We work across academia, policy, and practice to co-create, test, and scale bold solutions for climate, Earth, and society.
How It Works
We move Impact Initiatives through three key phases, harnessing the power of partnership to unlock systemic change.
The Outcomes We Create
The Global Impact Lab draws on core design principles. Every solution is built for rapid translation into a range of fields: policy, markets, business models, health, education, public awareness, community engagement, culture, and more.
Our Initiatives & Teams
Our initiatives address urgent climate challenges and deliver diverse solutions in policy, community engagement, business, health, education and culture.
The interdisciplinary teams who design and deliver Impact Initiatives, comprised of Columbia faculty, students, and external partners.
Our Work
Behind every initiative is a story of partnership, creativity, and curiosity.
2025-26 Impact Initiatives
Actionable knowledge for business leaders to drive financial and human capital toward decarbonization.
Tackling microplastic pollution through laundry filtration systems and microfiber policy.
A new paradigm for CO2 capture at the community level through nature-inspired artificial flowstones.
2024-25 Impact Initiatives
Place-based workshops to mobilize funding, design and policy for resilient communities and ecosystems.
Bridging the gap between disaster research and practice.
Building a plastics Index and interactive policy map to inform and strengthen plastic laws.
Defining the ethical, investment, and political trade-offs of scaling alternative proteins.
Enhancing mining and expanding metal recovery technologies and policies for a net-zero energy transition.
Impact Advisory Council
Diverse expertise meets collective action.
The Impact Advisory Council is a cross-sector group of internal and external experts who provides oversight and strategic support for Global Impact Lab initiatives.
Our Initiatives Pipeline
Every initiative is sparked by deep research, interdisciplinary dialogue, and real-world needs. We actively source ideas from inside and outside of Columbia.
We work with a diverse range of partners across public and private sectors, learning from their experience and shaping ideas that truly make a difference.