Dr Fanran Meng wins Royal Society of Chemistry’s Early Career Prize

Former member of the Resource Efficiency Collective, Dr Fanran Meng, has won the Royal Society of Chemistry’s 2025 Environment, Sustainability and Energy Early Career Prize.

Whilst at the University of Cambridge, Fanran worked on the C-THRU research project; a multimillion dollar international research project which aimed to deliver carbon clarity for the global petrochemical sector. He authored papers such as ‘Replacing Plastics with Alternatives Is Worse for Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Most Cases‘, published in ES&T, and ‘Reducing uncertainties in greenhouse gas emissions from chemical production‘ in Nature Chemical Engineering.

Nowadays, Fanran is lecturer of Sustainable Engineering at the University of Sheffield and leads his own research group.

‘Fanran’s research helps companies and policymakers understand how to reduce the environmental impact of products like plastics, chemicals and batteries. He uses advanced models such as life cycle assessment to track where emissions come from and which solutions – such as better recycling or greener technologies – can reduce waste and pollution. This work supports global action on climate change and helps industries make smarter, more sustainable decisions.’¹

1. Winner: 2025 Environment, Sustainability and Energy Early Career Prize (2025) Royal Society of Chemistry. Available at: https://www.rsc.org/standards-and-recognition/prizes/winners/dr-fanran-meng/ (Accessed 7 July 2025). ↩︎