Expert panels

Nature Sustainability expert panels are independent and international convening efforts bringing together scholars and practitioners with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to focus on academic or policy-relevant debates contributing to sustainability broadly. They are endorsed by the journal and aim to produce in-depth, critical and forward-looking syntheses of knowledge and practice. The reports produced by the expert panels are not peer reviewed and do not constitute journal content.

 

Nature Sustainability expert panel on 'Advancing the Sustainability of Batteries'

Batteries can support societal transition towards a more sustainable power supply. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are expected to be critical in the decarbonization of transport. Given current projections, the exponential market growth for batteries due to electric vehicle uptake will lead to a substantial sustainability problem. Tongji University and Nature  Sustainability convened in April 2021 a ground-breaking Expert Panel on Advancing the sustainability of batteries. Expert panellists reached an agreement that sustainability must be considered as an indispensable dimension for the development of batteries. They synthesize relevant latest knowledge and provide a set of recommendations in a detailed report 'Advancing the Sustainability of Batteries'.

https://www.nature.com/documents/Advancing_the_Sustainability_of_Batteries.pdf

 

Nature Sustainability expert panel on 'Socio-Technical Innovation Bundles for Agri-Food Systems Transformation'

The progress of global food systems’ ability to provide for a growing human population has been remarkable, but now much of humanity faces chronic or episodic undernutrition alongside adverse environmental, health and social effects. Cornell University and Nature Sustainability convened in January 2020 a ground-breaking Expert Panel on Innovations to build sustainable, equitable, inclusive food value chains. Expert panellists synthesized the most significant research and practical developments on food-related innovations, including barriers and opportunities to develop, diffuse and scale up innovative efforts and concluded with a set of recommended actions to guide agri-food systems transformations as detailed in the report 'Socio-technical innovation bundles for agri-food system transformation'.

‘Socio-technical innovation bundles for agri-food system transformation’ Report

‘Socio-technical innovation bundles for agri-food system transformation’ Summary

 

Nature Sustainability expert panel on 'Behavioral Science for Design'

Behavioral science is increasingly recognized as critical to encourage more sustainable choices and actions in the context of organizations, cities, and nations. However, behavioral science for design remains underexplored both as a scholarly subject and as a way of better connecting research and practice. To capture these missed opportunities and improve actions and interventions to achieve sustainability, the University of Virginia and Nature Sustainability established in January 2019 a ground-breaking Expert Panel on behavioral science for design towards global sustainability. Expert Panellists developed an action plan - detailed in the report 'Twenty questions about design behavior for sustainability' - for research and application, discussing the most influential next steps at the intersection of behavioral science, design, and sustainability.

'Behavioral science for design' Report  (or 'Behavioural science for design' )

 

 

Nature Sustainability expert panel on the 'Science of cities'

If cities are central to life on Earth, knowledge about our planet from an urban perspective is central to the integrity of present and future living conditions. Yet responding effectively to contemporary city challenges requires a step change in both scientific capacity and science-policy collaboration. This ethos was at the heart of the establishment, in April 2017, of an independent and international Expert Panel on “Science and the future of cities” endorsed by Nature Sustainability. The Panel gathered twenty-nine experts in contemporary urban scholarship from across disciplines and perspectives. Panellists were tasked to survey the challenge of science-policy interactions, and the issue of developing a ‘global urban science’ that has reach across academia and enables more effective interfaces between research and practice. The report Science and the Future of Cities offers an overview of the key challenges, messages and recommendations emerging from the Panel’s deliberations, highlighting pathways for reform in science and policy. 

'Science of cities' Report

'Science of cities' Executive Summary