Dr Helen Kopnina

Assistant Professor

School: Newcastle Business School

Dr. Kopnina, Helen (Ph.D. Cambridge University, 2002) is the author of over two hundred peer-reviewed articles and (co)author and (co)editor of seventeen books on interrelated topics of environmental sustainability, sustainable business, circular economy, biological conservation, environmental ethics, animal ethics, and environmental education.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

My research focuses on environmental education and links biodiversity to business. With over 200 peer-reviewed articles and 17 (co)authored or (co)edited books with international collaborators, I challenge traditional boundaries through an inter- and transdisciplinary approach to academic discourse, education, and corporate sustainability strategies. My work, published in top-tier journals across education sciences (EER, JEE, BERJ), natural sciences (BC, CB), and business/management (JEMA, JCP), has gained a growing influence, as shown by my current Scopus H-index of 51 and several articles with over 700 citations each. My research has influenced curricula and pedagogical strategies across institutions. Many of my highly cited publications focus on critiques and ways forward Education for Sustainable Development Goals. My research on environmental education, particularly in ecopedagogy and ecoliteracy, plays a very significant role in shaping my teaching and empowering graduates to work in highly skilled professions through transformative and inclusive experiential learning.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Does waste equal food? Examining the feasibility of circular economy in the food industry, Kopnina, H., Boatta, F., Baranowski, M., De Graad, F. 4 Nov 2022, The Impossibilities of the Circular Economy, New York, London, Routledge
Exploring posthuman ethics: opening new spaces for postqualitative inquiry within pedagogies of the circular economy , Kopnina, H. 1 Sep 2022, In: Australian Journal of Environmental Education
Critical Evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals and Circular Economy in (Business) Education: Reflections on a Long-Term Sustainability Strategy of Degrowth, Kopnina, H., Benkert, J. 23 Aug 2022, Engagement with Sustainable Development in Higher Education, Cham, Springer
Exploring attitudes to biodiversity conservation and Half-Earth vision in Nigeria: A preliminary study of community attitudes to conservation in Yankari Game Reserve, Kopnina, H., Muhammad, N., Olaleru, F. 1 Aug 2022, In: Biological Conservation
Limits to Sustainable Development Goals: Discussing Lessons from Case Studies in (Un)sustainable Production, Kopnina, H. 10 Jun 2022, Towards a Circular Economy, Cham, Switzerland, Springer
Socially responsible consumption: Between social welfare and degrowth, Baranowski, M., Kopnina, H. 2022, In: Economics and Sociology
(Im)possibilities of “circular” production: Learning from corporate case studies of (un)sustainability, Kopnina, H., Padfield, R. 1 Dec 2021, In: Environmental and Sustainability Indicators
“Nano” Regeneration: How Human Agency Intermediates Between Nature and Technology in Community-Based Energy, Walther, C., Poldner, K., Kopnina, H., Dentoni, D. 1 Dec 2021, In: Organization and Environment

Professional Activity

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Invited talk: Invited conference "Education beyond Sustainable Development Goals." CIIDES 2026 (International Congress on Educational Research and Innovation for Sustainable Development), University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain. 2026
Invited talk: Invited presentation "Reimagining Physical Education (PE) by shifting from purely competitive, skill-based models to an ecocentric, sustainable approach." 2026
Invited talk: Invited presentation "Requiem for the weeds." A joint meeting of the Botanical Society of Scotland, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. 2026
Editorial work: Sustainable Environment (Journal) 2026
Invited talk: Invited presentation "Nature Finance" 2025 R&D Management Conference 2025
Invited talk: Invited presentation "Ecotopian pedagogies for the Symbiocene." 2025
Invited talk: "Business, Finance, and Biodiversity." International Critical Management Studies (ICMS) Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University 2025
Invited talk: Invited keynote speech "Biodiversity and Business: Tensions and Opportunities." Rennes School of Business, Rennes, France 2025
Invited talk: Invited presentation "Why Sustainable Development Goals are not the same as Sustainability Education." UNESCO's SDG Academy side event 2025
Invited talk: “Biodiversity and business” presentation at Business & Law Research Conference 2024