Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future

Name

Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future

Legal name

Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future

Website

https://clf.jhsph.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health and Food Systems Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Health, Health Promotion & Behavior Change (SBCC) (BPADAIAL), Social & Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) for Nutrition (BPADAJAK), Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Risk Management (BPADALAK)

Keywords

• Food systems research
• Public health education
• Environmental health policy
• Community-based research
• Doctoral fellowship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Academic Institutional Funding: Operates within the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Primary funding derived from institutional academic resources, grants, and donations.
2. Foundation and Government Grants: Receives funding from federal agencies including USDA INFEWS grants, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and others for specific research projects. Fellowships supported by the Lerner family foundation.

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) is an academic research and education center within the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Bloomberg School of Public Health that conducts food systems research, trains doctoral and journalist fellows, and produces free educational resources, publications, and policy analysis on the public health, environmental, and equity impacts of food and agriculture. It also coordinates the global Meatless Monday campaign and operates the Community Science and Innovation for Environmental Justice (CSI-EJ) Initiative. All outputs (publications, courses, fellowships, resources) are provided at no cost, funded by institutional academic resources, grants, and donations.

Product overview

The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future operates as a research and education center within the Bloomberg School of Public Health, offering a portfolio of educational programs, publications, and resources focused on food systems change and public health. Key offerings include the CLF-Lerner Fellowship Program for doctoral students (established 2003), the Food Systems and Public Health Fellowship for Journalists (established 2024), the Unconfined Podcast exploring industrial meat production, the Meatless Monday Resource Center for promoting plant-based diets, FoodSpan curriculum for high school teachers, Coursera online courses, and ongoing scientific publications and research reports. The center also hosts educational events including the Dodge Lecture and Polly Walker Ecology Fund Lecture series.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Unconfined Podcast Podcast exploring industrial meat production and its alternatives, interviewing researchers, community organizers, journalists, and farmers about the impacts of food animal production on communities, workers, ecosystems, and public health. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Libsyn.
• Online Meatless Monday Resource Center Online resource center supporting the global Meatless Monday movement, providing resources (recipes, research, and implementation guides) for public health professionals, implementers, and advocates to promote plant-based eating.
• FoodSpan Curriculum Free downloadable curriculum that provides high school teachers with lesson plans relating to food system issues.
• CLF-Lerner Fellowship Program Doctoral fellowship program established in 2003 to support students at Johns Hopkins University exploring innovative solutions to public health and food systems challenges. Provides four years of financial support (tuition, stipend, and research) for doctoral students. 92+ fellows supported through 2025-2026 with 8 active fellows.
• Food Systems and Public Health Fellowship for Journalists Year-long fellowship program established in 2024 to help early-to-mid career journalists navigate issues at the intersection of public health and food systems. Includes multi-day immersion experience in Baltimore, field trips, ongoing mentoring, networking, webinars, and eligibility for reporting grants.
• Coursera Online Course: An Introduction to the US Food System Online course titled 'An Introduction to the US Food System: Perspectives from Public Health,' offered through the University's partnership with Coursera. Free to audit; certificate available for purchase.
• CLF Publications (Scientific and Policy) Scientific publications, reports, science briefs, and policy documents covering food systems, animal agriculture, public health, and environmental issues. Published in journals such as Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Global Environmental Change, Current Environmental Health Reports, Appetite, and Frontiers in Nutrition.
• The CLF Quarterly Newsletter Quarterly newsletter covering the Center's latest research, publications, media mentions, accolades, staff highlights, podcasts, stories, and upcoming events. Available by subscription at clf.jhsph.edu/subscribe.
• What if Soil Microbes Mattered? Book Book produced by CLF exploring the microbiology of healthy soil and advocating for transitioning agriculture from conventional chemical farming to biological farming methods.

