Name: Sustainability & Industry: what next and what’s next?
Start: 2026-05-14T15:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-05-14T17:00:00-04:00
Location: Faculty Club, McGill University

$Sustainability & Industry: what next and what\u2019s next?$

How can modern industrial systems sustain our quality of life without eroding the ecological foundations that make life possible?
About this Event

We’re excited to invite you to a Distinguished Speaker Seminar co‑hosted by TISED and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at McGill University.
This session will explore one of the most pressing questions of our time: how can modern industrial systems continue to support our quality of life without undermining the ecological foundations that make life possible?
Professor Steve Evans — a global leader in sustainable manufacturing and Director of the Centre for Industrial Sustainability at the University of Cambridge — will guide us through this complex and timely conversation.
Drawing on decades of experience across industry, academia, and national policy, he will examine:

What industry is doing today?
What could be achieved quickly with existing knowledge?
What becomes possible when we prioritize intelligence and innovation over budget constraints?

He will also explore the transition already underway and imagine hopeful futures where industry and the living world can thrive together.
The seminar will conclude with a Q&A followed by a cocktail reception. We hope you’ll join us for an inspiring and forward‑looking event.

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Professor Steve Evans - University of Cambridge

Professor Steve Evans is a leading researcher in sustainable manufacturing whose career spans industry, academia, and national policy. After engineering roles at Marconi, Plessey, and Martin‑Baker, he joined Cranfield University in 1988, where he advanced early UK research in eco‑design, WEEE take‑back logistics, sustainable business models, and multidisciplinary engineering. He became the UK’s first Professor of Life Cycle Engineering in 1998 and later moved to the University of Cambridge, where he established the national Centre for Industrial Sustainability. Evans works closely with companies to improve manufacturing performance and has contributed to major policy efforts through advisory roles with Parliament, government foresight groups, and industry panels, while also co‑founding several cleantech start‑ups based on his research.