The Wuppertal Institute explores and develops environmental policy guidelines, strategies, and instruments in order to promote sustainability at regional, national and international level. The main focus lies on ecology and its interrelation with economy and society. Special emphasis is put on decoupling the use of natural resources from the increase of wealth.

Research at the Institute is based on long-term scenarios and system analysis as well as comparative studies of resource use, energy systems and ecological structural change in different countries.

The core research fields of the Institute's research groups are:

• Future Energy and Mobility Structures
• Energy, Transport and Climate Policy
• Material Flows and Resource Management
• Sustainable Production and Consumption