Stephen Allen

Dr. Stephen Allen is a lecturer and engineer working in the fields of energy analysis, carbon footprinting and life cycle assessment (LCA).  He works collaboratively to improve energy efficiency, produce low-carbon buildings, and develop sustainable construction materials.  Current projects include the £36m Active Buildings Centre, which is designing and constructing buildings that produce more energy than they use.

Stephen previously worked in the UK’s Houses of Parliament and in industry.  As the Energy Adviser at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), he provided scientific advice to parliamentarians and supervised POST Fellowships, influencing energy and climate policy.  As a senior consultant at Sustain and then director at Circular Ecology, he helped companies to reduce the environmental footprint of buildings, rail transport and consumer products.

His publications have been used by parliament, government and the Committee on Climate Change to inform policy, and by professional magazines to influence practice in industry.  He won the George Stephenson Medal from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (for best original paper), and a place on the USA’s International Visitor Leadership Programme on climate change and renewable energy.  He is conversationally fluent in Spanish.

Interested in supervising students studying:

• Low energy and low carbon design of buildings
• Sustainable building materials
• Sustainable energy technologies
• Thermodynamics and heat transfer
• Carbon footprinting
• Life cycle assessment