Professor Sonal Choudhary PhD

• Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching, University of Sheffield, UK (2014 - 2016)
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (for process improvement), University of Sheffield, UK (2015)
• PhD (Environmental Sustainability and Arctic Ecology), University of Sheffield, UK (2009 - 2013)
• MSc GIS & Environmental Modelling, University of Hull, UK (Distinction) (2008 - 2009)
• MSc Environmental Biology, University of Delhi (Distinction & Gold Medallist) (2006 - 2008)
• BSc (Hons.) Botany, University of Delhi, India (First) (2003 - 2006)

Professor Sonal Choudhary is 125th Anniversary Chair and Professor of Sustainable & Resilient Futures at the University of Birmingham, and an internationally recognised leader in systems transformation for sustainable and resilient futures. Prior to this, she served as Chair in Sustainable Management at the University of York and held several leadership roles at the University of Sheffield, including Head of the Operations Management and Decision Sciences Research Centre and Programme Director for MSc Management.

Her interdisciplinary academic background spans environmental sciences, ecology, remote sensing, business operations, supply chains, digital systems, and sustainability science. She holds a PhD in Environmental Sustainability and Arctic Ecology from the University of Sheffield, a Master's in GIS & Environmental Modelling from the University of Hull, and a Master’s in environmental biology from the University of Delhi, where she graduated with distinction and as a Gold Medallist. Her doctoral and postgraduate studies were supported by prestigious awards including a Marie Curie ITN Fellowship, a Commonwealth Scholarship, and the All-India Post-Graduate Award.

Working across food, energy, and critical minerals systems, Professor Choudhary applies systems thinking to connect processes, data, technology, governance, and people across complex value chains. Operating at the interface of business, environmental sciences, digital innovation, and policy, her research focuses on value co-creation, AI-enabled decision intelligence, and resilient, circular systems transformation, generating measurable impact for policymakers, industries, and communities.

Her contributions have received international recognition, including the UK Foreign Commonwealth Office Award for promoting girls' education in sustainability and the UK–India Achievers Award in Education, Science and Innovation, presented at the House of Lords in 2025. She also served on the UKRI NERC Future Leaders Council (2023-2025), advising on strategic research investments and sustainability priorities.

Looking ahead, Professor Choudhary leads initiatives on critical minerals, circular value chains, and clean energy transitions. Her work is unified by a core mission: connecting fragmented systems through data, technology, governance, and community engagement to enable resilient, circular, and equitable futures, building intelligent, interoperable ecosystems that advance food and energy security, responsible industrial transformation, and a just and green transition at local, national, and global scales.

 

2025-now        125^th Anniversary Chair, Professor of Sustainable & Resilient Futures, Birmingham Business School, UoB, UK

2021-2025       Chair Professor in Sustainable Management, UoY, UK

2019-2021       Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Management, & Head, OMDS, SUMS, UK

2017-2019       Programme Director, MSc Management, SUMS, UK

2013-2019       Lecturer (Asst. Prof) in Sustainable Management, SUMS, UK

2009-2012       Marie Curie ITN Early Career Researcher, University of Sheffield, UK

Professor Choudhary welcomes applications from ambitious, intellectually curious doctoral researchers who are passionate about driving real-world systems change. She offers supervision across the following thematic areas: Sustainable and Resilient Systems - Sustainable and resilient food, energy, and critical mineral value chains;Systems thinking and integrated approaches for net zero and circular economy transformation;Food–water–energy–critical minerals nexus and place-based local interventions. Circular Economy and Business Models - Circular business models, value co-creation, and resource efficiency;Lean thinking, lean-green integrated models, and continuous improvement;Corporate sustainability, ESG transformation, and responsible business practices. Digital Innovation and Data-Driven Supply Chains - AI-enabled, data-driven, and interoperable supply chain intelligence; Disruptive technologies (AI, IoT, blockchain, digital twins, remote sensing, GIS, and Industry 4.0) in sustainable systems transformation; Sustainable cold food supply chains for reducing food loss, waste, and nutritional impact. Governance, Policy, Green Skills and Sustainability Science - Policy-integrated approaches, governance systems, and hybridised policymaking; Public–private partnership models, green logistics, and low-carbon futures; Green Skills for future and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): implementation and systems integration across organisations and policy contexts. Measurement and Impact - Sustainability metrics, life cycle assessment (LCA), and footprint management (carbon, nitrogen, water, ecological);Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG frameworks for industrial transformation.

Research leadership and impact

A defining feature of Professor Choudhary's work is co-production and systems transformation, working across the full value chain, from farmers and SMEs to multinational retailers and governments, to co-design innovations that generate measurable environmental, economic, and societal impact.

She has led research portfolios exceeding £12 million as Principal and Co-Investigator, funded by UKRI's STFC, BBSRC, NERC, ESRC, and EPSRC.

Flagship research initiatives

STFC Food Network+ (Phase 2): Professor Choudhary has built one of the UK's leading impact-driven international research ecosystems, engaging over 1,500 members across 20 countries and fostering collaboration between academia, policymakers, NGOs, businesses, and farming communities. The network has co-designed and catalysed over £22 million in external grant projects for its members.

TRANSSITioN: This mission-oriented initiative directly engaged over 50,000 farmers in India, deploying low-cost cold chain solutions and digital decision-support tools to reduce post-harvest losses and improve rural livelihoods through space science and agricultural innovation. The project also piloted circular business models for cold chain infrastructure, enabling smallholder farmers and agri-SMEs to participate in resource-efficient, closed-loop value chains, reducing loss and waste, recovering value, and building long-term economic resilience at the community level.

H3: Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People (£6.2m, BBSRC): Created a multi-level data ecosystem to co-produce a Food System Transformation Decision Engine, directly informing UK food policy.

