The Wuppertal Institute researches and develops models, strategies and instruments for sustainable development at regional, national and international levels. The main focus of the institute is ecology and its relationship to the economy and society. Its work is organised in four principle research groups: Future Energy and Mobility Structures; Energy, Transport and Climate Policy; Material Flows and Resource Management; and Sustainable Production and Consumption. The scientists from different research groups also join forces for the investigation of certain subjects such as Material Efficiency and Resource Conservation, and Sustainable Germany in a Globalised World.

Think tank and mediator
The institute takes an interdisciplinary approach in its work, employing experts from a broad range of fields including economics, social sciences, engineering, geography and spatial planning, as well as philosophy and history. This allows researchers to develop unconventional and innovative approaches to solving the challenges facing the world today. The institute sees itself as a mediator, providing policy advice on local as well as national levels to industry, political leaders and society at large. The Wuppertal Institute's researchers offer solutions to stakeholders and help to initiate constructive dialogue between them.

From BMW to UNEP – partnerships throughout the world
The Wuppertal Institute cooperates with a broad range of partners from throughout the world in many different ways. They include several Fraunhofer Institutes as well as leading research institutes and universities in Germany, France, Japan, the Netherlands, China, Iran, Sweden, India, Denmark and Russia, to name but a few. The institute also works with major global companies like Air Liquide, S.A., RWE Power AG, Shell Global Solutions and BMW AG. In 2005, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Wuppertal Institute joined forces to found the UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) in Wuppertal. The institute also collaborates with universities in Aachen, Berlin, Cambridge, Darmstadt, London, Munich and several others to promote dissertation projects of young academics and supervise their research work.