Sustainability research forum
The University of Sydney Sustainability Research Forum brought together University of Sydney researchers working on a wide range of sustainability topics for a day of stimulating discussions, networking, and to help shape the University’s narrative on sustainability.
The University ranked 11th globally in the 2025 QS sustainability rankings, and researchers from every faculty are investigating critical topics such as One Health, nanotechnology and regenerative agriculture, climate change, multispecies justice, food systems, energy, and a range of other sustainability topics. Teams within the university also work on implementing sustainability in a range of areas including education for sustainability, sustainable agriculture, environmental peace building, nature-based solutions, and Indigenous sustainability. Though the term sustainability is broad, it creates pathways for scholars to envision novel research topics that centre on the intertwined climate, biodiversity and ecological crises, and to help the University to deliver on its Sydney in 2032 Strategy.
The Sydney Environment Institute, the Discipline of Strategy, Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the University of Sydney Business School supported this forum to encourage new research partnerships and projects between faculties. This Sustainability Research Forum built off last year’s successful Climate Research Forum. At last year’s forum, many researchers across campus shared their excitement about building networks with people from outside their faculties, and we want to build on this energy.
In this year’s forum, researchers and colleagues from across 15 areas in the University came together to identify strengths in University’s sustainability research ecosystem and build new multidisciplinary research collaborations.
Following a welcome from Dr Bastian Thomsen from the Discipline of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Professor Dominic Murphy, Head of School at the School of History and Philosophy of Science, delivered a keynote on Nature and Ethical Decision-Making, encouraging the audience to explore sustainability from a philosophical perspective, considering the social constructs that block progress to truth.
The audience was broken into groups for many activities throughout the day, leading to rich discussions amongst colleagues across many different areas of knowledge. Dr Angé Weinrabe led a discussion on finding commonalities and identifying what sustainability means for different work areas.
After lunch, Dr Philip Gough, Lecturer in Biological Design at the School of Architecture, Design and Planning led an interactive session with speed-dating and mindmapping activities on back-casting and forecasting definitions of sustainability, and the methodologies of sustainability research.
We heard from speakers form each group as they discussed outcomes and next steps, before closing for networking and refreshments.