Sustainability Research Institute
Advancing Research. Connecting Communities. Shaping a Sustainable Future.
Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) is a cornerstone of the GW Alliance for a Sustainable Future, amplifying and conducting interdisciplinary research, collaboration, and innovation. SRI's mission is to catalyze transformative sustainability research, foster new partnerships, and secure funding for groundbreaking initiatives that address the world’s most pressing environmental and societal challenges.
Research Communities
SRI has organized three evolving, faculty-driven communities that reflect the complexity and interconnectedness of sustainability:
Energy, Technology, and Decision-Making
Cities, Communities, and Infrastructure
Planetary Well-Being and Civic Life
Seed Grants
We support interdisciplinary research and the Research Communities that drive ambitious agendas and pursue major grant opportunities. Our seed funding is designed to spark innovation and amplify impact.
Current Seed Grants
The Roots and Branches of Sustainability Culture: Extreme Climate Activism
This project is investigating extreme climate activism (ECA) in Germany, and how countries like Germany become leaders in sustainability and green politics, the role ECA plays in German culture, and how policy makers should respond to ECA.
- Margaret Gonglewski, Associate Professor of German & International Affairs, Romance, German & Slavic Studies, CCAS, and Nina Kelsey, Associate Professor of Public Policy and International Affairs, ESIA & TSPPPA
Regulating the Cruise Industry to Address Climate Change Impacts and Other Environmental Harms
This project is investigating greenwashing in the cruise industry, through analyzing marketing materials, sustainability reports, and industry practices.
- Seleni Matus, Executive Director, International Institute of Tourism Studies, and Robin Juni, Associate Professor, Fundamentals of Lawyering Program
Communication, Conservation, and Indigeneity in Hawai’i
This project is investigating the August 2023 wildfires in Hawaii, and how Indigenous communities prepare and respond to natural disasters and climate change on Maui.
- Imani M. Cheers, PhD, Associate Professor of Digital Storytelling, School of Media and Public Affairs, Mona Atia, Associate Professor, Department of Geography and International Affairs, and Aman Luthra, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and International Affairs
Standards for Sustainability Governance
This project is mapping out and conceptualizing sustainability standards, and analyzing how standards interact and affect both the governance and outcomes of sustainability.
- Maryam Zarnegar Deloffre, Ph.D. Associate Professor of International Affairs and Director Humanitarian Action Initiative, GW
News & Outreach
We amplify sustainability research from the GW community through storytelling, convenings, and partnerships. From initiative highlights to new discoveries, we connect voices to drive change.
