Our strategy

As Canada’s voice for sustainable development around the world, we are inspired by the words of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Announcing the founding of IISD to the United Nations in 1988, he reminded world leaders that:

“Mankind is not destined to destroy itself; war is not inevitable; poverty can be alleviated; the environment can be preserved; injustices can be made right.”

The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney

Powered by this conviction, IISD has been a continuous force for change for 30 years, experiencing remarkable growth—nearly doubling in revenue since 2014—and making indelible impacts along the way.

These five core priorities guide our work toward a sustainable future.

To deliver the knowledge to act, IISD’s work is organized around the following five programs.

Economic Law & Policy

Enabling economic policy-making in support of sustainable development, including investment, trade, public procurement, infrastructure financing, and sustainability standards, with sector-specific practices in agriculture and mining.

Energy

Supporting clean and just energy transitions by developing evidence, advocating, working with partners, and directly advising governments in Canada and in large emerging economies around the world.

Resilience

Helping governments, civil society, communities, and businesses manage climate- and conflict-related risks and, through the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Global Network, supporting developing countries to advance NAP processes and accelerate climate change adaptation efforts.

Tracking Progress

Providing analyses, networking, and tools to interpret the state of sustainability in systems or regions, and promoting measurable, collaborative action.

Water

Creating better policy and programming solutions for governments, civil society, and industry to protect global freshwater supplies—based on scientific research conducted on whole lakes at our Experimental Lakes Area.

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Downloads

IISD - The Knowledge to Act - Brochure