Overview
I am passionate about conducting research that drives positive change. My current work focuses on creating a climate-friendly, healthier, and fairer food system that enhances people's health and wellbeing.
I joined Cardiff Business School in 2024 after working as a Research Associate at Bath University and Cardiff University. During my time at the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformation (CAST), I explored how individuals and communities adopt sustainable, low-carbon lifestyle changes. Additionally, I completed a fellowship with the Welsh Government, advising on community food strategies and tree-planting policies.
I lead and collaborate on interdisciplinary projects across international partners in Sweden, China, and the UK, working with government and non-governmental organizations to shape evidence-based climate strategies. I have published widely on low-carbon transitions, food sustainability, and the psychological drivers of pro-environmental behaviour.
In addition to research, I have experience in developing impact strategies, leading stakeholder engagement, and advising on net-zero and sustainable food policy initiatives working with devolved Governments across the UK. I have contributed to and led projects funded by the ESRC, British Academy, and the Welsh Government.
Publication
2024
- Cherry, C., Verfuerth, C. and Demski, C. 2024. Discourses of climate inaction undermine public support for 1.5oC lifestyles. Global Environmental Change 87, article number: 102875. (10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102875)
- Verfuerth, C., Demski, C., Whitmarsh, L. and Cherry, C. 2024. Catalysts of change: People at the heart of climate transformations. Project Report. [Online]. Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations. Available at: https://cast.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CAST-the-centre-for-climate-change-and-social-transformations-key-messages-from-five-years-of-social-science-research-on-climate-change-report.pdf
- Cherry, C., Verfuerth, C. and Demski, C. 2024. Social visions for a low-carbon future. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff Univesrity. Available at: https://cast.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CAST-the-centre-for-climate-change-and-social-transformations-social-visions-for-a-low-carbon-future-report.pdf
2023
- Verfuerth, C., Jones, G. and Roberts, L. 2023. Workshops to discuss the future of tree planting with Welsh farmers. Welsh Government. Available at: https://www.gov.wales/workshops-discuss-future-tree-planting-welsh-farmers
- Verfuerth, C., Demski, C., Capstick, S., Whitmarsh, L. and Poortinga, W. 2023. A people-centred approach is needed to meet net zero goals. Journal of the British Academy 11(S4), pp. 97-124. (10.5871/jba/011s4.097)
- Mitev, K., Player, L., Verfuerth, C., Westlake, S. and Whitmarsh, L. 2023. The Implications of behavioural science for effective climate policy. Available at: https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/the-implications-of-behavioural-science-for-effective-climate-policy-cast/
- Verfuerth, C., Sanderson Bellamy, A., Adlerova, B. and Dutton, A. 2023. Building relationships back into the food system: addressing food insecurity and food well-being. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 7, article number: 1218299. (10.3389/fsufs.2023.1218299)
- De vito, L., Wynne-Jones, S., Heins, E. and Verfuerth, C. 2023. Policy fellowship schemes as a vehicle for co-production - insights from Welsh Government fellowships. Available at: https://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/Research-Policy-Engagement/working-paper-series/working-paper-series/
2022
- Verfuerth, C. and Sanderson Bellamy, A. 2022. Accessible Veg: A pilot project exploring the barriers and benefits to CSA memberships for food-insecure households. Project Report. Cardiff: Cardiff University.
- Isham, A., Verfuerth, C., Armstrong, A., Elf, P., Gatersleben, B. and Jackson, T. 2022. The problematic role of materialistic values in the pursuit of sustainable well-being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19(6), article number: 3673. (10.3390/ijerph19063673)
2021
- Moore, B. et al. 2021. Transformations for climate change mitigation: A systematic review of terminology, concepts, and characteristics. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 12(6), article number: e738. (10.1002/wcc.738)
- Cherry, C., Capstick, S., Demski, C., Mellier, C., Stone, L. and Verfuerth, C. 2021. Citizens' climate assemblies: Understanding public deliberation for climate policy.. Project Report. Cardiff: Cardiff University.
- Verfuerth, C., Gregory-Smith, D., Oates, C. J., Jones, C. R. and Alevizou, P. 2021. Reducing meat consumption at work and at home: facilitators and barriers that influence contextual spillover. Journal of Marketing Management 37(7-8), pp. 671-702. (10.1080/0267257X.2021.1888773)
2020
- Capstick, S., Demski, C., Cherry, C., Verfuerth, C. and Steentjes, K. 2020. Climate change citizens' assemblies: CAST briefing paper 03. CAST Briefing Paper.
