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An increase in unusual weather events, such as extreme heat, cold and flood events, is likely to disproportionately affect the most vulnerable living in deprived areas and exacerbate already prevalent public health inequalities, Frank Atherton, Chief Medical Officer for Wales warns in his annual report. The report, which looks at the second year of the pandemic as well as to...

In the latest stage of its Technological Innovation and Climate Change inquiry, the Environmental Audit Committee has announced their intention to look at the role geothermal technologies can play in the UK’s journey to net zero. Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Philip Dunne MP, commented on the announcement: “Harnessing the heat beneath our feet could play a material role in decarbonising...

An academic at the University of Nottingham has been awarded almost £1.3 million to investigate the specific threats posed to female garment workers in supply chains across the world. The four-year research project will examine garment manufacturing in the midlands, UK, as well as in Cambodia, Ethiopia and Jordan. These four producer countries represent different sites in the evolution of...

A Loughborough University engineer is exploring a novel solution they hope will use less energy, retain more nutrients, and create longer-life products – and that’s to cook jam and cream using sound. Specifically, by using ultrasound - which you may be familiar with as these soundwaves (not audible to the human ear) are used for pregnancy scans and other medical...

In his thought piece for ICON, James Ritter introduces us to some common misbeliefs about smart homes.   Recently, we have all been spending a lot more time in our homes, and this has led to a boom in people seeking more convenient ways to do things around the house. In the UK, there are already over 24 million smart meters...

The European Commission has welcomed a political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the Directive on improving the gender balance among non-executive directors of listed companies, proposed by the Commission in 2012. According to the Commission, women are underrepresented in high-level positions, with only a third of members of non-executive corporate boards being women and even less...

For the first time, academics from Loughborough University will investigate how higher night-time temperatures, caused by climate change, affect people’s sleep quality in their own homes across the UK. The World Health Organisation cites sleep disturbance as one of the most serious consequences of high night-time temperatures, and the UK Climate Change Committee places overheating in homes in its highest...

Government has made progress reducing its greenhouse gas emissions but the way public bodies measure and report this varies significantly, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). Independent of government and the civil service, the NAO scrutinises public spending for Parliament. Since 2011, central government bodies (government departments and their partner organisations) have agreed targets with the Department for Business, Energy...

Alongside the innovation and investment firm True, M&S’s Ignite team is looking for ideas and technologies that can encourage more sustainable behaviours amongst its customers, as well as solutions that can help M&S achieve further efficiencies in its agricultural supply chains. The Sustainable agriculture challenge is about identifying innovative solutions that offer end-to-end process efficiency whilst promoting sustainability across the full...

Research from a government-funded project involving academics in the University of Nottingham's Faculty of Engineering shows that by careful charging and discharging, EV battery degradation can reduce by one-eighth, and, in some situations, up to 450 kg of emitted carbon dioxide (CO2) or £400 could be saved per vehicle each year. The EV-elocity project deployed 15 chargepoints across nine sites...