The London School of Economics and Political Science is delighted to announce the appointment of a distinguished world leader on sustainability to a role in its new Global School of Sustainability (GSoS).
Launched in 2025, with the support of a transformative gift from co-founder and alumnus Zhang Lei, GSoS is driving global initiatives to create a brighter future that is sustainable, resilient, hopeful, prosperous, and inclusive.
Sir Andrew Steer will join LSE as Professor in Practice at both the Global School of Sustainability and the International Growth Centre (IGC). Among other things, he will contribute to the development of GSoS's core research and impact activities, including through involvement in our Global Impact Group - which aims to influence sustainability policy at the very highest level.
Sir Andrew has served as the Director General of the UK Department for International Development, the President and CEO of the World Resources Institute (WRI), Special Envoy for Climate Change at the World Bank, and most recently as the President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund. As Director General at DFID, he played a central role in creating the International Growth Center at LSE, and at WRI he was responsible for a number of influential international initiatives of relevance to GSoS -- including the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, the NDC Partnership, the Global Commission on Adaptation and the System Change Lab.
The flagship Global School of Sustainability at LSE is supporting cutting edge social science research to inform action in response to the pressing challenges of creating a sustainable future. It will also seek to achieve significant global impact by bringing together global scholars and practitioners and by training the next generation of leaders. In recognition of the fact that most of the obstacles to achieving sustainability lie in the economy, society, and politics, it will draw on the multidisciplinary strengths of the departments and research centres across LSE.
Professor Lord Nicholas Stern, the Chair and co-founder of the Global School of Sustainability, said: “The challenges of climate and biodiversity are intense and urgent, they are global, and the key strategies and difficulties lie in the social sciences. LSE is world leading in the social sciences and the most global of universities. The GSoS is the right initiative in the right place, at the right time, and we are immensely grateful to Zhang Lei for his vision and generosity.
“The importance and potential of this initiative has enabled us to attract an outstanding international figure to play a leading role in the creation of GSoS and building its impact. We are extraordinarily fortunate that Andrew will be joining us, and I look forward very much to working with him.”
Professor Larry Kramer, LSE President and Vice Chancellor, said: “Sir Andrew is uniquely placed to help us advance GSoS's vitally important mission. Bringing social science to the most urgent challenges of our time is in LSE’s very DNA, and we are delighted to welcome this major figure to join us in the effort."