The Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST)

What The Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) does

The Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) is a cross-institutional UK academic research centre founded in 2019 and headquartered at the University of Bath, with coordinating leadership at Cardiff University and operations across the University of Manchester, University of East Anglia, and Climate Outreach charity. It is primarily funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, with £5 million awarded at launch and a £3.83 million follow-on programme announced for July 2026. CAST's research programme focuses on placing people at the centre of climate action, organised around four themes (Visioning, Learning, Trialling, Engaging) and four domains of everyday life (food/diet, transport/mobility, material consumption, heating/cooling).

CAST's core products include the CAST Data Portal, a publicly accessible longitudinal dataset of over 15,500 survey participants across the UK, Brazil, China, and Sweden, with three interactive dashboards on public climate views, climate action, and trust. Its Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool, co-developed with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Tyndall Centre, is integrated into GMCA's formal decision-making process and adopted by the Greater London Authority and Flintshire County Council. CAST also operates the CAST Impact Fund, supporting city-scale climate interventions, and publishes briefings, reports, webinars, and peer-reviewed academic articles.

CAST does not sell commercial products. Its revenue model is grant-funded (ESRC core funding plus supplementary programme grants) supplemented by knowledge exchange services — bespoke research, training, speaking engagements, and consultancy — directed at UK policymakers, businesses, and civil society organisations. All research outputs, tools, and the Data Portal are distributed free of charge. Primary customer segments are UK national and devolved government bodies, local authorities, large enterprises (e.g., Wates Group, Anglian Water), NHS England, and NGOs/charities (e.g., Pledgeball, 10:10 Climate Action). CAST is currently in Phase 2 of its research programme (2024-2029).

Name

The Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST)

Legal name

The Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations

Website

https://cast.ac.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CAST is a UK academic research centre funded by the ESRC, studying how people can drive climate action through behaviour change, public engagement, and policy. It serves UK policymakers, businesses, and civil society via free research outputs, decision-support tools, and training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bath

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. ESRC Research Funding: CAST is primarily funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, as a £5 million cross-institutional research centre. This covers core research operations, staff, and programme delivery across five partner institutions.
2. Knowledge Exchange and Consultancy Services: CAST generates supplementary revenue by offering bespoke research insights, collaborative research projects, co-hosted webinars, tailored expert advice, co-designed tools, and event speaking engagements to policymakers, businesses, and civil society organisations. A £3.83m programme at CAST funded at the University of Bath (July 2026) represents a major new programme grant.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

CAST is a cross-institutional UK academic research centre that conducts social science research on climate change, focusing on the role of people in achieving societal transformation. It produces and freely disseminates research outputs including a public Data Portal, the Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool, briefings, reports, webinars, academic articles, and training services, and offers bespoke research insights, collaborative projects, and expert advice to policymakers, businesses, and civil society organisations.

Product overview

CAST is a cross-institutional UK research centre funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, focused on placing people at the heart of climate action. The centre operates a portfolio of research products including the CAST Data Portal (containing three sub-dashboards for Climate Views, Climate Action, and Trust and Action), the Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool, and the CAST Impact Fund. Supporting resources include academic articles, briefings, reports, webinars, and training services. The centre's research focuses on four themes: Visioning, Learning, Trialling, and Engaging, examining transformation in food/diet, transport/mobility, material consumption, and heating/cooling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CAST Data Portal: Public Views on Climate An online data platform providing publicly accessible survey data on climate change perceptions, low-carbon behaviour, climate policy, trust and responsibility from annual global surveys with over 15,500 participants in the UK, Brazil, China, and Sweden.
• Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool An assessment toolkit that enables decisions on policies and initiatives to be evaluated against multiple sustainability criteria, including climate contribution and impacts on nature, equality, and health. Used by local authorities for formal climate decision-making.
• CAST Impact Fund A funding programme supporting projects that accelerate climate action through co-production of tools, interventions, and partnerships at city scale.
• CAST Academic Articles Peer-reviewed academic publications from CAST researchers on climate change, behaviour change, and social transformations.
• CAST Briefings Policy-oriented briefing papers summarizing CAST research findings for policymakers, businesses, and practitioners.
• CAST Reports

