Institute of Environmental Sciences
Environmental research has never been more urgent. The Institute of Environmental Sciences (Centrum voor Milieuwetenschappen Leiden – CML) at Leiden University addresses sustainability challenges at local, national, and global scale.
Challenges such as pollution, resource depletion, climate change, urbanisation, industrialisation, and biodiversity loss are deeply interconnected and require integrated, system-based approaches. Combining scientific research and education, we aim to remain a global leader in sustainability science, focusing on balancing socio-economic development with environmental conservation.
Cross-cutting research
The institute’s research is driven by exploratory curiosity. CML advances scientific understanding of how human activities affect biodiversity and ecosystem services, while also examining how societies’ material foundations influence sustainability and human wellbeing.
Our research is organised across two departments, Industrial Ecology and Environmental Biology, complemented by cross-cutting research programmes: biodiversity, future food, resources, urban, and water. These five programmes operate across departmental boundaries and provide a structured framework for collaboration and integration of expertise across disciplines and scales.
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Interdisciplinary education
Our educational programmes train graduate and undergraduate students for integrated and interdisciplinary research on sustainability, as well as for better decision making in managing the world’s environmental quality, biodiversity, and natural resources. In our educational programmes, we closely align with our research, work together with academic partners, and bridge disciplines.
