World Resources Institute (WRI) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to find practical ways to protect the earth and improve people’s lives.

Our mission

The World Resources Institute’s mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.

Because people are inspired by ideas, empowered by knowledge, and moved to change by greater understanding, WRI provides – and helps other institutions provide – objective information and practical proposals for policy and institutional change that will foster environmentally sound, socially equitable development.

Our goals

Every project undertaken by WRI seeks to contribute to one or more of the following goals:

• People & Ecosystems. WRI’s goal is to reverse rapid degradation of ecosystems and assure their capacity to provide humans with needed goods and services.
• Climate, Energy & Transport. WRI’s goal is to protect the global climate system from further harm due to emissions of greenhouse gases and help humanity and the natural world adapt to unavoidable climate change.
• Markets & Enterprise. WRI’s goal is to harness markets and enterprise to expand economic opportunity and protect the environment.
• Governance & Access. WRI’s goal is to guarantee public access to information and decisions regarding natural resources and the environment.
• Institutional excellence. Support and enhance WRI’s ability to achieve results.