Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Name

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Legal name

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Website

https://sustainability.stanford.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stanford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Giving: The school was established with a $1.1 billion investment from John Doerr and his wife Ann Doerr. The school continues to receive support through its Support page for donations.
2. Research Grants and Funding: The school receives research funding through various mechanisms including grants from NASA, NSF, Heising-Simons Foundation, and the industrial affiliates programs.
3. Graduate Certificate Programs: The school offers graduate certificate programs in Climate Change, Ecopreneurship, Sustainable Energy, Sustainability Decision-Making, and Human and Planetary Health.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability is Stanford University's first new school in 75 years, offering graduate certificates (Climate Change, Ecopreneurship, Sustainable Energy, Sustainability Decision-Making, Human and Planetary Health), undergraduate research programs (SURGE, HI-SURF, SESUR, SUPER, MUIR), K-12 outreach, postdoctoral training, and sustainability research across seven academic departments. The school conducts interdisciplinary research and operates the Sustainability Accelerator to translate discoveries into scalable technology and policy solutions.

Product overview

The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability is Stanford University's first new school in 75 years, launched in 2022 with a $1.1 billion investment. The school is organized as an academic institution with multiple departments (Civil & Environmental Engineering, Earth & Planetary Sciences, Earth System Science, Energy Science & Engineering, Environmental Social Sciences, Geophysics, and Oceans), research institutes (Woods Institute for the Environment, Precourt Institute for Energy), and the Sustainability Accelerator. The school offers five graduate certificates (Climate Change, Ecopreneurship, Sustainable Energy, Sustainability Decision-Making, Human and Planetary Health), undergraduate research programs (SURGE, HI-SURF, SESUR, SUPER), K-12 outreach (Geokids, Young Investigators), and develops research tools including ORCA open-source radar software. The institution focuses on advancing knowledge, solutions, and impact through research and education for sustainability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Graduate Certificate in Climate Change Graduate certificate program focused on climate change science, policy, and solutions, offered by the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability for graduate students.
• Graduate Certificate in Ecopreneurship Graduate certificate program focused on entrepreneurship approaches to sustainability challenges, offered for graduate students.
• Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Energy Graduate certificate program focused on sustainable energy technologies and policies, offered for graduate students.
• Graduate Certificate in Sustainability Decision-Making Graduate certificate program focused on decision-making frameworks for sustainability, offered for graduate students.
• Graduate Certificate in Human and Planetary Health Graduate certificate program focused on the intersection of human health and environmental sustainability, offered for graduate students.
• Sustainability Accelerator Launchpad to leverage Stanford knowledge and expertise, co-developing potentially scalable sustainability technology and policy solutions with external partners worldwide.
• ORCA (Open Radar Code Architecture) Open-source tool for building ice-penetrating radar systems developed by Stanford Radio Glaciology lab, allowing scientists to build radars more cheaply and efficiently at a fraction of the cost of current methods (lowest-cost version at $1,500 vs. tens or hundreds of thousands for traditional systems).
• SURGE (Sustainability Undergraduate Research in Geoscience and Engineering) Undergraduate research program in geoscience and engineering for Stanford undergraduate students.
• HI-SURF (Hopkins Internships - Summer Undergraduate Research Funds) Summer undergraduate research program at Hopkins Marine Station for Stanford undergraduate students.
• SESUR (Sustainability, Engineering and Science - Undergraduate Research Program) Undergraduate research program in sustainability, engineering, and science for Stanford undergraduate students.
• SUPER (Summer Undergraduate Program on Energy Research) Summer undergraduate program focused on energy research for Stanford undergraduate students.
• Geokids Program K-12 outreach program for environmental education, engaging younger students in sustainability topics.
• Young Investigators K-12 outreach program for young researchers providing internship opportunities and engagement with sustainability science.

Quantifiable outcome

• First new school at Stanford in 75 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability14 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• SLAC National Accelerator LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint launch of SLAC-Stanford Battery Center targeting roadblocks in the sustainable energy transition. Yi Cui's research group collaborates with SLAC on battery technology.
• TomKat Center for Sustainable EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStanford internal center providing support for sustainable energy research, including the ORCA radar project and various energy-related studies.
• Stanford University Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHAI provided support for the ORCA project, combining AI with glaciology research for ice sheet monitoring.
• Stanford Data Science Industrial Affiliates ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustrial affiliates program supporting data science research with membership fees from companies, supporting ORCA radar data standardization efforts.
• NSF Engineering Research Center for Re-inventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided funding for William Tarpeh's research on electrochemical sulfur oxidation for wastewater treatment and resource recovery.
• Precourt Institute for EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of two main institutes within the school focused on sustainable, affordable, secure energy for all, leveraging Stanford faculty research.
• Woods Institute for the EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of two main institutes within the school providing connective tissue across campus for environmental research and solutions.
• Sustainability Accelerator External PartnersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorldwide network of external partners for co-developing potentially scalable sustainability technology and policy solutions.
• Stanford Center for Innovation in Global HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on planetary health fellowship and research linking environmental changes to disease outbreaks like dengue.
• Stanford Woods Institute for the EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on climate impacts research including hurricane mortality studies, wildfire smoke exposure, and ecosystem resilience.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MIT Climate & Sustainability Consortium: MIT's flagship climate and sustainability initiative aggregating industry and academic partners. Comparable to Doerr as a top-tier university-led program advancing interdisciplinary climate solutions and convening power.
• Columbia Climate School: Columbia University's dedicated climate school launched in 2022, the same year as Doerr. Directly comparable as a peer elite university sustainability school with research, graduate programs, and an action arm.
• Yale School of the Environment: Long-standing Yale graduate school offering masters and doctoral programs in environmental science, policy, and sustainability. Comparable to Doerr as elite institution training future sustainability leaders.
• Harvard Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability: Harvard's interdisciplinary climate institute funded by a $200M gift. Directly comparable as a recently established, philanthropically-funded sustainability hub at a peer institution.
• Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment: Oxford's department focused on sustainability, economics, and policy research with executive education. Comparable to Doerr as a world-leading sustainability research and graduate training program.
• University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership: Cambridge's institute focused on leadership and policy for sustainability with executive programs and corporate engagement. Comparable to Doerr via graduate education and global convening on sustainability solutions.
• UC Berkeley Energy and Resources Group: Berkeley's interdisciplinary graduate group bridging science, engineering, and policy on energy and environmental issues. Comparable as another elite US sustainability research and graduate training program.
• ETH Zurich Sustainability Risks and Safety / Sustainability Office: ETH Zurich is a leading technical university with major sustainability research programs. Comparable to Doerr as a top European technical university with sustainability focus.
• Imperial College London Grantham Institute: Imperial College London's institute for climate change and environmental research, providing graduate training and policy engagement. Comparable to Doerr via international reach and interdisciplinary climate science focus.

Others

• Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment (internal): Internal subsidiary of Doerr itself focused on environmental solutions. Included here only as an adjacent ecosystem participant reference rather than comparable external peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stanforddoerr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@stanforddoerr
• Facebookfacebook.com/StanfordDoerr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stanforddoerr
• Instagraminstagram.com/stanford.doerr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability