Prof Sonal Choudhary joined the University of York Managment School (UYMS) in October 2021. Earlier, she was the Head of Operations Management & Decision Sciences Research Centre and a Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Management at Sheffield University Management School (SUMS). She is also an active member of Institute for Sustainable Food and interdisciplinary research centres such as Advanced Resource Efficiency Centre (AREC).

At UYMS, Sonal is currently leading and working on projects funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), UKRI (Global Food Security Programme and supported by UKRI’s Strategic Priorities Fund), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), British Academy, WhiteRose Network and N8 Agri-Food. These projects are looking into different aspects of operations and supply chain management practices along with technological adoptions for enhancing the resilience and sustainability of food system in different regions. She is also involved in H2020 Marie Curie ITN project on Circular Economy, ESRC funded PhD supervision on food, water and energy issues. She has created a network of national and international stakeholders in food, energy and water industry that includes some of the big players, service providers, retailers, processors, SMEs, farmer organisations, NGOs, certification bodies and policy makers in the UK, India, ASEAN and African countries. She leads Sustainable Agri-food integrated VAlue chain Network (SAVAN). She is currently leading STFC Food Network+ Phase 2 with more than 1000 members, and is a Crosscutting Theme Lead for the Project H3 (UK)

Before joining SUMS as a Lecturer in 2014, Sonal worked as a Marie Curie Research Fellow in the field of environmental sustainability (Project Sunshine and N-SINK) at the University of Sheffield. She has also worked on a number of other projects funded by Food Standard Agency (FSA), DEFRA, European Commission (FP-7), Ministry of Environment and Forest, India, and IPCC. She has published about 30 papers in leading international journals, peer-reviewed conferences and national newspapers. She has also received two best paper awards in international conferences. She acts as a reviewer to many international journals in the area of operations and supply chain management, sustainability, climate change, ecology and environmental economics,. She has chaired various international conferences.

Sonal has been recipient of many prestigious academic awards and scholarships including All-India postgraduate scholarship, DfID Commonwealth Scholarship, and Marie Curie Fellowship. She has also received a “Gold medal” in Environmental Sciences for holding the first rank at her University during her postgraduate study in India.

Sonal is also involved in consultancy projects with Business in The Community (BiTC). In spare time, Sonal conducts education and outreach activities in the field of climate change, sustainable production and consumption, and behavioural change as well as encourages women participation in sustainability research. She has received the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office grant and wide media coverage in India and the UK since 2011 for her outstanding contribution in community services and leading such thought-provoking activities. She has also been named as a “Climate Leader” and trained in leading climate advocacy by former US vice president and noble laureate Al Gore in 2013.

She obtained her PhD in environmental science, pollution and sustainability in the Arctic from the University of Sheffield, 2014. She has secured double masters degrees, a MSc. in GIS and Environmental Modeling with distinction from the University of Hull, UK and a MSc. in Environmental Biology with distinction from the University of Delhi, India.

Sonal’s research interests are mainly in the domain of sustainable operations and supply chain management, inclusive and integrated value chains, and sustainable natural resource management (food-water-energy-environment nexus). Her research interests also include understanding the impact of climate change, technological adoption, supply chain configurations and stakeholder relationships on building resilience of the food systems. She also investigates how sustainability and regulatory issues affect business strategies and shape attitude towards the sustainable and circular economy.

She welcomes exploring future collaborations in the following fields:

• Integrated assessment of science-business-policy collaborations for effective and efficient resource management
• Sustainable management of natural resources including Carbon, Nitrogen and Water footprint management
• Circular Economy practices across supply chains of MNCs, SMEs and at regional level (Urban metabolism) in developed and developing economies
• Role of Big Data and disruptive technologies (IoT, AI, Blockchain, digital twin, industry 4.0) for building more resilient, sustainable and circular supply chains.
• Business ethics and corporate social responsibilities (CSR)
• UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adoption strategies in different organisations including education sector
• Sustainability of SMEs including Dairy and fresh-food industry
• Applications of remote sensing & GIS in devising sustainable management strategies for low carbon futures (including green logistics and short-supply chain)

Marie Curie Fellow - The University of Sheffield: 2009-2013

Lecturer in Sustainable Managemenet - The Universiyf of Sheffield: 2014-2019

Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Management - Sheffield University Management School: 2019-2021