Agriculture and Environment Research Unit (AERU)
AERU is an internationally renowned research and consultancy team based within the School of Life and Medical Sciences.
Specialising in agri-environmental science, whole farm sustainability assessments and the environmental impact of food production at home and abroad, AERU's objectives are to encourage sound environmental practices and enhance the reputation and competitiveness of the UK agricultural and food industry.
Established in 1994 to develop the award winning Environmental Management for Agriculture (EMA) software, the Unit has gone on to complete a wide range of projects funded by central and local government, the European Union and industry. These include the development of software for pesticide fate evaluations, energy efficiency in greenhouses and agri-environmental auditing and risk assessments, policy development, studies on green taxes and primary production assurance.
Whilst our core business is agriculture and horticulture, our skills and experience encompass a much wider remit. This includes environmental impact assessment and auditing (previous projects include site assessments, planning and regulatory assessment of new chemicals and drugs, life cycle studies of non-food products), and material flows and balancing (used in energy, water and waste efficiency assessments).