Dr Benjamin Lowe

I am an environmental and ecological economist interested in how economies can deliver wellbeing while operating within environmental limits.

My work focuses on the transformation of systems of production and consumption: how we can reduce absolute material and energy use, make better use of resources, and move towards more circular and sustainable economic systems while supporting human wellbeing and social justice. My research examines the economic, institutional and policy conditions that shape whether these transitions succeed in practice. 

A recurring theme in my research is that technological improvement alone is rarely enough. Circularity, efficiency and low-carbon innovation can create substantial environmental opportunities, but their ultimate effects depend on how markets, organisations, consumers and wider economic systems respond. This has led to a particular focus on rebound effects, alongside broader work on circular economy, industrial decarbonisation, and the macroeconomic consequences of environmental transition.

I work across scales, from products and supply chains to industries and national economies, combining environmental and ecological economics with sustainability assessment and policy research. My methods include Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), environmentally extended input-output modelling and scenario analysis. Across this work, I aim to produce evidence that can inform environmental policy, industrial strategy, regulation and organisational decision-making. 

I have led research within major European programmes including Horizon Europe CO2NSTRUCT and Horizon 2020 ReTraCE, alongside projects supported by the British Academy, ESRC, ISRF, Innovate UK and other organisations. I also co-lead the Data Working Group of the UK LCA Network, working across government, industry and academia to strengthen the evidence underpinning environmental policy
and regulatory science.

Before moving into research, I spent seven years in corporate finance and infrastructure advisory, working on investment appraisal, mergers and acquisitions, financing and infrastructure projects. That experience continues to shape my approach to sustainability, particularly my interest in how environmental objectives interact with investment, markets, industrial strategy and organisational decision-making.

Research and policy interests

My work sits at the intersection of environmental economics, sustainability transitions and public policy, with particular interests in:

• environmental and ecological economics
• circular economy, resource use and rebound effects
• sustainable production and consumption
• climate transition and industrial strategy
• Life Cycle Assessment and sustainability assessment
• macroeconomic and environmentally extended input-output analysis
• social and distributional dimensions of environmental policy
• environmental regulation and decision-making

Current research

A major strand of my work examines rebound effects: the ways in which behavioural, market and economy-wide responses can reduce – or sometimes overturn – the environmental gains expected from efficiency, circular economy and decarbonisation measures. Within Horizon Europe CO2NSTRUCT, I led the work package examining these effects and their implications for climate mitigation and industrial decarbonisation.

I am extending this work to examine the social dimensions of rebound, asking how the environmental performance of sustainability interventions should be understood alongside their consequences for wellbeing, equity and social outcomes. The aim is to support climate and circular-economy policies that are both environmentally effective and socially just.

A second strand examines the macroeconomic and international consequences of sustainability transitions. Recent research has explored how different transition pathways in advanced economies affect employment, trade and industrial development in the Global South, and what this means for industrial strategy and the prospects for a globally just transition.

I also work on sustainability assessment for policy and practice. Through the UK LCA Network, I work with government, industry and academic partners to improve the data and methods available for regulatory applications of Life Cycle Assessment.

Alongside this, I undertake applied environmental, economic and social assessment of emerging technologies, materials and industrial transitions.

Selected publications

Climate transition and industrial strategy

Guru, R. V., Lowe, B. H., Bimpizas-Pinis, M., Else, T., Zerbino, P., Aloini, D. & Genovese, A. (2026). Anticipating rebound effects in the steel industry: Pathways, mechanisms, and mitigation for effective decarbonisation. Ecological Economics, 249, 109106.

Fevereiro, J. B. R. & Lowe, B. H. (2025). Macroeconomic implications for the Global South of a green transition in the Global North. Ecological Economics, 237, 108691.

Circular economy and rebound

Lowe, B. H., Genovese, A., Font Vivanco, D. & Zink, T. (2025). Revisiting circular economy rebound: Market dynamics, policy implications, and future research directions. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 29(6), 1936–1945.

Lowe, B. H., Bimpizas-Pinis, M., Zerbino, P. & Genovese, A. (2024). Methods to estimate the circular economy rebound effect: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 443, 141063.

Rethinking sustainable economic futures

Llorente-González, L. J., Pinyol Alberich, J., Genovese, A. & Lowe, B. H. (2025). Towards radical circular economy futures: Addressing social relations of production. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 213, 123972.

Lowe, B. H. & Genovese, A. (2022). What theories of value (could) underpin our circular futures? Ecological Economics, 195, 107382.

Selected research funding

My research has been supported through competitive funding for independent and collaborative work on environmental economics, circular economy and sustainability transitions, alongside leadership roles within major Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 programmes.

• ISRF Flexible Grant for Small Groups – Principal Investigator
• British Academy Talent Development Award – Principal Investigator
• University of Sheffield Vice-Chancellor's Fellowship
• INET Young Scholars Initiative Event Grant – Principal Investigator

Background

I hold a PhD in Environmental Economics and Management and an MBA with Distinction from the University of Sheffield, as well as an MA in International Studies and a BSc in Economics and Politics. I am a Chartered Scientist and an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.