The South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre is here to help the region meet the challenges posed by the transition to net-zero and reducing carbon emissions. We are placing sustainability at the heart of the region so that the people, places and businesses of South Yorkshire can benefit from a greener, fairer future.
The Climate Emergency
We all know that to combat climate change we need to urgently reduce carbon emissions, but doing so without balancing the connected economic and social issues will only lead to more inequality and poverty in society. The challenges we face are complex and cut across industries, society and academic disciplines, but there are also opportunities; for jobs, economic growth and a more sustainable and thriving future.
At the SYSC, we want to help South Yorkshire meet the challenges posed by the climate emergency, while also providing positive opportunities for the people, places and businesses in the region.
Our Partnerships
The Centre has been set up from a partnership of the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. We work closely with the four councils in South Yorkshire and with businesses across the region. This lets us identify, tackle and respond to the biggest sustainability challenges that the region faces.
The Centre is the first of its kind in the UK - this is a different kind of research centre, where leading academics from our universities work directly with businesses, public sector organisations and charities to connect sustainability research with the people who need it to address key challenges that we face as a region.
Our Focus
The unique centre is focused on three key areas that represent the highest-emitting and most difficult to decarbonise parts of the economy and relate directly to regional priorities. Tackling these areas will have a massive impact on our region, from decarbonising to meet net-zero targets to creating new, green jobs across South Yorkshire.
We’re exploring:
- how the Region could decarbonise home heating and transport whilst also improving our living conditions and travel journeys
- how changes to the way we produce, consume and dispose of food could reduce its environmental impact
- the technologies and support structures needed to support industry and businesses transition to net-zero
Taking a bigger picture approach
The South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre’s research is taking a big picture approach to these challenges. To balance the needs of the environment, society and economy our solutions don’t only have to answer the scientific and engineering problems they are tackling, but they also need to answer other important sustainability questions.
That’s why every project we work on will have input from an interdisciplinary team from the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University so that the solutions we provide can truly drive forward sustainability in South Yorkshire.
We want to provide local and national policy makers with the evidence they need to make sustainable policy decisions for the future. We want to ensure that the transition to a sustainable South Yorkshire is centred around the views, wellbeing and livelihoods of its citizens. We want to capture, track and model data to measure sustainability impacts and we want to assess the resilience of supply chains to identify ways to improve local sourcing and technological innovations.
Big challenges bring exciting opportunities
The journey towards a just and sustainable future brings opportunities that will benefit the whole of South Yorkshire. The Centre is ideally placed to develop the solutions that are needed to ensure that our communities, businesses and places take the benefits that a sustainable future will bring. We want South Yorkshire to be a fantastic place to live and work for generations to come and the work that the Sustainability Centre is doing is vital to achieve that.
We are living through an important moment in time. The action we take now will shape the future of the planet. The decisions and changes we make now will have an immense impact on that future.
Rachael Rothman, Director South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre
