PUBLICATIONS

Two new reports on London’s green economy, commissioned by the London Councils Green Economy Programme, explore how the capital can reach net zero while supporting local businesses and workers, highlighting fragmented SME support, green skills gaps and the need for coordinated action.

Against the backdrop of an urgent need for change of the fashion and textile industry towards more sustainability, this new research report explores how nature positive action can be embedded in UK Textile and Fashion SMEs. It examines what financial and other support is required to achieve this, and how SMEs can develop their environmental reporting to aid investors and other stakeholders in making decisions.

This book chapter by CUSP researcher Amy Isham examines how materialistic values, embedded within consumer capitalist societies, contribute to environmental violence and undermine physical and mental health. Drawing on psychological research, it explores how flow experience—states of deep immersion in meaningful activities—may offer an antidote by supporting human wellbeing, encouraging self-transcendent values, and enabling more sustainable ways of living.

Climate breakdown should be understood as a profound abdication of care, argues CUSP co-Director Tim Jackson in an opinion piece commissioned for the British Medical Journal’s (BMJ’s) new year special issue on climate change. Addressing that failure will take more than clever technology or incremental policy reform. It must start by reimagining the purpose of the economy and the direction of societal progress.

New report examining the rapidly evolving UK early-stage green innovation finance landscape, exploring how start-ups and their investors navigate complex funding pathways to support nature-positive business models. Drawing on extensive stakeholder insights, it highlights both the growing momentum and the significant gaps in measuring, financing, and scaling SME innovations that can embed biodiversity and nature value into investment decisions.

This study by Shimaa Elkomy and Tim Jackson examines how air pollution and CO₂ emissions affect global health—and whether stronger healthcare systems can soften these impacts. The findings show that while robust health systems help, they cannot counteract the long-term harms of rising emissions. Strengthening health systems remains crucial, but it must be paired with emission reduction strategies and stricter environmental regulations to effectively safeguard public health.

To accompany the launch of the latest report by the UK’s Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, Prof Tim Jackson explores the hidden costs of our national diet, asking who truly bears the price of a booming fast-food industry and what it means for our health, communities, and environment.

Using representative surveys in the UK and US with over 5,000 participants, a new study by CUSP fellow Dario Krpan and colleagues Fred Basso, Jason Hickel, and Giorgos Kallis finds that—contrary to common political and media claims—the majority of respondents support degrowth when presented with the full proposal, regardless of the label.

CUSP fellow Richard Bampfylde served as lead researcher and author of the new BKMC policy report, which aims to inspire young people to pursue positive social, environmental, and economic initiatives while encouraging policymakers to adopt more sustainable perspectives and behaviours.

New paper by Patrick Elf, James Ferreira Moura Junior and Amanda Kumaruara, calling for rapid unlearning of harmful modern practices by learning from Indigenous teachings—toward a decolonised, caring, and sustainable future.

In this book, Richard Douglas uncovers the cultural roots of resistance to environmental action. Through a close reading of anti-environmentalist rhetoric, he shows how faith in progress and endless growth shapes modern politics and blocks meaningful responses to ecological crises.

Wellbeing feels out of reach for most people. This paper, written by a range of economists and practitioners in the field of New Economics, explores why this is the case and proposes an alternative modus operandi, setting out key interdependent functions that each actor in the economy might play.

In high-income countries, where continued economic expansion may no longer be possible or desirable, the future of work is increasingly debated—often with conflicting views on labour productivity. This paper examines the role of labour offshoring in shaping productivity gains and considers the implications for post-growth proposals.

In this paper, Seán Fearon et al. use time use analysis combined with emissions and wellbeing data to model 2050 lifestyles in Finland, France, and the UK, showing that while certain time use changes can improve wellbeing and reduce emissions, radical transformations in provisioning systems are still needed to stay within planetary boundaries.

This study investigates where people experience flow today, drawing on UK and international survey data. It examines both the activities and physical environments associated with flow, offering updated insights into how everyday spaces may support psychological wellbeing.

How do people in post-industrial cities imagine a better future? Kate Burningham and Sue Venn explore how memories of the past and critiques of everyday struggles today help shape hopeful visions for tomorrow in Stoke-on-Trent—arguing that reflecting on local life can lay the groundwork for collective, community-led regeneration.

This paper examines how slower growth in advanced economies may force a choice between fiscal tightening and rising debt. It shows that more flexible approaches to monetary and fiscal policies can better support debt stability and long-term economic, social and environmental goals.

In a new Nature comment piece, CUSP researcher Dr Dario Krpan and colleagues are making the case for integrating psychological and behavioural sciences into the study and implementation of degrowth.

Promoting sustainable lifestyles requires a shift away from marketing strategies that reinforce unsustainable consumption. This book chapter considers how marketing can be reoriented to support more equitable, resilient, and environmentally responsible ways of living.

Ecotherapy is a nature-based approach that supports mental and physical wellbeing while helping reduce environmental impact. This article explores its potential benefits, including improved health outcomes and sustainability, and highlights the need for training and standardised practice for wider adoption.

This review examines how natural and built environments influence psychological flow, identifying links to nature, aesthetics, place, and person–environment fit across 60 studies. Findings suggest flow is shaped by environmental context and place-based meaning.

This study examines how the proportion of self-funded residents in English care homes influences care quality. Findings show that for-profit homes perform better when more residents pay privately, while public and third sector providers deliver consistent quality regardless of funding source—highlighting significant equity concerns in the two-tier care system.

CUSP’s Dr Amy Burnett co-edits new book on rural planning futures, charting the critical societal challenges that are reshaping rural places across the UK and Ireland. Using innovative case studies, the chapters detail how planning for rural places must be guided by the pursuit of social value rather than protecting private interests.

This article explores anxiety as a distinct sociological issue. It looks at how earlier understandings—from existentialism and psychoanalysis—were pushed aside by medicalized psychiatry, and suggests that today’s asset-focused society may help explain rising anxiety.

Participatory performance can play a powerful role in democratic renewal by reimagining the public sphere as a space for playful, reflective, and collective citizen engagement. Malaika Cunningham and Marit Hammond show how arts-based approaches foster connection and imagination around systemic issues like climate change and structural injustice.

Forthcoming book by CUSP director Prof Tim Jackson, exploring the concept of care in the economy, its undervaluation in markets, and its profound importance for health and society. Dive into the history of medicine, capitalism’s impact on health, and the gender politics of care. Irreverent, insightful and profoundly inquisitive, The Care Economy offers a bold and accessible manifesto for a healthier and more humane society.

New research by Amy Burnett and Fergus Lyon explores how cooperative governance models can help farmers retain control over nature recovery initiatives, preventing corporate capture. Drawing on insights from the Environmental Farmers Group and the agri-food sector, the study highlights the role of collaboration in emerging natural capital markets.

This working paper by Dario Leoni, Andrew Jackson and Tim Jackson describes the post-Keynesian SFC PADME Model which explores two regional economies linked by international trade and financial flows, each made up of seven sectors. The theoretical framework underpinning the model is that of ecological economics.

This study explores the relational contexts shaping youth wellbeing and consumption in urban spaces, drawing on insights from 332 young people across seven cities. Findings highlight the role of family, community, and public spaces in shaping low-carbon lifestyles and propose ways for local governments to foster sustainable urban development.

As part of his PhD research with CUSP, Dr Mark Ball spent time in Stoke-on-Trent playing in a darts league and thinking critically about culture, place, and politics. This style of research is often described as ethnography; where the researcher immerses themself in a scene to better understand it. What is presented here is an argument that draws from those experiences.

How can publicly funded research foster a sustainable and fairer food system? A study by CUSP and Sussex University, part of the UKRI-funded Transforming UK Food Systems programme, examines how social innovation can address diet-related ill-health and environmental challenges.

A comprehensive new review by leading experts in the sustainability science field is challenging the long-held assumption that economic growth is necessary for societal progress. Published in The Lancet Planetary Health, this paper explores the rapidly advancing field of postgrowth research and presents a compelling case for prioritising human wellbeing and ecological sustainability over endless economic expansion.

This paper develops a stock-flow consistent, input-output model to simulate risks, opportunities, and non-linear dynamics associated with green investment, energy returns, financial risks, and various energy transition pathways to net zero.

Households play a key role in sustainability transitions but remain underexplored. This longitudinal study shows how motherhood shapes sustainable food practices through relational, flexible approaches prioritizing care, thrift, and time management. It calls for holistic, practical discourses that support sustainable everyday practices of care.

This paper explores how small fashion entrepreneurs challenge the mainstream industry’s focus on novelty and growth, prioritising sustainability through virtue-driven practices. Using data from 27 UK-based entrepreneurs, it examines ‘postgrowth entrepreneurship’ as a pathway to a more sustainable fashion industry.

Simon Mair explores energy-capital relations through Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, showing how capital drives energy use and efficiency for profit. He argues low-carbon transitions require investments tied to challenging the profit motive.