2019
- Verfuerth, C., Henn, L. and Becker, S. 2019. Is it up to them? Individual leverages for sufficiency. GAiA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society 28(4), pp. 374-380. (10.14512/gaia.28.4.9)
- Verfuerth, C., Jones, C. R., Gregory-Smith, D. and Oates, C. 2019. Understanding contextual spillover: using identity process theory as a lens for analyzing behavioral responses to a workplace dietary choice intervention. Frontiers in Psychology 10, article number: 345. (10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00345)
2018
- Verfuerth, C. and Gregory-Smith, D. 2018. Spillover of pro-environmental behaviour. In: Wells, V. K., Gregory-Smith, D. and Manika, D. eds. Research Handbook on Employee Pro-Environmental Behaviour. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 455-484.
Articles
- Cherry, C., Verfuerth, C. and Demski, C. 2024. Discourses of climate inaction undermine public support for 1.5oC lifestyles. Global Environmental Change 87, article number: 102875. (10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102875)
- Verfuerth, C., Demski, C., Capstick, S., Whitmarsh, L. and Poortinga, W. 2023. A people-centred approach is needed to meet net zero goals. Journal of the British Academy 11(S4), pp. 97-124. (10.5871/jba/011s4.097)
- Verfuerth, C., Sanderson Bellamy, A., Adlerova, B. and Dutton, A. 2023. Building relationships back into the food system: addressing food insecurity and food well-being. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 7, article number: 1218299. (10.3389/fsufs.2023.1218299)
- Isham, A., Verfuerth, C., Armstrong, A., Elf, P., Gatersleben, B. and Jackson, T. 2022. The problematic role of materialistic values in the pursuit of sustainable well-being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19(6), article number: 3673. (10.3390/ijerph19063673)
- Moore, B. et al. 2021. Transformations for climate change mitigation: A systematic review of terminology, concepts, and characteristics. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 12(6), article number: e738. (10.1002/wcc.738)
- Verfuerth, C., Gregory-Smith, D., Oates, C. J., Jones, C. R. and Alevizou, P. 2021. Reducing meat consumption at work and at home: facilitators and barriers that influence contextual spillover. Journal of Marketing Management 37(7-8), pp. 671-702. (10.1080/0267257X.2021.1888773)
- Verfuerth, C., Henn, L. and Becker, S. 2019. Is it up to them? Individual leverages for sufficiency. GAiA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society 28(4), pp. 374-380. (10.14512/gaia.28.4.9)
- Verfuerth, C., Jones, C. R., Gregory-Smith, D. and Oates, C. 2019. Understanding contextual spillover: using identity process theory as a lens for analyzing behavioral responses to a workplace dietary choice intervention. Frontiers in Psychology 10, article number: 345. (10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00345)
Book sections
- Verfuerth, C. and Gregory-Smith, D. 2018. Spillover of pro-environmental behaviour. In: Wells, V. K., Gregory-Smith, D. and Manika, D. eds. Research Handbook on Employee Pro-Environmental Behaviour. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 455-484.
Monographs
- Verfuerth, C., Demski, C., Whitmarsh, L. and Cherry, C. 2024. Catalysts of change: People at the heart of climate transformations. Project Report. [Online]. Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations. Available at: https://cast.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CAST-the-centre-for-climate-change-and-social-transformations-key-messages-from-five-years-of-social-science-research-on-climate-change-report.pdf
- Cherry, C., Verfuerth, C. and Demski, C. 2024. Social visions for a low-carbon future. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff Univesrity. Available at: https://cast.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CAST-the-centre-for-climate-change-and-social-transformations-social-visions-for-a-low-carbon-future-report.pdf
- Verfuerth, C., Jones, G. and Roberts, L. 2023. Workshops to discuss the future of tree planting with Welsh farmers. Welsh Government. Available at: https://www.gov.wales/workshops-discuss-future-tree-planting-welsh-farmers
- Mitev, K., Player, L., Verfuerth, C., Westlake, S. and Whitmarsh, L. 2023. The Implications of behavioural science for effective climate policy. Available at: https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/the-implications-of-behavioural-science-for-effective-climate-policy-cast/
- De vito, L., Wynne-Jones, S., Heins, E. and Verfuerth, C. 2023. Policy fellowship schemes as a vehicle for co-production - insights from Welsh Government fellowships. Available at: https://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/Research-Policy-Engagement/working-paper-series/working-paper-series/
- Verfuerth, C. and Sanderson Bellamy, A. 2022. Accessible Veg: A pilot project exploring the barriers and benefits to CSA memberships for food-insecure households. Project Report. Cardiff: Cardiff University.
