Sustainability in Research from Leadership to Practice
Wednesday 4 February 2026, 3:00pm to 4:00pm
Venue
FUR - Furness LT 3 - View MapOpen to
StaffRegistration
Free to attend - registration requiredRegistration Info
Please click on Book now below to register. Registrations close Monday 2 February 2026. Please contact pentlandcentre@lancaster.ac.uk for queries re booking after that date.
Event Details
The Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business is holding a seminar on sustainability in higher education, bringing together perspectives on current thinking and practices across universities.
This seminar brings together four short talks that look at sustainability in research from different angles across the sector. Dr Sam Finnerty opens with insights from interviews with senior university leaders, focusing on how they understand their responsibilities and manage the competing pressures that shape institutional sustainability work. Dr Yingnian Tao then turns to sustainability reports from 66 UK universities, examining how institutions present their efforts and how they describe the roles of staff and students. Dr Seth Robinson follows with a discussion of the cultural factors that influence whether sustainability goals actually take root in day-to-day research practice, drawing on findings from workshops, interviews, and comparisons with other institutions. Dr Valerie Seymour concludes by introducing a new reflective tool designed to help researchers assess their own practices and plan concrete next steps. Together, these talks offer a clear view of how sustainability is interpreted, communicated, and enacted within universities, and point to practical areas where change is possible.
NB: The seminar runs from 15:00-16:00 in FUR- Furness LT3 and on Teams. Please note that this session will be recorded.
Open to LU staff - registration required.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Relevant to SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Speakers
Samuel Finnerty
Psychology, Lancaster University
Dr Samuel Finnerty is a social psychologist and interdisciplinary researcher at Lancaster University. His research examines how individuals and institutions respond to the climate crisis, focusing on scientist activism, moral identity, and sustainable research cultures. Samuel’s current work, supported by the Wellcome Trust, explores the ethical and cultural dimensions of sustainability in UK higher education, including how universities conceptualise their responsibilities in addressing the clim
Seth Robinson
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University
Dr Seth Robinson is an Environmental Sustainability Senior Research Associate at Lancaster University, working on a Wellcome Trust–funded project to embed sustainability, ethics, and inclusion into research culture. His work involves analysing current research practices around sustainability across the university, developing practical tools and guidance to support sustainable research lifecycles, and coordinating with departments and services to align everyday practice with Lancaster’s net-zero
Valerie Seymour
Admin, Lancaster University
Dr Valerie Seymour is an Education Fellow for the “Reimagining research practices: towards a sustainable, ethical and inclusive future” project at Lancaster University. She previously held both teaching and research focused roles in the Chemistry Department at Lancaster University. She combines experience and insight from these roles in her current role supporting the development of research students and staff.
Yingnian Tao
Psychology, Lancaster University
Dr Yingnian Tao is a Senior Research Associate at Lancaster University, working on a Wellcome Trust–funded project on research culture. Her research explores how corpus linguistics can be used to examine discourse on issues with significant societal impact. Her current work focuses on sustainability communication in business, media, and higher education.
Contact Details
| Name | Pentland Centre |