Our View of the World
The world faces multiple, simultaneous crises.
Widening inequality and economic turmoil threaten communities around the globe. Biodiversity is declining. The impacts of climate change — from extreme heat to destructive floods — are becoming ever-more threatening.
While the transition to a better future has begun, it’s not yet happening at the speed and scale necessary.
What the world needs is a great transition. And WRI has the research, partnerships and global reach to help get it right.
We envision a new era in which the world can meet people’s needs while curbing climate change and protecting nature. We see a future where everyone can enjoy clean air, walkable cities, vibrant landscapes, nutritious food and affordable energy. Ecosystems are thriving. The climate is stable.
Our five-year strategy aims to help secure this better future for people, nature and climate by transforming the ways the world produces and consumes food and energy and designs its cities.
We employ a “count it, change it, scale it” approach to create lasting impact. We start with rigorous research, work with partners to apply evidence-based approaches globally and in focus countries, and broadly share lessons learned to create systemic change around the world. Learn more about the key elements of our 2023-2027 strategy:
The root causes of the challenges affecting people, nature and climate are deeply interconnected. We believe we must tackle them together and at the same time to create win-wins and ensure lasting change. That’s why WRI puts three interconnected goals at the center of everything we do: ensure people are living in an equitable society where they can meet their essential needs; protect and restore nature; and stabilize the climate and build resilient communities.
We focus our work on food, land and water; energy; and cities. These three systems are essential to meeting people’s needs, but are currently the primary drivers of inequity, ecosystem degradation and climate change. We aim to fundamentally transform the world’s production and consumption systems — as well as the economics, finance and governance systems that underpin them — to ensure they benefit people, nature and the climate.
Ultimately all impact is local. That’s why in addition to working globally, we focus on achieving transitions in key countries where we can test and scale solutions. We work closely with local partners, including national and city governments, businesses, civil society groups and more to create lasting change.
In addition to a coordinated regional presence in Africa and Europe, our focus countries include: Brazil, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and the United States. These nations house large populations of vulnerable people, hold much of the world’s remaining natural landscapes and/or produce significant greenhouse gas emissions.
WRI measures its success not by internal benchmarks, but by achieving observable impact in the world. We start with rigorous, evidence-based theories of change to attain institutional, country and global impact targets. We develop methodologies for planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning (PMEL), which provides us with information to assess our progress — and change course when needed. And we define our success by whether we’ve demonstrably improved the world for people, nature and the climate.
