Environmental Sustainability Grant

NSF

About this grant

The Environmental Sustainability program, part of NSF's Environmental Engineering and Sustainability cluster, promotes sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being while maintaining natural environmental systems. The program supports engineering research that balances ecological protection with stable economic conditions, typically considering long time horizons and incorporating contributions from social sciences and ethics. Research efforts must be driven by engineering principles and presented explicitly in an environmental sustainability context. The program supports five principal research areas: Circular Bioeconomy Engineering (sustainable use of food, energy, water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and materials with reduction of fossil fuel combustion); Industrial Ecology (life cycle assessment, materials flow analysis, and novel metrics for sustainable systems); Green Engineering (sustainability of manufacturing processes, green buildings, and infrastructure); Ecological Engineering (restoring ecological function to natural systems); and Earth Systems Engineering (mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to climate change). Proposals should address novelty and potentially transformative nature compared to previous work, explain importance in terms of engineering science, and project potential impact on society and industry. All proposed research should involve at least one graduate student and may include undergraduates, with incorporation of social, behavioral, and economic sciences welcomed.

Eligibility

Unrestricted eligibility, open to any type of entity. For proposals involving research on regions outside the United States, an explanation of the potential benefit for the United States must be provided. Prior to submission of proposals outside the four core research areas, it is recommended that the Principal Investigator contact the program director to avoid proposals being returned without review.

How it's scored

Evaluation criteria include novelty and potentially transformative nature of proposed work compared to previous work in the field, importance in terms of engineering science, and potential impact on society and industry. Proposals must be compliant with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), with non-compliant proposals returned without review.

Key requirements

• ✓Research must be driven by engineering principles and explicitly framed in an environmental sustainability context
• ✓Proposals must address novelty and potentially transformative impact, engineering science importance, and societal/industry impact
• ✓All proposed research must involve at least one graduate student and may include undergraduates

Funder contact

The notice names a programme contact you can speak to before applying.

Frequently asked questions

Who can apply for Environmental Sustainability?

Eligibility covers organisations in US; university, research-institution, consortium. See the eligibility criteria above for the full conditions.

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Circular economy funding supports reuse, repair, remanufacturing, product redesign and secondary materials markets. Grants tend to back pilots with businesses and local authorities, while tenders buy collection, sorting and recovery services. Applicants are usually asked to show the material flows involved and who will buy the recovered output.