REALISING A BETTER WORLD
The Biosphere Research Institute (BIOSRI) is a collaborative, global, virtual centre of research and resource, addressing the wicked problems facing humankind, by breaking out of the silos of traditional academia and bringing together the best minds in the world to collaborate, while sharing resources with everyone, in order to catalyse change. Welcome!
BREAKING NEWS:
- Check out all of our publications here
- PhD opportunity for someone (UK students only, Deadline 14th February, 2025, Start September 2025), working jointly with our director and Dr Michael Crabb (Head of Computing) at the University of Dundee on a 4 year Leverhulme research project in augmented reality and sustainability. Please pass this on to anyone who you think would be interested. Details here: Leverhulme Doctoral Programme for Regenerative Innovation (Regnr8-i): RENEW-AR – Regenerative Ecosystem Narratives and Education with Augmented Reality at University of Dundee on FindAPhD.com
- Delighted to announce that the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) has awarded a £325 000 grant to our director and researchers in the Chinese Academy of Science and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research for a three year project, starting in January 2025, entitled Research on Sustainable Development Science Theory and Coupling Methods.
- An exciting new collaboration across South Africa, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research with the Biosphere Research Institute has led to a ground-breaking paper on constructing a new sustainability index capable of systematically considering pertinent indicators of interdependencies and spillovers between countries. Zhang, J, Skene, K.R., Wang, S., Ji, Q., Zheng H., Zhou, C., Pradhan, P., Meadows, M.E. and Fu, B. 2024. Beyond borders: assessing global sustainability through interconnected systems. Sustainable Development. Click Here.
- Latest paper on the circular economy, written in collaboration with Andreea Oarga-Mulec from the University of Nova Gorica in Slovenia, sets out an important new economic sustainability theory, the economic pluriverse: Skene, K. R. and Oarga-Mulec, A,. 2024. The Circular Economy: The Butterfly Diagram, Systems Theory and the Economic Pluriverse. Journal of Circular Economy 2(3) Skene_and_Oarga-Mulec_The-circular-economy-the-butterfly-diagram-systems-theory-and-the-economic-pluriverse.pdf (circulareconomyjournal.org).
- Our director has been rated in the top two percent of scientists in a recent Stanford University analysis (https://link.springer.com/journal/43615/updates/19837714).
- New paper, published in BioSystems, explores how systems theory and thermodynamics underpin ecology, evolution and the drivers of multicellularity, altruism and symbiosis: Skene, K.R., 2024. Systems theory, thermodynamics and life: Integrated thinking across ecology, organization and biological evolution. Biosystems, p.105123. Click here.
- Key chapter bringing together systems theory, thermodynamics, sustainable economics and planetary function: Skene, K.R., 2023. Biosphere Evolution, Ecology and Sustainability: Why Thermodynamics and System Theory Matter. In: B. Veress and J. Szigethy, eds. Horizons in Earth Science Research Volume 24 pp. 1-46. Nova Science Publishers. Available here.
- Important new research, featuring the embedded economy, a radical framework for sustainable economics, developed by the Biosphere Research Institute, is set out in our latest paper: Skene, K.R., 2022. How can economics contribute to environmental and social sustainability? The significance of systems theory and the embedded economy. Frontiers in Sustainability, p.107. Available here.
- The Biosphere Research Institute is a signatory to the Civic Charter, joining other major organisations such as the University of Aberdeen and the John Muir Trust in calling for major changes in order to confront the environmental crisis facing us.
- Important new paper: Skene, K.R. (2021). The dark shadows of the Jolly Green Giants: Urgent Policy and Research Priorities in Renewable Energy Technologies. Sustainability and Climate Change 14 (5): 335-357. Click here to view.
- Our director, Keith Skene, has been appointed to the Scientific Editorial Board of the journal Circular Economy and Sustainability.
- We have appointed two new research fellows and one new Senior Research Fellow in recognition of their important contributions to sustainability thinking. For more details of these important collaborators, click here.
- Important new paper just released: Skene, K. R. (2021). Sustainability policy and practice: Is nature an appropriate mentor? Environment, Development and Sustainability, pp. 1-19. Click here to view.
- Our Director's latest book, Artificial Intelligence and the Environmental Crisis is the winner of an American Libraries Association Choice Outstanding Academic Title (OAT) Award 2020. Online bookshops offer almost 50% off published prices.
- One of our research papers, Murray, A., Skene, K., & Haynes, K. (2017). The circular economy: an interdisciplinary exploration of the concept and application in a global context. Journal of Business Ethics, 140(3), 369-380. has now been cited over 3700 times by other research papers (Google Scholar).
What is the Biosphere Research Institute?
Our history, philosophy and aspirations.
Business
Empowering your workforce? Releasing huge hidden resources within your team? Transforming your organization from a structure-obsessed silo mentality to a truly functional systems approach, with vast increases in resilience, creativity and well-being? Work with us to revolutionize your organization by learning from how natural systems have thrived and survived over the last 3.8 billion years. From online seminars to long-term consultancy and residential courses, we lead the way in sustainable business thinking and practice. Prices begin at £25 per person for larger groups for an online two-hour CPD session.
Design and Architecture Practice
Is your team of architects and designers equipped with the ecological knowledge needed to design in a truly sustainable way? Are your designs promoting ecological and social resilience, diversity and restoration, while resonating with their natural contexts? From CPD provision through to residential courses, you can access cutting-edge training for your staff in ecological design practice. Our two-hour CPD training sessions online begin at £25 per person for larger groups.
Is your team of architects and designers equipped with the ecological knowledge needed to design in a truly sustainable way? Are your designs promoting ecological and social resilience, diversity and restoration, while resonating with their natural contexts? From CPD provision through to residential courses, you can access cutting-edge training for your staff in ecological design practice. Our two-hour CPD training sessions online begin at £25 per person for larger groups.
Education
Are you a teacher or home educator? Do you need science resources or additional tutoring in the sciences? We are here to help. A colossal array of free learning activities, online one-to one tuition and home-schooling material for nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary level education at the click of a button. Online one-to-one tuition for 2020/21 costs £20 per hour.
Are you a teacher or home educator? Do you need science resources or additional tutoring in the sciences? We are here to help. A colossal array of free learning activities, online one-to one tuition and home-schooling material for nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary level education at the click of a button. Online one-to-one tuition for 2020/21 costs £20 per hour.
Research Collaboration
Join us in working on key economic, environmental and social challenges, bringing your skills to the mix as we build a better world. Find out what we can offer.
Join us in working on key economic, environmental and social challenges, bringing your skills to the mix as we build a better world. Find out what we can offer.
What's on? Upcoming events
Details of events such as public lectures, courses and festivals where we will be presenting.
Biosphere Blog
Some thoughts on current issues from our director.
Some thoughts on current issues from our director.
What's up? Latest BIOSRI news
News about new research, books and publications released by the Biosphere Research Institute.
News about new research, books and publications released by the Biosphere Research Institute.