Critical Minerals for Clean Energy Transition (forthcoming, Government of Jharkhand, India): Professor Choudhary is leading an emerging initiative in partnership with the Government of Jharkhand, India, to develop frameworks for responsible critical mineral governance in support of clean energy transitions. This work will examine how mineral-rich but economically marginalised regions can participate equitably in the global green economy, integrating circular value chain thinking, community co-design, and policy innovation to ensure that the transition to net zero is both environmentally sound and socially just.

Publications and academic citizenship

Professor Choudhary has published approximately 40 papers in leading international journals, peer-reviewed conference proceedings, and national press, and is a two-time recipient of Best Paper Awards at international conferences. She serves as an advisor to Nature Food and reviews for leading journals spanning operations and supply chain management, sustainability, climate change, ecology, and environmental economics. She regularly chairs and organises international conferences and serves as an expert panel member for the Horizon Europe CL6 programme, joint EU–India research programmes, and multiple UKRI funding calls.

Policy and industry engagement

Beyond UKRI-funded research, Professor Choudhary maintains an extensive portfolio of policy and industry collaborations. In the UK, this includes commissioned projects with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Food Standards Agency, and Network Rail, alongside research-consultancy partnerships with WWF-UK, IPCC, Tesco PLC, and 2 Sisters Food Group. She is one of three independent reviewers of Tesco PLC's sustainability claims, including comparative life cycle assessments on sustainable proteins for Net Zero and WWF's Better Basket initiative.

Internationally, her policy influence spans state governments in Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand, where she has shaped mission-oriented innovation policies, sustainable food strategies, and circular value chain frameworks. A flagship example is her Policy Gap Analysis for the Odisha Millets Mission, which developed actionable frameworks connecting healthy environments, healthy food, and healthy people. Recent outputs include a Policy Action Report on scaling agroecological practices and co-designed sustainable cold chain solutions for fresh produce across Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

Here are some of her selected research projects and awards:

• Principal Investigator (PI), ‘STFC Food Network+: Phase 2’, STFC: £1.2M, 2020-2026
• Co-Investigator (Co-I); CCT-Lead (Integrated Methods), ‘Healthy Soils, Healthy Food and Healthy People’, BBSRC: £6M, 2021-2026
• Co-I, ‘Scaling Agroecology Practices in India’, Agroecology Fund: $200K, 2024-2027
• PI, ‘TRAnsforming Cold Food Chains in INdia through Space ScIence and TechNologies - TRANSSITioN’, STFC-GCRF: £0.84M, 2019-2023
• PI, Demonstrating Resource and Energy Efficiency for Net Zero Food Factory through Data-driven Smart Food Manufacturing Processes, EPSRC-STFC: £85k, 2023-2024
• PI, The Potential for the UK Food Sector Protein Shift (50-50 split) to deliver Transformational Change towards achieving Net Zero, WWF-UK Commissioned: £25k, 2022-2023
• PI, Integrating LCA with SDGs and Circular Economy for co-developing novel metrics and methods for monitoring environmental impact of different food production systems, York-Maastricht Partnership Fund: £50k, 2022-2023
• PI, Digital Twin for Food Standard Agency’s inspection process, STFC-FSA: £86K, 2020-2022
• PI, A Review of 21^st Century Food Factory (Abattoirs), STFC-FSA Commissioned: £25K, 2019-2021
• CoI, Impact of labour Shortages on the UK Food System, FSA Commissioned: £50K, 2021-2022
• Co-I, ‘Realising the transition to Circular Economy: Model, methods and applications’, Marie Curie ITN: €4M, 2018-2022
• Co-I, ‘Promoting Circular Economy in Food Supply Chain’, RISE H2020: €450K, 2018-2022
• PI, ‘Application of GIS, STFC sensor technologies, IoT and AI for automating food waste data collection in Thailand’, STFC: £8K, 2019
• PI, ‘Application of Cryogenics & Space Thermal Modelling in cold food supply chains in India’, STFC-IfSF: £11K, 2018
• Co-I, ‘Data-driven agri-food supply chains for sustainability and productivity: A case in Henan Province, China’, STFC-Henan University: £21K, 2018
• Secured seven funding (~500K) for PhD supervision on sustainable supply chain management (Funded by: 3 ESRC, 2 Grantham, 1 Marie Curie, 1 Jordan govt.)
• PI, ‘New Frontiers of Palm Oil: Tackling the Multi-Dimensional Dynamics of Palm Oil Expansion in West Africa’, ESRC White Rose Collaboration Grant: £11K, 2017-2019
• PI, ‘Food Value Chain Risk Analysis’, under N8-HEFCE (£16M) funded project: £45K, 2016-18
• PI, ‘Food supply chain Sustainability Performance’, British Academy: £10K, 2016-18
• Co-I, ‘Mapping the impact of food waste on sustainability performance’, British Academy: £10K, 2017-19
• PI, ‘Food System 4.0: Economic, market and agri-food supply chain data digitisation in Greater Mekong Subregion’, SUMS Research Stimulation Fund: £6K, 2018-19
• Awarded ‘Marie Curie Fellowship of £115,000’ (FP7-ITN, €2.5MM Project) for studying the ‘Impact of nitrogen deposition on High Arctic Tundra ecosystem through an integrated GIS, hyperspectral imaging and ecological assessment’, University of Sheffield, UK, 2009-13
• Awarded ‘NERC Field Spectroscopy facility’ (FSF) grant remote sensed instrument, £50K, 2011
• Awarded ‘DfID Commonwealth Scholarship, University of Hull, UK, £24K, 2008-09
• Awarded UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office grant (2012), for outreach activities