My research interests have a heavy focus on environmental sustainability and working towards carbon neutrality; specifically life cycle assessment, environmental modelling, sustainable development, and embodied carbon.
I recently completed my PhD which focused on the thermal and environmental performance of solar water heaters in a Scottish climate. This work aimed to quantify the embodied and operational environmental impacts of a novel solar water heater design across the whole life cycle. I developed my knowledge in this area and gained research skills and experience throughout the course of my PhD.
I have contributed to several academic and industry funded research projects, notably an EPSRC-funded project which aimed to quantify the whole life carbon impacts of different urban typologies to determine the most sustainable option to accommodate growing populations. This project acknowledged the importance of health and wellbeing in cities and the need to consider the three pillars of sustainability; economy, society and environment. After the publication of this work in npj Urban Sustainability, it has gained significant media traction.
Through an industry-academia collaboration with Zero Waste Scotland I made significant contributions to a piece of work that aims to quantify the whole life impacts of Scotland’s waste, driven by a circular economy ethos. By approaching waste in terms of production and consumption cycles, we can highlight and address the significant impact of upstream processes to reduce downstream waste and promote a regenerative economy. The output of this work is a waste environmental footprinting tool aligned with SEPA and EU European Waste Catalogue categories to help understand the holistic life cycle impacts of the countries waste.
Experience
-
2021–presentPostdoctoral research fellow, Edinburgh Napier University
-
2020–presentDirector, Building Research Solutions Ltd
-
2019–2019Research assistant, Edinburgh Napier University
Education
-
2021Edinburgh Napier University, PhD
-
2014University of Edinburgh, MSc
-
2013University of Edinburgh, BSc
Publications
-
2021Decoupling density from tallness in analysing the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of cities, npj Urban Sustainability
-
2021A pragmatic and industry-oriented framework for data quality assessment of environmental footprint tools, Resources, Environment and Sustainability
-
2019Whole life design and resource reuse of a solar water heater in the UK, Engineering Sustainability
-
2018A method for a cradle-to-cradle life cycle assessment of integrated collector-storage solar water heaters, Proceedings of the 9th International SOLARIS Conference 2018
-
2018Thermal Performance through Heat Retention in Integrated Collector-Storage Solar Water Heaters: A Review, Energies
- Edinburgh
- Article Feed
- r.saint2@napier.ac.uk
- ORCID
- Joined
