Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Lancaster University

Home
About FASS
- Home page
- Read the Dean's Welcome
- Contact Us
Departments
Departments
- Find departments, websites and department heads.
- Go to Department list
People
Faculty Office
- Contact Deans, admin, research support, finance and IT staff via the Faculty Office
Find all Academic and Support Staff
- Academic and support staff in departments
- General Contact information
Study Here
Undergraduate Study
- Introduction to undergraduate study
- Studying for a degree
Postgraduate Study
- Introduction to Postgraduate Study
- Go to the Graduate School Website for information about funding, research training, view student profiles etc.
Research
Our Research
Publications
- Download publications from Lancaster's Publications Repository.
- Recent Books
See also
- Business and Enterprise
- Knowledge Transfer
Business & Enterprise
Business and Enterprise
See also
- Research
- Knowledge Transfer
News & Events
FASS Events
- All Forthcoming Events
- Events Archive
FASS News
- Keep up-to-date with our News
- View News Archive
FASS Intranet
FASS Intranet
- LU Staff only. Policies/guidelines, funding, research support, committees etc.
- Go to FASS Intranet

You are here: Home >

Events

News

Subscribe to News and Events

China-UK Workshop on Disruptive Low Carbon Innovation in China

Date: 15 December 2009

On 21st November the Sociology Department, together with the Lancaster China Management Centre and the College of Public Administration, Zhejiang University, hosted the 'China-UK Workshop on Disruptive Low Carbon Innovation in China' in Hangzhou, China. Sponsored by the UK's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills via the British Consulate in Shanghai, the workshop brought together innovators, business people, policy-makers and scholars to discuss the opportunities for so-called 'disruptive' low carbon innovation in China. 'Disruptive' innovation involves production of 'cheaper, easier-to-use alternatives… often produced by non-traditional players that target previously ignored customers' and/or use in novel contexts, but which have the medium-term potential for radical restructuring of economic sectors. As a report from the UK's leading innovation think-tank, NESTA, has noted (see http://www.nesta.org.uk/the-disrupters/), this capacity for profound socioeconomic change is precisely what is needed for an effective and timely low-carbon shift.

Along with leading policymakers from Zhejiang Province - the 'California' of China, both in terms of its economic prosperity and its innovative and entrepreneurial reputation - keynote speakers included Rebecca Willis, Vice Chair of the UK's Sustainable Development Commission and lead author of the NESTA report, and Ping ZHENG, Programme Officer for Climate Change & Energy at WWF China.

The workshop was organized by Dr David Tyfield of the Centre for Mobilities Research (CeMoRe) at Lancaster, as part of the ongoing AIM/ESRC project on 'UK-China Low Carbon Networks' (that also includes Prof John Urry and Prof Brian Wynne) and Prof CHEN Jin and Dr JIN Jun of Zhejiang University. The event will be followed by a follow-up report for NESTA focusing on disruptive low carbon innovation in China, together with a special issue of the Journal of Knowledge-based Innovation in China.

For more information, please consult the workshop website (www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/lowcarbonchina) and the AIM/ESRC project website (http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/faculty/activities/606/) or contact Dr Tyfield at d.tyfield@lancaster.ac.uk

News website: http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/lowcarbonchina