Quantifiable outcome

• CAST's Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool is fully integrated into Greater Manchester Combined Authority's decision-making and adopted by Greater London Authority and Flintshire County Council
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• PledgeballcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 October 2024CAST announced a partnership with Pledgeball, a charity rallying the sports community to accelerate systemic climate change. The partnership aims to drive transformational climate action through sport.
• Welsh GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021CAST Research Associate Dr Caroline Verfuerth holds a fellowship within the Welsh Government's Department of Environment and Rural Affairs, conducting behavioural and social change research to support evidence-based policy in dietary change and land management.
• Cardiff UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2019Cardiff University is the host institution for CAST. CAST was announced and launched at Cardiff University in 2019, and the university's Executive Board was supported by CAST in declaring a climate emergency with a goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.
• University of BathcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2019University of Bath serves as the central hub for CAST, housing the centre's coordination and leadership team including Director Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh. It is the primary institutional location for CAST operations.
• University of ManchestercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2019University of Manchester is one of five core partner institutions of CAST, contributing research expertise to the centre's multi-disciplinary programme on climate change and social transformations.
• University of East AngliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2019University of East Anglia is one of five core partner institutions of CAST, contributing research expertise to the centre's multi-disciplinary programme on climate change and social transformations.
• University of YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2019University of York was originally listed as a core partner institution of CAST at its launch in 2019.
• Climate OutreachcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2019Climate Outreach is a core partner of CAST alongside the four universities. As a charity specialising in climate communication, it contributes expertise in public engagement, climate conversations, and values-based communication strategies. It plays a central role in CAST's outreach and communication activities.
• Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAST co-developed the Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool with GMCA. The tool is now fully integrated into GMCA's formal decision-making process, representing CAST's most significant practical impact in UK local government.
• Greater London AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Greater London Authority adopted CAST's Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool for use in London-wide climate decision-making, extending CAST's practical impact beyond Greater Manchester.
• Flintshire County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlintshire County Council adopted CAST's Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool, enabling local authority climate decision-making based on CAST's research framework.
• Tyndall Centre for Climate Change ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAST collaborated with the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in developing the Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool. The Tyndall Centre is a long-established UK climate change research network.
• Wates GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWates Group is listed as an industry partner working with CAST, embedding CAST research into practical sustainability strategies within the construction and property sector.
• 10:10 Climate ActioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner10:10 Climate Action is listed as a partner organisation working with CAST to support practical climate action and sustainability transformation initiatives.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAST is described as working with internationally renowned science bodies like the IPCC, contributing social science expertise to international climate assessment processes.
• Scottish GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAST works with the Scottish Government as a policy partner, helping embed climate research into Scottish Government strategy and policy development.
• BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAST works with BEIS as a policy partner, providing evidence and expertise to inform UK national climate and energy policy.
• Julie's BicyclecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAST collaborated with Julie's Bicycle and Shambala Festival to produce a practical resource helping live music events engage audiences with sustainable travel, combining climate research with creative industries expertise.
• Anglian WatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnglian Water is listed as a practitioner partner working with CAST, contributing water sector expertise to the centre's research on organisational and societal transformations.
• Tyndall Centre for Climate Change ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAST partnered with the Tyndall Centre for its 20th Anniversary Stories of Change programme, co-hosting online workshops and webcasts exploring how low-carbon community initiatives can lead to wider climate action.
• COP26 Universities NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAST is part of the COP26 Universities Network, founded in 2020, which aims to improve access to evidence and academic expertise for UK Government, NGOs, and the international community to support ambitious climate change outcomes ahead of COP26.
• Keep Wales TidyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAST collaborated with Keep Wales Tidy on a pilot project examining repair and reuse initiatives in Wales, demonstrating their effectiveness at preventing waste and providing community benefits.
• Oxford UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOxford University researchers collaborated with CAST partner Climate Outreach and Open University Business School on research published in Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, examining values-based approaches to SME decarbonisation.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Nesta: A UK innovation foundation that runs behaviour-change and climate-focused missions. Comparable to CAST in working at the intersection of research, behaviour change, and public-purpose innovation in the UK.

Direct peers

• Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research: A UK-wide network of climate researchers at multiple universities. Tyndall is a co-developer of CAST's Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool and shares a transdisciplinary, society-facing research mission, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP): A UK research centre linking climate change economics and policy, hosted at the University of Leeds and LSE. Comparable to CAST in being a UK-based, ESRC-funded, policy-oriented research centre focused on climate change.
• Climate Outreach: A specialist UK charity focused on public engagement with climate change. Climate Outreach is a core partner of CAST and operates in the same niche of values-based climate communication and public engagement research.
• Behavioural Insights Team: A UK-originated social purpose company applying behavioural science to public policy. Comparable to CAST through its focus on behaviour-change research and applying evidence to government and public-sector challenges.
• Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (LSE): A leading UK climate policy research institute at LSE. Comparable to CAST in translating climate research into policy advice, with strong UK government and parliamentary engagement and a research-driven operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs): A leading international affairs think tank with a climate and sustainability programme. Comparable to CAST in producing research that informs UK and international climate policy, but on a much larger global scale.
• Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR): A major UK think tank conducting progressive policy research including on climate and environment. Comparable to CAST as a UK policy research organisation, although broader in scope and less focused on behaviour change specifically.
• UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH): A large UK research centre covering environmental and climate science. UKCEH overlaps with CAST on climate change research and public engagement but is broader and more established in natural sciences.
• Climate Change Committee (CCC): The UK's independent statutory adviser on climate policy. CAST has contributed to the CCC's 7th Carbon Budget; the CCC is a comparable UK climate-policy authority but operates as a regulator rather than a research centre.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CAST_Centre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cast-centre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST)