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Business and economies
Reimagining business, finance and economy to advance sustainability, prosperity and wellbeing for all.
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Climate adaptation
Helping partners adapt to the challenges of a changing climate.
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Energy
Visioning a sustainable energy future in which energy is clean, affordable and accessible to all.
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Food systems
Transforming food systems to ensure healthy, thriving and food-secure communities and businesses.
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International development
Working in partnerships to end poverty and ensure sustainable development for everyone.
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Landscapes and ecosystems
Enhancing ecosystem integrity and livelihoods by incorporating perceptions and values into decision-making.
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Resource stewardship
Advancing a systemic approach to production and consumption through stewardship and circular resource flows.
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Urban systems
Improving the liveability of urban environments with social, infrastructure and resource solutions.
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Water
Collaborating to develop restorative, sustainable and resilient water management approaches.
Cross-sector research
Healthy environments
Transforming urban systems and food systems to adapt to climate change and other pressing challenges to promote human and planetary health. We work with our partners in these areas to improve planning, design and strategy to optimise the health of the built and natural environment.
Organic resources
We use innovative approaches and a focus on management and partnerships to transform food waste, wastewater and other organic resources into closed-loop value chains, to enable optimal utilisation of organic resources in the circular economy.
Circular economy
We find solutions to the problems of resource depletion and waste through our work in Circular economy for sustainable resources and Circular economy for water, energy and waste. Our holistic approach considers strategies, policies and business models in making transformative change.
Research approaches
Sustainability transformations
After decades of incremental progress, it is now clear that achieving a sustainable relationship between people and planet will require a transformative response. Transformations towards sustainability involve profound, systemic changes that reach across social, cultural, political, economic and technological domains.
Transdisciplinary research
The greatest challenges facing the sustainability sector today cannot be solved by a single point of view. At ISF, we believe that transdisciplinary research is the key to tackling complex, messy and wicked sustainability problems such as water and food security, poverty, and climate change.
Sustainable Development Goals
Achieving a sustainable relationship between people and planet requires a transformative response involving profound, systemic changes that reach across social, cultural, political, economic and technical domains. ISF’s applied expertise in systems thinking, participatory governance and capacity building allows us to support clients in navigating and facilitating change within a complex and uncertain context.