DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE FUTURE
The USC Center for Sustainability Solutions contributes to the advancement of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the grand challenges for engineering. We nurture the entrepreneurial spirit of our sustainability scholars, engage with stakeholders, and work around the world to advance the application of basic science and technological options to specific urban contexts, with an eye on developing practical solutions and sound public policy for a more sustainable and equitable future.
These UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are based on the premise that environmental protection goes hand in hand with economic development that promotes greater equity and social justice. In practice, history has proven that current model of economic development failed to simultaneously deliver on these three goals. Therefore, establishing a new economic paradigm where these three goals are not at odds is one of the most urgent and complex problems of our time.
The USC Center for Sustainability Solutions serves as a global partner to international agencies, national and local governments, corporations, and NGOs in developing solutions to the most pressing urban environmental challenges and advancing the UN’s goals.
The Center has global reach and impact through its network of Sustainability Solutions Regional Hubs, located in key megacities along the Pacific Rim and neighboring areas—including Beijing, Delhi, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and São Paulo.
Local stakeholders in
these hubs—including academic partners, the private sector, government, and
NGOs—collaborate with USC researchers to solve their most intractable urban sustainability
problems. These collaborations facilitate access to administrative data,
providing an evidence-based approach to problem solving.