India and the UK: Driving Sustainability through Culture and Education

In a world that is increasingly interconnected, the challenges we face are no longer confined by national borders. Climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss are issues that demand solutions rooted in local contexts while providing global solutions. Now more than ever, it is crucial that nations come together to drive sustainability. 

India and the UK are already working together to deliver commitments in climate and clean energy through the ambitious India-UK Roadmap 2030 signed by both Prime Ministers in 2021.  The roadmap outlines building on the two countries’ existing bilateral research, science and innovation infrastructure and governmental relationships to continue to support high-quality, high-impact research and innovation through joint processes. It confirms the UK and India as equal partners, together a force for good in the world in areas of shared priority, ushering in a new phase of cooperation.

Education is at the core of this collaborative effort - both countries have made policy commitments to ensure the sector generates the knowledge and understanding needed to support change. The National Education Policy 2020 underscores the importance of making environmental education an integral part of school curricula at all stages and the UK’s Department for Education launched an ambitious new climate and sustainability strategy during the UK’s presidency of COP26. Both countries are also addressing how their respective education networks can reduce their own carbon footprints.

The role of art and culture is less well understood. The British Council, through its global Climate Connection programme, has been engaging with the arts and culture sector to highlight that, though culture is often the missing link in debates and action, it is central to our ability to respond to the crisis. With culture identified as a driver of the SDGs in the G20 Leaders’ Declaration and the UK and India’s commitment to strengthening the contribution that the creative and cultural industries can make to livelihoods and sustainability, India and the UK are well-positioned to drive this agenda forward together.

Higher education’s contribution to a sustainable future

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have many roles to play. Recommendations from a report published in 2020 by the UK’s Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) emphasise the importance of going beyond the obvious focus on research production, technological transfer and innovation, or the development of new curricula and courses. Enhancing HEI’s civic responsibility by working with local communities to identify and promote indigenous knowledge and solutions, particularly those that benefit vulnerable and marginalised communities; building multi- or inter-disciplinary alliances between artists, scientists, politics and global society, and reducing HEI’s own carbon footprint are critical. Such approaches, HEPI states, ‘are more likely to generate the innovative and creative solutions the planet needs’. 

There’s no doubt that international scientific cooperation, research partnerships and knowledge exchange are crucial in the fight against climate change. India and the UK are already great collaborators: India is the UK’s third largest research partner, and the UK is India’s second largest partner. In the recently published Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings. which assess universities’ contribution to each of the 17 SDGs, THE reported a huge rise in participation from Indian universities from 13 in 2019 to 66 in 2023, with one of the areas of national strength emerging in SDG7 – affordable and clean energy. Five Indian universities stand in the top 100 in this category: IIT Guwahati; Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences; Chitkara University; Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, and Lovely Professional University.

Bilateral programmes, such as the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI), are a prime example of the power of such collaborative efforts. It's under UKIERI that the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) and the University of Edinburgh took on the challenge of developing an eco-friendly and non-hazardous process for recycling waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) to recover valuable metals. Beyond laboratory experiments, they've introduced an interdisciplinary post-graduate course, effectively paving the way for a sustainable future in electronic waste recycling. 
At any given point in time, there are hundreds of researchers across the two nations working on solutions that address some aspect of climate change and environmental sustainability. Scholarships supported by the British Council, such as the EARTH scholarships offered by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH), the GREAT scholarships and the Women in STEM Scholarships, as well as wider UK government scholarships such as the GREAT, Chevening and Indian-focussed scholarships offered by institutions such as Imperial College London or the Oxford Centre for Sustainable Development, support Indian students studying environment and sustainability in the UK.  

India’s unique learning context

Two-way mobility is now easier as a result of the Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications Agreement signed by the UK and India last year, as academic qualifications in India are now recognised in the UK and vice versa. This, coupled with the National Education Policy 2020’s ambitions to make India a hub for international students, means we expect to see more and more UK students deciding to study in India. As one of the world's most populous countries, India is innovating to address unique environmental challenges stemming from rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, and the emergence of a burgeoning middle class. Learning from this, and from the rich cultural heritage, indigenous practices and digital and technological revolution being played out on the ground in India, provides a unique learning environment for UK students and researchers.

Arts and culture’s contribution to a sustainable future

Realising the power of the arts to inspire and connect audiences through stories, poems, music and the visual arts, the British Council has always worked with art organisations and artists to raise awareness about global issues including climate change. Whether this is through festivals, such as the Future Fantastic Climate and AI Festival in Bangalore, films, such as the Songs of the Earth film created by the London-based multi-disciplinary artist and musician, Soumik Datta and animated by Indian illustrators, Sachin Bhatt and Anjali Kamat or exhibitions, 'Young Minds for a Compassionate World' photographic collaboration between the Natural History Museum, London, and the Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata which enabled young photographers to share their unique perspectives on local nature, we understand the power of art to change mindsets and behaviours. These cultural endeavours have created a deeper understanding of sustainability through the arts, connecting people to a shared cause.

At COP26, the British Council published a report by Julie’s Bicycle – a leading UK arts organisation working to mobilise the arts and cultural sectors against climate change and justice issues – which outlined how cultural policy can strengthen the creative climate movement and mobilise action at scale.  Their call to action at COP26 stated that ‘Culture is vital to national economies, bringing creative skills and innovation, and influencing lifestyles, tastes and consumption. The cultural sector contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and must play its part by aligning with carbon-cutting targets. But, most powerfully, culture can change hearts and minds: it is intimately connected to place and to community; artists can move us to reimagine our world and inspire societies to take climate action.’ Their call to action for COP28 is simple: let culture be at the heart of policy making.  Culture-led solutions can make a difference.

Our latest report ‘Craft in the Age of Climate Crisis: Climate Resilience through Craft’ authored by Fashion Revolution India, delves into the intersection of climate change and the realm of craft – a space where tradition, culture, and climate resilience converge. It acknowledges the harsh reality of climate change on artisans in particular, often felt more keenly here in India than in the UK. But it presents a compelling narrative of opportunity and outlines critical areas for intervention needed for a sustainable craft ecosystem, offering a strategic roadmap for diverse stakeholders. So much is already happening that we can learn from.  That’s why we’ve partnered with the University of Arts London to announce a new grants R&D programme called New Landscapes that will provide funding for UK and India SMEs to innovate for the future together.

India and UK Together 
We talk all the time of a climate crisis, but it’s also a cultural crisis, an educational crisis, and a crisis of international relations.  Thinking about it in these terms is what will help us come together to make a difference.  

Together, India and the UK can illuminate the path to a more sustainable, inclusive, and equitable future, setting a compelling example for other nations to follow.