Kate Burningham

Professor Kate Burningham is a Professor in Sociology of the Environment at the University of Surrey's Department of Sociology. She is Deputy Director of the ESRC Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) and leads research on environmental inequalities, sustainable consumption, and youth lifestyles. Her work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, with projects in India, Bangladesh, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, and Brazil. She coordinates the CYCLES initiative exploring children and youth’s urban sustainability perceptions and the 'Shifting Visions of the Good Life' study in early motherhood contexts.

Her research integrates sociological perspectives with environmental and urban studies, focusing on public environmental knowledge, climate resilience, and lifestyle evaluations. Notable collaborations include studies on flood vulnerability, renewable energy engagement, and community energy commons. She teaches modules on consumption and qualitative methods, supervising 5 PhD students on topics ranging from digital feminist activism to urban resilience.

Publications span environmental sociology, urban sustainability, and youth activism, often employing innovative methods like photo-elicitation and hashtag network analysis. Her work highlights societal transitions, such as motherhood and retirement, as critical moments for sustainable practice adoption. She emphasizes equitable policy design through participatory approaches, ensuring marginalized voices inform climate adaptation strategies.