Rate My Professor Catherine Willan

Catherine Willan is an Associate Professor (Teaching) at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, part of The Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources. She serves as Programme Director for the MSc in Economics and Policy of Energy and the Environment. Willan holds a PhD in Energy Demand from University College London, completed in 2019, with her thesis titled 'Life in the gap: how does a construction company respond to the challenge of targets for energy and carbon in-use?', focusing on corporate carbon reduction strategies within the construction sector. Prior to her current role, she was a Doctoral Researcher at the UCL Energy Institute and progressed through positions as Teaching Fellow and Lecturer (Teaching), receiving promotion to Associate Professor (Teaching) in 2023. Her teaching portfolio includes the module Business and Sustainability (BENV0009) and supervision of dissertations in economics and policy of energy and the environment.

Willan's research examines organisational responses to energy and carbon targets, low-carbon transitions in buildings and sectors, sustainability governance, waste management challenges, and pathways to net zero emissions. Key publications include 'Seeking the Pressure Points: Catalysing Low Carbon Changes from the Middle-Out in Offices and Schools' (Energies, 2021), 'Pursuing a net-zero carbon future for all: Challenges for commercial real estate' (One Earth, 2021), 'The wicked problem of waste management: An attention-based analysis of stakeholder behaviours' (Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2021), 'Evidence-informed urban health and sustainability governance in two Chinese cities' (Buildings & Cities, 2021), and 'Talking about targets: How construction discourses of theory and reality represent the energy performance gap in the United Kingdom' (Energy Research & Social Science, 2020). She has contributed to influential reports such as Towards Net Zero in UK Agriculture (2021), Towards Net Zero in Freight Transport (2021), and Towards Net Zero in UK Commercial Real Estate (2021), analysing sector-specific decarbonisation strategies. Her work highlights middle-out approaches involving stakeholders like facilities managers and construction firms to bridge performance gaps and drive sustainable practices.