Professor William Young
- Position: Chair of Sustainability and Business
- Areas of expertise: Ethical consumer behaviour; sustainability behaviour change; product sustainability standards; sustainability strategies in retailing
- Email: C.W.Young@leeds.ac.uk
- Phone: +44(0)113 343 1640
- Location: 9.106 School of Earth and Environment
- Website: Twitter | LinkedIn | Googlescholar | Researchgate | ORCID
Profile
William’s research is focused on consumer behaviour around sustainability issues working with retailers, suppliers and consumer organisations. He develops theoretical frameworks and applied tools that understand and change consumer behaviour in purchasing and using products. The frameworks and tools use indicators to show measurable reductions in environmental impacts.
Current major research funding:
- Working with international data sets on actual consumer behaviour on sustainability issues through the ESRC Consumer Data Research Centre;
- Adapting retailers and consumers to disruptions of food supply chains from climate change through UKRI project: Healthy soil, Healthy food, Healthy people (H3), and;
- Consumer behaviour interventions at food retailers on healthly and sustainable diets through IGD.
- Academic Lead for Sustainable Curriculum project, which is Principle 4 of the 10 year Climate Plan at the University of Leeds.
William is on the journal Editorial Boards of Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Management and Social Business. William is co-organiser of the annual Corporate Responsibility Research Conference along with Kedge Business School in France.
See video interview with Prof William Young by Alumniportal Deutschland on sustainable consumption.
Research interests
I am a sustainability behavioural scientist. My research is focused on consumer and organisational behaviour around sustainability issues working with companies, consumer organisations and government. I develop real world experiments to test behaviour change interventions and then measure the resulting behavioural and sustainability impacts.
<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>Qualifications
- BSc (Hons) Environmental Biology, University of Greenwich
- MSc Environmental Science with Environmental Management, Brunel University
- PhD Sustainable Business, University of Huddersfield
Professional memberships
- FRSA
Student education
I teach at undergraduate and Masters level on sustainable behaviour change and sustainable business.
I have supervised 16 PhD students and external examined across the UK and internationally. I am always interested in supervising PhD students who want to study behaviour change and sustainability.
Research groups and institutes
- Sustainability Research Institute
- Business Organisations for Sustainable Societies