Welcome to the forefront of Digital Decarbonisation, where innovation meets academia. As the pioneers in this field and academics from Loughborough University, we are committed to a transdisciplinary approach that transcends boundaries to make a meaningful impact on our planet.
While the realm of digital decarbonisation is still in its early stages, our research stands out for its unique focus. Many studies concentrate on the digital transformations required for decarbonisation, but few delve into the crucial net-zero implications arising from the digital transformation itself.
Explore the cutting-edge world of Digital Decarbonisation by visiting our dedicated section on the Loughborough University website. Gain insights into our groundbreaking research, discover the latest developments, and join us in shaping a sustainable future through the convergence of digital innovation and environmental responsibility.
Digital Decarbonisation Leads and Founders
 | Tom Jackson (BSc, PhD) is a Professor of Information and Knowledge Management at Loughborough Business School, Loughborough University. He has over 20 years’ experience of research and industrial consultancy and secured over £40million of research funding. Known for the creation of EMOTIVE.AI which holds the world’s best f-measure for fine grained emotion detection. A system that has been able to predict in real-time the outcome of events like US and UK elections through to mental health conditions. His research also includes the pioneering work on the dark side of digital decarbonisation and the impact on the environment; the first publicly available data carbon forecasting toolkit, which serves as a valuable resource for individuals and organizations embarking on their net-zero journey; the first model of information overload, and in his earlier career he was nicknamed ‘Dr Email’ by the BBC for his work on the impact of interrupts in the workplace. He is a Member of the OECD.AI Expert Panel for Compute and Climate; Chair of the Technical Working Group for Ethics in the Government National Digital Twin Programme; and an Independent Scientific Adviser – BridgeAI Programme – The Alan Turing Institute. Email: T.W.Jackson at lboro.ac.uk / Twitter @ProfTomJackson |
 | Ian Hodgkinson (BSc, MSc, PhD) is a Professor of Strategy at Loughborough Business School, Loughborough University (UK). Ian has published extensively on digital transformation and the role of digital innovations for service value co-creation across private and public sector contexts, with this work featuring in a range of leading academic journals (e.g. Public Administration, Public Management Review, Technovation, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Australian Journal of Public Administration). With a focus on real-world impact, this research has involved: telemedicine and international healthcare policy, public spending and service optimisation, and digital solutions to wicked problems. Alongside this work, Ian has advanced new knowledge on the inter-relationships between organisational learning, data, and the environment, which has been instrumental in guiding the digital decarbonization movement. As a core member of the Technical Working Group for Ethics, Ian co-developed the foundational ethics strategy for the UK’s National Digital Twin Programme (NDTP), and, on the international stage, he is feeding into global AI policy development as a member of the OECD.AI Compute and Climate Expert Group. Email: I.R.Hodgkinson at lboro.ac.uk |
Digital Decarbonisation Team
 | Lisa Jackson is a Professor in the Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering Department at Loughborough University. She has over 15 years’ experience of research and industrial collaboration and secured over £14M from Research Councils. Her research area is Risk and Reliability modelling including work on risk analysis across domains and reliability assessment methods for safety critical systems, system health monitoring and life cycle analysis, and system and process optimisation for enhanced service provision. Email: L.M.Jackson at lboro.ac.uk |
 | Graham Hitchen is Director of the Loughborough University Policy Unit and a Professor in the Institute of Media and Creative Industries, based in London. He has extensive experience of working in the Creative Industries and is Director of Policy and Impact for a newly established Creative Technologies Foresight Unit. He was until recently Head of Strategy in the Industrial Strategy Challenge team at UKRI, and brings considerable knowledge and experience of applied research and public policy. Email: G.Hitchen at lboro.ac.uk |
 | Dr Nicola Paine is an interdisciplinary researcher who investigates the impact of psychological stress on physical and mental health. Her research examines the role of our health behaviours and psychosocial factors on these responses to stress, by investigating the physiological pathways that underlie chronic disease risk. She uses both experimental and interventional designs to investigate these interests. Email: N.J.Paine at lboro.ac.uk |
