The Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy (official German name: Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie gGmbH) is a German research institution for sustainability research, focusing on impacts and practical application. It explores and develops models, strategies, and instruments to support sustainable development at local, national, and international levels. Research at the Wuppertal Institute focuses on ecology and its relation to economy and society. Special emphasis is put on analyzing and supporting technological and social innovations that decouple the prosperity of economic growth from the use of natural resources. The organization's activities focus on developing transformation processes aimed at shaping a climate-friendly and resource-efficient world. The institute was founded by politician Johannes Rau (SPD) and scientist Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker (SPD) in 1990 and 1991 and is mainly financed by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Organization and networks The Wuppertal Institute collaborates with universities and institutes in Germany and abroad. It has formal cooperation agreements with the Lund University, the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering of the Tsinghua University Beijing, the University of Osnabrück, the HafenCity University Hamburg, the Center for Environment and Energy Research and Studies (CEERS) in Teheran and the Bergische Universität Wuppertal. A cooperation agreement was also reached with the University of Kassel. Joint research projects with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Japan and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India are regularly conducted. The institute is also a member of the Johannes Rau Research Association and the Ecological Research Network (Ecornet). The Wuppertal Institute describes itself as an intermediary between science, economy and politics, meaning that its sustainability research design is application-oriented. It has the legal status of a non-profit limited company (gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, according to German law). It receives basic funding from the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the sole owner of the Wuppertal Institute. The major part of its funding derives from third-party research projects. The Wuppertal Institute's clients cover governmental organizations ranging from local authorities to ministries at both state and national levels, business and industry ranging from medium-sized companies to corporate groups and industrial associations, civil society ranging from environmental associations to churches, and trade unions and foundations. The Wuppertal Institute is based in Wuppertal and employs approximately 250 workers. Two-thirds are research staff and come from a wide variety of background disciplines: natural and environmental sciences, geography, systems sciences, engineering, planning, law, economics, and political and social science. The staff consists of roughly as many men as women. The Berlin office promotes cooperation with scientific institutes and research partners in the capital. An International Advisory Board stands for the independence and the Institute's scientific quality and provides advice concerning strategic basic research issues.
Financing of the Wuppertal Institute The institute is financed by third-party funds (Drittmittel) and core funding from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Wuppertal Institute is a non-profit GmbH whose sole owner is the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The chairman of the supervisory board is a state secretary of the respective government.
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