- Cherry, C., Capstick, S., Demski, C., Mellier, C., Stone, L. and Verfuerth, C. 2021. Citizens' climate assemblies: Understanding public deliberation for climate policy.. Project Report. Cardiff: Cardiff University.
- Capstick, S., Demski, C., Cherry, C., Verfuerth, C. and Steentjes, K. 2020. Climate change citizens' assemblies: CAST briefing paper 03. CAST Briefing Paper.
Research
Net Zero Transitioning: Redefining Assumptions Behind Access to Low-carbon Food in Resource-Constrained Communities (2024 - 2025) Co-PI (AFN network+ funded; £50,000)
CAST: Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (2019 - 2028) Co-I (since 2024; ESRC funded Research Centre; £1.5 million)
- What could low-carbon transformed futures look like? (2024-2028): Project 1.2: Developing a public engagement and visioning toolkit for deliberating sticky topics. Project 1.3: Embedding public perspectives and social science into policy-making.
- Lead of Project 1.2 (2019-2024): Comparing visions of change across countries.
- Project 2.1 (2019-2021): Learning from government-led transformations.
Welsh Government Behaviour Change Fellowship (2021-2023) PI (Welsh Government funded; £80,000). I provided advise and co-developed projects across multiple policy teams from a psychological perspective drawing on methods (e.g. visioning, survey design, use of qualitative methods) and research insights (e.g. public perceptions on climate change, diet change, material consumption). Close collaboration with the Food Policy team, Decarb Team, and Strategic Evidence Unit – linked reports & paper: Verfuerth et al., (2023); De Vito et al., (2023); Miller Research (2023). Completed.
Accessible Veg Project (2021-2022) PI (ESRC/ IAA & WWF/Food Sense Wales funded £19,000). Exploring the barriers and benefits to CSA memberships for low-income households.
Teaching
BST350 Marketing Fundamentals
BST352 Marketing Research
Biography
Since 2024 I am a lecturer in Marketing & Strategy at Cardiff University Business School.
Prior, I worked as a Post-Doc, Research Fellow, and Knowledge Exchange Fellow in the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST; since 2019 ongoing) and with the Welsh Government (2021-2023).
In CAST I co-led work on cross-cultural visions of low-carbon futures in the UK, China, and Sweden. In visioning workshops we examined what low-carbon futures people find feasible and desirable.
2015-2019 I completed my PhD at the University of Sheffield in which I investigated the effects of a meat reduction intervention in a workplace on employees’ pro-environmental behaviours at home. Using mixed methods approaches, my previous research centred around promoting sustainable lifestyles and behaviour change, with a particular focus on sustainable diets and identity.
Prior to my PhD, I completed a MSc in environmental psychology at the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Germany, in 2015. During my postgraduate studies I worked as a research assistant with a focus on environmental psychology and behaviour change at the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, the Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, and a research consultancy in Berlin.
I completed my undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Hamburg, Germany, in 2011. While completing my studies I worked as a student assistant in media psychology, media management, and market research at the University of Hamburg, the Hamburg Media School and in the private sector.
I was also a board member of the Psychology Initiative in Environmental Protection (IPU) in Germany, a Co-founder of the British Environmental Psychology Society, and an initiator of the Sustainability office at the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg.
Speaking engagements
2023: “We need to put people at the heart of effective climate policies”, hosted by Environment Platform Wales.
2023: “A people-centred approach is needed to tackle climate change”, hosted by Prof Taciano Milfont at the Waikato University, New Zealand.
2023: “SYSTEMS MAPPING: a case study on Community Food”, talk to policy makers, Welsh Government.
2022: “Diet change in the workplace & at home: Key findings from a behaviour change intervention”, talk to policy makers, Welsh Government.
2022: “Diet & behaviour change: What are key drivers and lessons learned from ‘real-world’ behaviour change interventions?” Innovation Festival Newcastle, Northumbrian Water.
2021: “Transforming lifestyles: Food choices, changing behaviours, and spillover effects”, hosted by Dr Elena Sautkina, Higher School of Economics, Russia.
2021: Invited expert panellist on public engagement debate “Die Klimadebatte”, hosted by ‘Mehr Demokratie’ (YouTube life stream with 700+ live viewers; link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SlDz74hJRQ ).
2021: “What diet changes do people in the UK find desirable and feasible; and how can we facilitate these?”, hosted by the UK Government Department of Agriculture & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
2021: “How can we as a society live differently and better to achieve systemic, deep and rapid emission reductions?”, Hungary-CAST-Tyndall workshop hosted by MPs in Hungary.
2019: Youth Debate on the impact of lifestyles on Climate Change, with local schools at the National Museum Wales (Amgueddfa Cymru).