ISF scholarships

This project springs from the observations of many in the industry that investment in managing water demand in Australia is dramatically under-represented compared to our investment in managing supply. To address this issue, the research project will explore the economics of urban water efficiency in depth. It will explore the full range of benefits that could arise due to urban water efficiency initiatives and how these might be valued, in comparison to alternatives that increase water supply. In particular it will consider how the value of saved water varies over space and time: with location across a precinct and a city; during periods of drought; on hot days; whether recycled or rain water is being saved; and when externality and intrinsic values are considered. It will also consider what forms of economic and financial analyses are appropriate for parties considering water efficiency initiatives and how the economics of water efficiency might improve in practice to account for the heterogeneity that exists.   

The introduction of smart bathroom fixtures (toilets, taps, etc.), in conjunction with web-connected plumbing fixtures (digital metering) provides new opportunities for a detailed insight into water consumption in buildings. This project will explore how these new innovations, in addition to the rise of digital control, user feedback, and in the near future – artificial intelligence (AI) – can lead to new water saving opportunities for smart precincts, including residential, office and commercial buildings. This project will build upon groundwork studies by ISF that trialled smart fixtures at a commercial site in Sydney. Data from smart fixtures used, as well as digital metering from the corresponding bathrooms, will be made available in this study. This research project will be at the forefront of the coming ‘digital revolution’ in understanding in-building water use and how these insights can drive sustainable water practices and water efficiency for our cities in decades to come.

Soft plastics pose a significant challenge in achieving a circular economy for packaging, due to limitations of existing collection and recovery systems. This research project aims to explore strategies for improving the collection and recovery of soft plastics packaging in Australia. The project will critically assess current collection methods including kerbside collections and dedicated collection initiatives, and evaluate current and emerging technologies and systems to improve collection and recovery performance. Soft plastics account for around half of all plastic packaging used annually in Australia, and this project will contribute towards advancing progress towards sustainable packaging management.

Hazardous and non-hazardous chemicals are used in the production of food-contact packaging, and these chemicals can migrate to foods and beverages contained within. Recycling and the use of recycled content can further lead to accumulation of these chemicals in new packaging, creating an increased risk for chemical migration. This research project will characterise the use of hazardous and non-hazardous chemicals in the Australian food-contact packaging supply, and evaluate the potential impact of recycled content in packaging on increased chemical migration rates. This project will contribute towards gaining a clearer understanding of chemicals in the Australian packaging supply, and will help in critically evaluating recycled content targets for packaging in Australia.

Efforts to address sustainability challenges are increasingly reliant on diverse sets of indicators for measuring environmental impacts, the use of natural resources and socio-economic wellbeing. This is necessary to enable evaluation of the trade-offs that may occur when attempting to develop sustainability-oriented solutions. However, value judgements, preferences and biases are embedded in the selection, design and use of these indicators. This project will work to advance our understanding of how value judgements are being embedded within indicator design, aggregation and weighting schemes used in circular economy and life cycle assessment studies. Applicants will engage widely with both users and developers of these indicators schemes to uncover how value judgements are being made and the implications for evaluating trade-offs and progress towards the sustainable development.

The UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures' Resource Stewardship team promotes a systemic approach to sustainable production and consumption promoting circular resource flows and product stewardship. Our Textiles and Garments cluster focuses on enhancing sustainability in textile and garment sector considering the whole product lifecycle. This includes: sustainable practices in textile production; barriers, and enablers for integrating circular business models that extend product lifetimes; and, strategies to increase textile collection and recovery at end-of-first-life. We invite PhD students interested in researching the fashion industry's transition to a circular economy to get in touch.

The circular economy (CE) is growing in prominence and there is a significant push from governments and industry to transition to more circular economies across multiple sectors. CE promotes a systemic approach to design out waste and pollution, keep materials and products in productive use for as long as possible, and regenerate natural systems. As well as designing new products and packaging to eliminate hazardous chemicals and additives, repurposing, reusing and recycling of products at end of life are key strategies. However, there are hazardous chemicals and additives in many products including textiles, packaging, electrical and electronic products. Some previously used chemicals and additives have since been categorised as substances of very high concern (SVHC) or persistent organic pollutants (POPs) - these are known as ‘legacy additives’. The improper management of products containing hazardous chemicals including legacy additives in a CE can lead to dilution, dispersion, and accumulation of hazardous chemicals in new products. Therefore, new policy and management approaches are needed to avoid unpredictable and potentially adverse impacts on environmental and human health associated with the recirculation of hazardous materials in a circular economy.

The energy transition is creating strong demand for metal commodities required for the manufacture and deployment of renewable energy and battery technologies. Improving our understanding of these resourcing requirements and how supply chains may need to adapt requires advances in the interoperability between scenario modelling frameworks used to inform policy making and industry foresight. This project will explore the boundary and potential integration of the UTS-developed Primary Exploration, Mining and Metal Supply Scenario (PEMMSS) model with broader Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) and emerging modelling frameworks for prospective Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This will provide pathways to understanding how supply chains can respond to different global decarbonisation trajectories and rates of renewable energy deployments, as well as the long-term economic and environmental trade-offs associated with material supply.

It is increasingly recognised that the challenge of achieving just and regenerative futures requires both transformations in technological, economic and political systems and shifts in the values, narratives, discourses and imaginaries that make up human cultures. Dominant narratives that prioritise narrow economic growth and position humans as separate from nature are a barrier to imagining and achieving better futures for all. We invite PhD students that are interested in exploring the transformation of cultures to support just and regenerative futures. This could include examination of alternative economic narratives such as wellbeing economics and degrowth, exploration of practices that create space to imagine alternative futures, and articulation of narratives, discourses and imaginaries that tell a story of a better future and the pathways for getting there.

This topic would allow you to investigate how leveraging the inherent strengths and resources within communities can lead to more sustainable and effective development outcomes. You could explore various case studies to identify best practices and the impact of this approach on community resilience.

Why are there calls for local-led development happening now? Where are the drivers for locally led development coming from? What does it mean to development in the future?  What needs to change and what could the offerings be to reframe development? Is the sector prepared to embrace a locally led agenda and what might be offerings to global development? Who is doing what now? And is it making a difference? What are the implications for the development worker? For monitoring and evaluation? For accountabilities.  This project leverages current debates and practices to offer alternative futures for development.

Address major gaps in evidence on adaptation to climate impacts, which could include topics related to integrated approaches to urban sanitation planning and decision-making (economics, public health, and environment), effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of adaptation actions, public health implications of current sanitation approaches, inequalities and social vulnerability, distributed approaches to service provision, and knowledge exchange across the Global North and South.

Climate resilience demands a wider view, beyond the confines of water and sanitation service delivery, covering interconnections with water resources management and broader societal resilience. How can national and local governments more effectively monitor climate resilience and what are the implications for inter-sectoral collaboration and coordination in monitoring efforts? Equally, how can both objective and subjective measures of resilience be considered and integrated into monitoring approaches? 

• Exploring the role of climate projections for community resilience
  Anticipatory action
• Women’s economic empowerment to strengthen climate resilience
• Feminist approach to climate and disaster resilience
• Pathways that support women’s contribution to community resilience