Sustainable Societies Initiative
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We bring together researchers from across the university to address a central global challenge: How do we accomplish the social, economic, cultural transformations needed to create societies that are truly sustainable?
These complex, integrated, human-centered challenges require deep engagement with governments, business, civil society, and communities. This engagement will foster research that yields insights and pathways to enable and propel transformative change. Addressing political, institutional, behavioral, technological, historical, environmental, and ecological dimensions requires an integrative social-environmental systems approach for success.
Research Priorities
Stanford Center for Just Environmental Futures
The Stanford Center for Just Environmental Futures (Futures Center) advances rigorous scholarship, education, and collaboration at the intersection of justice and sustainability. Led by Faculty Director Maxine Burkett, Professor of Environmental Social Sciences.
Transformation Science Program
The Transformation Science Program (TSP) explores broad approaches to achieve transformative change across contexts and scales. Led by Faculty Co-Directors Nicole Ardoin, Associate Professor of Environmental Social Sciences, and Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, Associate Professor of Earth System Science.
Solution Areas Program
The Solution Areas Program is the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability’s initiative for funding ambitious, partner-engaged, interdisciplinary research on the most pressing sustainability challenges of our time. Led by Director Sarah Sandoval.
Governance for Risk, Resilience, and Recovery (GR3) Program
The GR3 program aims to rethink and transform how the risks of climate volatility such as extreme weather events are assessed, governed, and managed across planning, adaptation, resilience, response, and recovery stages. Led by Director Newsha Ajami, PhD.
Upcoming Events
Community Engagement Programs
Sustainability in Practice series: Stories of partnering for impact
The Sustainability in Practice series brings together scholars, students, and practitioners twice per quarter to share personal stories of authentic sustainability impact through research-action collaborations. Beginning in January 2026, these informal gatherings will foster candid conversations about innovations, challenges, missteps, and breakthroughs in cross-sector collaboration.
Humanities and Sustainability Salon
The Stanford Humanities Center and the Sustainable Societies Initiative convenes Stanford humanists, social scientists, and natural scientists to explore sustainability readings through philosophical, historical, and other perspectives. The salon, held on campus with Stanford faculty twice per quarter starting in January 2026, aims to enrich understanding not only of sustainability, but also of each other’s disciplines as we confront the changing nature of life on this planet.
People
Faculty directors
Staff
Faculty Affiliates
- William Wrigley Professor, Professor of Environmental Social Sciences, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute, and at the Freeman Spogli Institute, Emerita
- Keleen and Carlton Beal Professor in Petroleum Engineering, Emeritus
- Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Center Fellow, by courtesy, at the Woods Institute for the Environment
- Associate Professor of Environmental Social Sciences, of Oceans, of Anthropology and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
- Luke W. Cole Professor of Environmental Law, Director of the Stanford Environmental Law Clinic, Professor (Teaching) of Environmental Social Sciences and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
- Edward Clark Crossett Professor of Humanistic Studies Professor of German Studies Professor, by Courtesy, of English, History, and Comparative Literature Chair, Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages
- Assistant Professor of Environmental Social Sciences and, by courtesy, of Organizational Development at the Graduate School of Business
- Associate Dean
- Olive H. Palmer Professor of the Humanities, Professor of Philosophy, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, of Political Science
- Assistant Professor of Earth System Science and Center Fellow, by courtesy, at the Woods Institute for the Environment
- Associate Professor of Earth System Science and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
