Stockholm Environment Institute, or SEI, is a non-profit, independent research and policy institute specialising in

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

and

environmental issue Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans (human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot recov ...

s, with seven affiliate offices around the world. SEI works on climate change, energy systems, water resources,

air quality Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

land-use Land use is an umbrella term to describe what happens on a parcel of land. It concerns the benefits derived from using the land, and also the land management actions that humans carry out there. The following categories are used for land use: fore ...

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...

, and trade issues with the aim to shift policy and practice towards sustainability. SEI wants to support decision-making and induce change towards

around the world by providing knowledge that bridges science and policy in the field of environment and

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

History

SEI was established in 1989 as an initiative of the

Government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the Cabinet (government), national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's Executive (government), executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister and their ...

Activities

Programs

* Ecological Sanitation Research Programme
LEAP: Low Emissions Analysis Platform
* Regional Air Pollution In Developing Countries (RAPDIC)
Resources and Energy Analysis Programme (REAP)
* SIANI Swedish International Agriculture Network Initiative (siani.se) * Sustainable Mekong Research Network Programme (SUMERNET)
TRASE Transparent supply chains for sustainable economies

weADAPT
* WEAP: Water Evaluation And Planning System

Partnerships

* SEI was one of the organizations who founded the

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) is a loose network of organizations who are "working along the same lines towards achieving sustainable sanitation". It began its work in 2007, one year before the United Nations International Year o ...

in 2007 together with the German Development Organization (GIZ)

Organizational structure

Executive Directors

*1989–1990 Gordon T. Goodman *1991–1995 Michael J. Chadwick *1996–1999 Nicholas C. Sonntag *2000 Bert Bolin (interim Executive Director) *2000 Lars Nilsson (interim Executive Director) *2000–2004 Roger Kasperson *2004–2012 Johan Rockström *2012–2018 Johan L. Kuylenstierna *2018–present Måns Nilsson (Executive Director)

Centres

SEI operates in seven countries:

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

( Stockholm Environment Institute US Center,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Funding sources

The

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (, ) is a government agency of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Sida is responsible for organization of the bulk of Sweden's official development assistance to developing coun ...

(Sida) is SEI's main donor. SEI also receives funding from development agencies, governments,

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

, universities, businesses, and financial institutions. For example, the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be List of wealthiest charitable foundations, the third largest char ...

also provides funds to SEI in the area of

maternal health Maternal health is the health of people during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. In most cases, maternal health encompasses the health care dimensions of family planning, Pre-conception counseling, preconception, Prenatal care, pr ...

and in sustainable sanitation. At the SEI Science Forum in 2015, Melinda Gates took part to discuss

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

and

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

together with SEI staff to help shape SEI's future research.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Environmental research institutes Environmentalism in Sweden International research institutes Research institutes in Sweden Sustainability organizations Organizations established in 1989 1989 establishments in Sweden Organizations based in Stockholm