 | Dr Kate Broadhurst is a Senior Lecturer in innovation and strategy. Kate is a multi-disciplinary scholar investigating collaborative approaches to solving complex problems. Kate’s body of research spans the public management, regional development and governance and collaborative innovation fields and has a focus on real-world impact through the development of frameworks to support policy makers and practitioners. Her research interests include economic development, collaboration and the leadership of sub-national partnerships. Before joining Loughborough, Kate worked across the public, private and voluntary sector in a range of roles. Email: K.Broadhurst at lboro.ac.uk |
 | Mike Wilson is Professor of Drama and Director of the Storytelling Academy at Loughborough University. Over the past fifteen years he has led numerous projects that explore the application of storytelling to a variety of social and policy contexts, especially around environmental policy, health, education and social justice. He has also published widely on storytelling and supervised numerous doctoral research projects. Email: M.Wilson2 at lboro.ac.uk |
 | Dr Rebecca Higginson is a Reader in Metallurgy and Materials Engineering in the Department of Materials. Her primary research interests are in microstructural evolution during thermomechanical processing and in-service of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys. Her current work is concerned with developing technologies that reduce the global impact of materials, energy production and other technologies that will lead to a more carbon neutral world. She was awarded the IoM3 Stokowiec Medal and Prize “in recognition of distinguished work related to the technical, manufacturing, processing or engineering application of alloy steels, including stainless steels” 2018. She has published over 150 papers (journal, conference and books) details can be found at https://publications.lboro.ac.uk/publications/all/collated/mprlh.html Email: R.L.Higginson at lboro.ac.uk |
 | Vitor Castro (BSc, MSc, PhD) is a Reader in Economics at Loughborough Business School with expertise in Applied Econometrics. His research focuses on duration analysis of economic events for which he developed a specific change-points technique. It also extends to the study of business cycles, financial crises, and the economic impact of fiscal policy. He has a distinctive record of publications in leading academic journals in Economics and Finance and he is currently Associate Editor for the journal Economic Modelling. Email: V.m.q.castro at lboro.ac.uk |
 | Steve Lockwood has been involved in IT for over 30 years. He’s held roles as Data Scientist and AI Architect, Information Architect, Consultant, Application Development Analyst and Project Manager. He most recently has worked in for IBM in a variety of positions including IBM’s Business Analytics and Optimisation (BAO) practice, the European Chief Technology Office (CTO), the Global Analytics CTO, the cloud and cognitive practice and the Watson (AI) team. Email: S.Lockwood at lboro.ac.uk |
Digital Decarbonisation Spotlight
Digital decarbonisation feeds into National Digital Twin Programme
We’re pleased to announce that Professors Ian Hodgkinson and Tom Jackson are feeding into the National Digital Twin Programme (NDTP).
Loughborough Business School is recognised as the authority on digital decarbonisation by international bodies. With the ambition of driving sector-wide progress, we’re pleased to announce that Professors Tom Jackson and Ian Hodgkinson are feeding into the National Digital Twin Programme (NDTP), as lead and member respectively of the Technical Working Group for Ethics.
The NDTP is the government-led programme committed to growing national capability in digital twinning technologies and processes throughout the country. A primary purpose of the programme is to develop the standards, processes and tools that will build the foundation of a functioning market in digital twins and create growth.
Pioneering professors join OECD.AI expert group
ollowing their world first work on digital decarbonisation, Professors Ian Hodgkinson and Tom Jackson have accepted by invitation to join the OECD.AI Policy Observatory Network of Experts, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence Compute and Climate.
OECD.AI is helping the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) understand, measure and benchmark AI enablers for policymakers who want to formulate effective AI policies and make intelligent national AI investment choices. Providing specific advice for the OECD’s work on AI policy, an overarching aim of the Network of Experts is to help countries encourage, nurture and monitor the responsible development of innovative and trustworthy AI systems that respect human rights and democratic values.
The international network brings together AI experts from many sectors and backgrounds including national governments, international organisations, academia and the private sector. Experts are nominated by OECD members and CDEP partner countries.
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