national and international settlement strategies. In developing these strategies, there is a need to set priorities taking fully into account for social and cultural capabilities and monitor the impact of these strategies on marginalized and disenfranchised groups.
The QUB focus for Sustainability Research Investment will be aligned with the global goals of:
- Providing adequate shelter for all;
- Improving human settlement management;
- Promoting sustainable land-use planning and management;
- Promoting the integrated provision of environmental infrastructure: water, sanitation, drainage and solid-waste management;
- Promoting sustainable energy and transport systems in human settlements;
- Promoting human settlement planning and management in disaster-prone areas;
- Promoting sustainable construction industry activities;
- Promoting human resource development and capacity-building for human settlement development.
Sustainable Industry, Economics and Innovation
Queen’s University has an international reputation in working with industry to provide sustainable solutions to complex problems.
The Institute will build on the work of research centres such as QUESTOR (Queen’s University Environmental Science and Technology Research Centre) and QUILL (Queen’s University Ionic Liquids Laboratories) for which the University was awarded its fourth Queen’s University Prize for further and Higher Education in 2006 and the 2005 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award. QUILL has also been selected to represent the United Kingdom in the International Green Chemistry network, a major G8 initiative. We also work closely with national bodies such as the Royal Academy of Engineering to support our research and education programmes.
In particular the University will build on it strengths in Green Chemistry in the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. This approach is novel in that it seeks to ‘remove’ pollution from the manufacturing process rather than by the traditional approach of remediation. The challenge is to identify innovative new materials and technologies which are ‘green’ but which also provide solutions which make economic sense.
Contact Details
Initial contact can be made with the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Professor Tom Millar, at deaneps@qub.ac.uk | 
