Professor William Young

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 a Principle 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.

Responsibilities

• Academic Lead for Sustainable Curriculum (Climate Principles)

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.

• Improving Resilience in Supply Chains (as part of the H3 – Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People Consortium)

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) Environmental Biology, University of Greenwich
• MSc Environmental Science with Environmental Management, Brunel University
• PhD Sustainable Business, University of Huddersfield

Student education

I teach at undergraduate and Masters level on sustainable behaviour change and sustainable business.

Current PhD students:

• Felipe Brescancini (Leeds University Business School): Prioritizing prosocial behaviour vs. wealth accumulation can increase subjective wellbeing. Supervised with Dr Matt Davis.
• Chris Jones (School of Food Science & Nutrition): Environmental sustainability in the restaurant sector: Using menu design to nudge consumers towards more responsible food choices. Supervised with Dr Hannah Ensaff.
• Dejan Zec (School of Earth and Environment/Kedge Business School): The circle of sustainability public perceptions and evaluations of sustainability issues and their influence on shaping and implementing sustainability-related policies: The case of the UK pharmaceutical industry (2000-2020). Supervised with Prof Ralf Barkemeyer.
   

Research groups and institutes

• Sustainability Research Institute
• Business Organisations for Sustainable Societies

Current postgraduate researchers

• Chris Jones
• John Wang

Projects

<li><a href="//phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/1942-development-of-student-sustainability-competencies-through-curricular,-co-curricular-and-extra-curricular-learning-activities-">Development of student sustainability competencies through curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular learning activities </a></li>