About the Institute

Vision, purpose and principles

The Institute’s vision is a sustainable, inclusive and resilient world.

The Institute’s purpose is to accelerate the transition, and remove obstacles, to a sustainable, inclusive and resilient world.

The mission of the Institute is to pursue its vision and purpose by:

• increasing knowledge and understanding by performing world-class multidisciplinary research on climate change and the environment;
• promoting better informed decision-making about climate change and the environment by engaging with a wide range of key stakeholders and audiences around the world; and
• educating and training new generations of researchers and professionals.

The Institute’s principles are:

• Independence: We carry out multidisciplinary research and other work without interference from our sponsors and supporters.
• Rigour: We base our research findings and views on robust evidence and reasoning, and not on ideology.
• Internationalism: We are located in the UK, but we aim to advance understanding and inform decision-making across the world.
• Leadership: We seek to guide thinking, discussion and decision-making in the UK and beyond on effective solutions to global environmental challenges.
• Collaboration: We are committed to working effectively together and with our partners in the UK and across the world.
• Engagement: We work constructively with decision-makers among the public, businesses and policy-makers.
• Fulfillment: we seek to create an environment in which staff and students can flourish and achieve their full potential, to the benefit of themselves and the Institute.

Funding

The activities of the Grantham Research Institute are funded by the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment and a number of other sources.

15th anniversary video

This video was produced in November 2023 to mark the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics. The video features Professor Lord Nicholas Stern (Chair of the Institute) and Professor Elizabeth Robinson (Director of the Institute).

The video outlines three major global challenges we currently face: the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. This is followed by an introduction to the work of the Grantham Research Institute during which the two presenters outline some of the pioneering ways in which we’re seeking to confront these challenges.

Queen’s Anniversary Prize

In November 2021 the Grantham Research Institute at LSE was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its excellence and innovation. The Prizes are the highest national honour that a further and higher educational institution in the UK can receive. They recognise work carried out by UK universities and colleges which showcases quality and innovation and delivers real benefit to the wider world through education and training. The Institute was described as playing, “a leading international role in the economics, investment policy and legislation essential for the implementation of practical measures to address climate change.”