Our Contributors

Toby is Professor of Cold Economy at the University of Birmingham and Heriot-Watt University and Director of the Centre for Sustainable Cooling. He is a multi-award-winning technology developer (Liquid Air Energy Storage) and he has extensive industry and academic experience in energy systems, energy storage, and sustainable cooling and cold-chains for food and health.

Toby’s research involves whole-system solutions to transition to sustainable cooling and cold-chain, and he is responsible for a series of flagship programs across the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Global South.

Toby is also a senior advisor on cooling and cold-chain for multiple international development organizations and a regular of author/co-author of key reports.

An internationally recognised expert in climate change adaptation and mitigation with specialist knowledge of clean energy, sustainable cooling, process engineering based industries and sustainable food systems, Dr Fox has extensive experience in thought leadership, public affairs and policy advocacy, communications, marketing and funding acquisition. He works as an independent consultant operating at the intersection of science-engineering-policy-business-communications and has been previously employed in small and large commercial enterprises, government agencies and educational institutions based in the UK, The Netherlands, Canada and Australia. Tim combines a global perspective and natural ability to communicate at all levels with clear strategic thinking, deep technical knowledge, analytical rigour, and high level writing skills. He is experienced in working with international bodies, such as the UN; EU; national governments in the UK, Europe, India, Africa and Japan; industry; business; financiers; academia; NGOs; the press, media and wider general public.

Dr Fox is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FIMechE), where he is Chair of the Biennial International Conference on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience as well as a past Chair of the Process Industries Division. Tim represents the IMechE on the UK Infrastructure Operators Adaptation Forum and the Sustainable, Resilient Infrastructure Community Advisory Body of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He is also a member of the Adaptation to Climate Change Group of BSI Committee SES/001/07, a Co-Founder of the International Fugitive Emissions Abatement Association (IFEAA), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).

Tim has been lead author of numerous peer-reviewed papers, research reports, thought leadership reports and policy papers and has been featured in hundreds of press articles, op-ed pieces, broadcast media appearances, conferences and webinars. In 2022, he was awarded the 'Most Distinguished Achievement Award' by the IMechE for his work on clean energy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainability. The award citation read: "Tim has made and continues to make an outstanding contribution to mechanical engineering at national and international levels in areas such as climate change, energy and environmental issues. His efforts have influenced policy makers at a high level and raised the profile of mechanical engineering thus capturing the attention and respect of the engineering community and wider public as a whole."

I am an interdisciplinary researcher with a focus on energy transition, energy resilience, low-carbon energy innovation, bioeconomy, sustainable cooling, and gender. My primary research interests lie in the intersection of international development, energy, and gender. I am currently employed as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Cooling at the University of Birmingham. In this capacity, I adopt a comprehensive approach to identify existing and anticipated challenges and sustainable solutions within the global cooling and cold-chain sector.

I have actively contributed to the development of assessment tools for evaluating cooling and cold-chain requirements, ensuring their integration of gender and social inclusivity principles in design, data collection, and analysis. Furthermore, my research leadership has extended to examining the reciprocal impacts of gender and social inclusion in cooling and cold-chain initiatives, alongside the formulation of monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks, as well as safeguarding policies, all these aimed at institutionalizing gender equality and social inclusion in cooling and cold-chain efforts—a crucial area of advancement within the sector. Additionally, I have assisted the team in developing instructional materials to reinforce the capacity of local communities preceding the adoption of new cold-chain technologies and business/financial models, with a specific emphasis on improved integration of socio-economic impacts of clean cooling and cold-chain. I am also keen on furthering research in areas of socialising the predictive cold-chain models by developing social sustainability indicators which capture the value of socio-economic impacts of sustainable cooling and cold-chain.