Quantifiable outcome

• 92+ doctoral fellows trained since 2003 through CLF-Lerner Fellowship program
• +5 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vermont Law and Graduate School's Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026CLF partnered with Vermont Law and Graduate School's Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) and State Innovation Exchange (SiX) to produce the 2024-2025 Animal Agriculture State Policy Trends Report, which examines and analyzes legislative trends related to animal agriculture across all 50 states.
• State Innovation Exchange (SiX)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026SiX, a national resource for state legislators and advocates, partnered with CLF and Vermont Law and Graduate School's CAFS to produce the 2024-2025 Animal Agriculture State Policy Trends Report analyzing animal agriculture legislation across all 50 states.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)coreOthersUSDA provided funding through an INFEWS (Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems) grant [#2018-67003-27408] supporting research on environmental impacts and food loss and waste in the US aquatic food system. CLF researchers also work with USDA on various food systems and public health research initiatives.
• Meatless Monday CampaigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCLF coordinates the global Meatless Monday campaign (meatlessmonday.publichealth.jhu.edu), promoting one day per week without meat as a pathway for individual consumers to shift toward more plant-based diets. Launched a new online Meatless Monday Resource Center in March 2025.
• Farm Alliance of BaltimoreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Food System Lab at Cylburn Arboretum, founded and formerly overseen by Dave Love, is a member of the Farm Alliance of Baltimore, a collaborative network of urban farms in Baltimore working to strengthen local food systems and community food security.
• Rural Empowerment Association for Community HelpcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFence-line community organization partnering with CLF's Community Science and Innovation for Environmental Justice (CSI-EJ) Initiative. Community-based participatory research addressing impacts of industrial food animal production on rural communities.
• North Carolina Environmental Justice NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental justice network collaborating with CLF's CSI-EJ Initiative on community-driven research on industrial livestock production impacts in North Carolina.
• Sussex Health & Environmental NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based organization partnering with CLF on environmental health research related to industrial food animal production and its impacts on communities.
• Mid-Atlantic Justice CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partnering with CLF's CSI-EJ Initiative on environmental justice issues in the Mid-Atlantic region related to industrial food animal production.
• South Baltimore Community Land TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal organization partnering with CLF on community-driven environmental justice research in South Baltimore areas impacted by industrial food operations.
• West End Revitalization AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization collaborating with CLF on environmental justice research addressing impacts of industrial food animal production on communities.
• Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNeighborhood association partnering with CLF's CSI-EJ Initiative on research addressing environmental justice concerns related to industrial livestock operations.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Major environmental nonprofit with food and agriculture programs that produce scientific reports and engage in regulatory advocacy. Comparable in scientific advocacy model and environmental health focus, though much larger and broader in scope.
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health — Department of Nutrition: Major academic public health nutrition research department at a peer institution. Comparable to CLF in conducting peer-reviewed research on diet, food systems, and public health, and producing policy-relevant scholarship.
• Union of Concerned Scientists: Larger nonprofit that uses scientific research to drive policy on food, agriculture, and environment. Comparable to CLF in mission (science-based advocacy) and stakeholder model, but operates at broader scale across multiple science-policy domains.

Direct peers

• Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI): National nonprofit that produces rigorous food and nutrition science for policy advocacy. Comparable to CLF in combining peer-reviewed research with regulatory comment letters, state legislative tracking, and consumer-facing education campaigns.
• Environmental Working Group (EWG): Research and advocacy nonprofit producing consumer-facing and policy-relevant analyses on food, water, and agricultural chemical safety. Closely comparable in translating environmental health science into public-facing reports and policy engagement.
• Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP): Nonprofit working on food systems, industrial animal production, and trade policy. Highly comparable to CLF's focus on CAFO impacts, climate menu labeling, and community health equity in food systems.
• Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics: Sister research center within the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Both are academic research centers operating under the same parent, conducting interdisciplinary research, education, and policy engagement on societal issues — making them directly comparable in operating model and stakeholder engagement.
• Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy: Academic nutrition policy research and graduate training institution. Comparable to CLF as an academic nutrition/food-systems research hub producing policy analysis, doctoral training, and public-facing research outputs.

Emerging players

• Food Policy Networks (FPN): Independent entity that was incubated inside CLF for 12 years before spinning off. Direct comparable and former CLF program; works with state and local food policy councils on policy change — making it a natural successor/peer entity.
• Food Tank: Nonprofit focused on food systems research, events, and journalism. Comparable to CLF's journalism fellowship, podcast, and public education efforts, though smaller and more communications-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/livablefuture
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/LivableFutureBlog
• Facebookfacebook.com/LivableFuture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future