Mission & Approach

Advancing a Resilient Future

Mission

The Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS) pioneers research to advance a sustainable and equitable future. Our focus on planetary and environmental health, climate governance and sustainability transitions, and energy systems of the future is grounded in equity and justice, robust data science, and real-world impact.

Approach

Nothing is more urgent than the sustainability challenges that confront the world today. And no academic center is more committed to facing those challenges—and finding solutions—than the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS).

“Our work in sustainability puts us on the front lines of the climate crisis. There is tremendous urgency for a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment that connects faculty—across technology, society, business, and policy—with local and global partners for real-world action.”
—Dr. Benjamin Sovacool, Director, BU Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS)

IGS aligns with BU’s strategic priority of addressing society’s biggest challenges through cross-disciplinary research with real-world impact, bringing together more than 100 world-class faculty members in nearly all of the University’s schools and colleges.

IGS has its roots in BU’s Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE), founded in 2016. Now, led by the internationally recognized social scientist Benjamin Sovacool, PhD, IGS has expanded its mission beyond energy and environmental research to embrace sustainability as a whole.

Learn more about the institute’s research.