Sustainability Research Institute

The university’s broad sustainability research portfolio centers around the Sustainability Research Institute, a lively hub of scholars and practitioners that produces new knowledge about the environment, economy, and equity to enable policies and practices that help societies thrive while ensuring that future generations will have similar opportunities and resources. The Sustainability Research Institute will collaborate with schools, departments, and institutes across GW's campus to address a wide range of issues related to sustainability. Because sustainability is a complex topic, finding solutions requires bringing a wide range of knowledge to bear. The Institute will facilitate these kinds of collaborations, making it possible for existing entities to develop their own projects while working on big picture sustainability issues as well. 

The institute integrates numerous academic disciplines and leverages partnerships across academia, industry, government, and the nonprofit sector to deliver solutions for the most urgent community-defined challenges.

The institute addresses complex social problems related to sustainability through natural science, technological solutions, social science, policy, and communication. Longstanding strengths in research on climate change, energy transitions, urban futures, communications, mobility, and the Arctic form a solid foundation for future growth and discovery. The institute builds on and amplifies the work of campus initiatives like the Global Food Institute, the Climate Health Institute, and Planet Forward.

The institute also increases the university’s capacity to develop innovative research programs and projects, to seek large multidisciplinary grants, to convene leading players in sustainability, and to integrate research, teaching, applied solutions, communications, and outreach.