Sustainability Science Program

The Sustainability Science Program is the hub of Harvard's research, teaching, and interventions on the challenges of sustainable development.

Harvard's Sustainability Science Program harnesses the University's strengths to promote the design of institutions, policies, and practices that support sustainable development. The Program addresses the challenge of sustainable development by:

• advancing scientific understanding of human-environment systems;
• improving linkages between research and policy communities; and
• building capacity for linking knowledge with action to promote sustainability.

The Program supports major initiatives in policy-relevant research, faculty research, training of students and fellows, teaching, and outreach.

What's New

• Workshop on Transformation of Coupled Social-ecological and Socio-technical Systems: Defining the Contours of an Integrative Research Agenda cosponsored by the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG) and SSP in Kastanienbaum, Switzerland. The event was organized by Christian Binz (EAWAG; Ruffolo Fellow '15), Alicia Harley (Harvard/SSP; Ruffolo Fellow), Helene Ahlborg (Univ. Gothenburg) and Manuel Fischer (EAWAG) (5/6-8)  
• Bill Clark gave a presentation at the Vatican for the 2018 Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Transformative Roles of Science in Society: From Emerging Basic Science toward Solutions for People's Wellbeing [Conference Statement] [Presentation] (11/14)
• The Stockholm Seminar Series at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences featured a presentation by Bill Clark and Alicia Harley on the state of sustainability science [Video] (10/4)
• Monday, Oct. 22, Seminar: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in India: Indirect management of groundwater through electricity sector reforms. Aditi Mukherji, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal; and Coordinating Lead Author, Water Chapter/Working Group II, IPCC 6th Assessment Report  (Nye A, Taubman Bldg 5th floor, Harvard Kennedy School, 2:30-4pm)
• Tues. Sept 11, M-RCBG Seminar: How the Rise of Public-Private Partnerships is Changing International Governance. Liliana Andonova (Ruffolo Fellow '11), The Graduate Institute, Geneva. (Nye BC, 11:45am-1pm. Lunch provided.)
• New SSP Working Paper, A Perfect Brew: Leveraging Intangible Capital to Move up the Coffee Value Chain (SSP 2018-01) coauthored by late HKS colleague Calestous Juma (5/23)
• Jess Newman (Goldberg Fellow '15) included in Forbes' "30 Under 30 in Energy 2018: Fueling A More Sustainable Future" [Profile] (11/14)
• New book by Liliana Andonova (Ruffolo Fellow '11), Governance Entrepreneurs: International Organizations and the Rise of Public-Private Partnerships (Cambridge University Press) (10/31)
• Rachael Garrett (Ruffolo Fellow '14, '15) et al. on "Explaining the Persistence of Low Income and Environmentally Degrading Land Uses in the Brazilian Amazon" in Ecology and Society (9/21)
• Francisco Mello, Ruffolo Fellow '12 and Director of Brazil's National Secretariat of Food Security, shares news that their Cisterns Program won the Silver Future Policy Award, an initiative between the World Future Council and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification [Full policy] (9/11)
• University of Bergen Summer Research School hosts lectures by Bill Clark on state of sustainability science [Slide Presentation] and usable knowledge [Slide Presentation] (6/19)
• Alessandra Voena (Ruffolo Fellow '12) receives 2017 Carlo Alberto Medal, rewarding an Italian scholar under 40 for outstanding contributions to economics, for her work on the economics of family in developed and developing countries, as well as the economics of knowledge and innovation (6/11)
•  SSP Faculty featured on Harvard Speaks on Climate Change: Profs. Bill Clark, Dan Schrag, and Paul Moorcroft are among the 30+ Harvard faculty members presenting 5-minute video briefings on climate change and its connections with sustainability. [Harvard Gazette coverage] (4/24)
• Alumni Fellow Livio Valenti (Vaxess VP) announces Gates Foundation $6M support for Vaxess Technologies to develop a novel microneedle patch for eradication of polio, measles and rubella (3/6)
• Global Food+ 2017 conference features 24 “speed talk” presentations highlighting current research findings at the important nexus between food, agriculture, health, society, and the environment Video and more on the Weatherhead Center Facebook page. Harvard Gazette coverage of the event (2/27)
• M-RCBG Business and Government Seminar features Bill Clark on Pursuing Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities [Slide Presentation] (2/16)

News archive