The Interdisciplinary Environmental Sustainability Research Group (IESRG) was launched to bring together colleagues across disciplines and schools to collaborate on sustainability-focused research that makes a meaningful difference to people’s lives across a range of key areas of interest.
Climate change education
Education is central to tackling the climate crisis, not only in terms of curriculum reform, but also through how, where, and why we teach. IESRG members are exploring how to integrate sustainability across learning environments, particularly through outdoor learning and climate-resilient teaching.
Leigh Hoath, Professor of Science Education at Leeds Trinity University, has focused her research on effective pedagogies in the outdoors and on climate change education. With a career as a science teacher, Leigh has contributed to policy, BBC Teach materials, and climate change organisations, and is co-founder of the charity CAPE - Climate Adapted Pathways for Education. Within CAPE, she has recently collaborated with Bishop’s University in Canada on a study outlining the interventions needed to protect children from climate anxiety.
Conducted across classrooms in England with 238 children aged 7-12, the study marks a turning point in the global conversation around climate change education: it’s no longer just a matter of delivering facts or sparking activism — it’s about mental resilience, emotional preparedness, and psychological care.
Pro-environmental behaviour and engagement
Psychological and cultural factors play a critical role in how individuals respond to environmental issues. Our members are investigating topics such as place attachment – the emotional bond people form with physical spaces, environmental values, wellbeing in green spaces, and the emotional drivers of sustainable behaviour. This includes international research on how hope and identity shape climate action across the UK as well as Southeast Asia.
One of my latest studies found that people’s emotions and cultural beliefs strongly shape how they respond to environmental crises such as the recurring transboundary haze in Southeast Asia. The study, conducted across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, explored why some people take preventive or protective actions while others do not. The research showed that hope was a particularly powerful motivator of action. In contrast, stress about the haze did not significantly influence behaviour. Overall, the findings suggest that encouraging a sense of hope and shared responsibility, alongside building public understanding of environmental issues, could make campaigns against environmental problems more effective.
Green finance and sustainable futures
Addressing climate change also requires financial innovation. The IESRG includes researchers focused on sustainability-linked finance, ethical investment, and economic transitions. Dr Hammed Afolabi, Programme Leader for BSc Accounting and Finance, carries out applied research on sustainability reporting and standardisation, focusing on implications for policymakers, paving the way towards more environmentally conscious accounting and finance practices.
More widely, the group is beginning to explore how financial systems and governance can support climate-resilient futures, including collaborative work on modelling climate risk and engaging the public in future-planning.
Social justice
Several members of the IESRG are examining the intersection of community wellbeing and social justice. This includes research into urban planning, inclusive climate communication, international relations, and sustainable development strategies that account for cultural and local context.
Dr Christine Habib, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is working directly with marginalised female entrepreneurs, teaching them marketing and digital skills, empowering them and ensuring their business is sustainable. Her research and applied field work focuses on female entrepreneurs in Egypt and has received funding from key organisations such as the British Academy. Dr Habib’s work is a testament to the group’s vision of equity and participation as essential components of environmental solutions.
Getting involved
We’re always looking to grow our network, both within Leeds Trinity and through external partnerships, and welcome interest from researchers across all disciplines. The group currently includes researchers in psychology, education, business, humanities, and health, working on a wide range of environmental themes. What unites us is a commitment to real-world impact and a recognition that sustainability challenges demand interdisciplinary thinking.
To learn more or get involved, you can contact me at l.depretto@leedstrinity.ac.uk or follow updates on the IESRG’s LinkedIn page.
Together, we can shape research that contributes to a more sustainable, just, and collaborative future.
Dr Laura De Pretto is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Leeds Trinity University and founder of the IESRG.