The Brookfield Sustainability Institute is a global solutions studio focused on identifying, understanding and developing smart sustainable solutions to help fight climate change.
Play VideoTo create smart sustainable solutions for a better future.
Fostering partnerships with governments, businesses, and non-profits to develop applied solutions that tackle industry challenges in the fight against climate change.
We will be located on the 10th floor of George Brown College’s new tall-wood, mass timber building named Limberlost Place in 2024.
We are currently located at 3 Lower Jarvis at the School of Design.
Applied Smart Sustainability Solutions
We collaborate with government, business and non-profits to develop applied smart sustainability projects. Our objective is to create responsible and innovative solutions with diverse stakeholders and team members using our charrette methodology. We utilize a systems thinking approach to develop rapid prototypes and build solutions that help tackle climate change challenges across sectors.
Contact us to become a client or partner on a future sustainability project. jacob.kessler@georgebrown.ca
Talent Development Program
We offer unique micro-courses and certificate programs focused on sustainability for graduates seeking professional transition and for organizations seeking professional development (launching in 2023). Our goal is to foster a new generation of talent with the foresight and skills to think systemically, collaborate inter-disciplinarily and build sustainably. Through our Industry Participatory Learning Model, we develop applied research and innovation projects that tackle real-world sustainability challenges alongside community and industry partners.
Observatory & Research
We monitor the best practices and applied solutions for designing future-ready (i.e. smart and sustainable) communities. Our aim is to understand the interconnections and interdependencies between society, economy and environment in order to share key data and insights, via research papers, digital publications, and toolkits, on the different ways that digital transformation can support the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDG) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies, locally, nationally and globally.
Community
We bring together knowledge and expertise from diverse professionals, researchers, business leaders, community activists and climate change experts, who are interested in making a contribution to build a more sustainable and equitable future. Our League of Innovators and League of Scholars are active members of an evolving community of leaders who help bring sustainability solutions to practical fruition through their diverse network and willingness to give back to the community.
is an evolving group of 100 knowledgeable and experienced professionals from around the world. Their purpose is to help connect us with industry partnerships and coach or co-develop client projects with our teams to ensure the delivery of real-world, high-impact sustainability solutions.
is comprised of global researchers, professors and publishers who are interested in contributing to knowledge and research in sustainability. Their purpose is to help further develop a strong knowledge base of sustainability insights and solutions, whether through co-authored papers that can be shared through our observatory or by identifying students to join our applied research projects.
We build solutions that serve not only present but future generations by respecting the boundaries and balance of natural systems (including humans and other forms of life) and their right to exist for years to come.
We exercise “moral imagination” by assessing the long-term sociotechnical and environmental implications of our proposed design solutions to help mitigate/eliminate unintended consequences and risk of harmful impacts resulting from our innovations.
We measure value beyond economics, with respect for social equity and environmental justice, to ensure consideration for DEI and accessibility needs in our design thinking and decision-making processes for sustainability.
We respect the interconnectedness and interdependencies of our local and global support systems (social, political, economical, technological, and environmental) when tackling sustainability challenges across different sectors.
We design with empathy, examining the limitations of our individual perspectives, by operating with a high degree of community engagement throughout the project life cycle process; this means empowering vulnerable persons and groups disproportionately affected by climate change to co-create with us.
We develop sustainability solutions that are known as “smart or intelligent” by weighing the use of current technological advances, while still valuing the ancient wisdom and knowledge derived from nature and history.
The Brookfield Sustainability Institute is built on the 20-year legacy of the Institute without Boundaries (IwB), a think tank at George Brown College that fosters collaborative design practices for a better world. This evolution is a response to the vast social, economic and environmental disruptions caused by the acceleration of climate change which puts sustainability at the core of everything we do.
Join the Brookfield Sustainability Institute as a student, professional, or leader and take action against climate change. Get in touch, and together we will find a sustainable future and impactful solutions.