International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST) 2025 Conference
Minneapolis, Minnesota
June 16 - 18, 2025
(Pre-conference workshops June 15, 2025)
Transitions to low-carbon economy, circular economy, and sustainable and resilient systems are of paramount importance. The ISSST 2025 Conference welcomes the submission of abstracts that define, design, assess, support, and/or implement technologies, policies, and systems that support these transitions. For more information about the conference, please visit our website at https://issst.net.
In our 32nd year, ISSST is one of the longest-running research conferences on sustainability at the intersection of technology, policy, and behavior. We are a vibrant community of engineers, scientists, professionals, and educators, sharing cutting-edge research and collaborations. Our mission is to think beyond the traditional and envision a future where science has no limits.
We are a volunteer-run, non-profit community, led primarily by academics and government analysts. We aim to be a welcoming space for participants from all sectors, from engineering, industrial ecology, sustainable consumption and production, and beyond. A key distinguishing feature of our conference is an openness to unconventional and creative sessions or activities, and you’re invited to be a part of it!
We are excited to announce new leadership, governance, and DEI commitments that will continue to guide our community as an inclusive, innovative, creative, and sustainable space for all. We hope you will join us!
This year’s conference will highlight the following thematic areas:
- Agroecology, Industrial Ecology, and the Bioeconomy
The fields of Agroecology and Industrial Ecology look to ecosystems for guidance in designing sustainable systems, particularly for agriculturally-derived products and systems such as bioenergy, biomaterials, and food. Areas of particular interest include but are not limited to, biogeochemical modeling, carbon: nitrogen dynamics in relation to carbon accounting; characterizing materials flows in rural vs. urban environments and their intersections; modeling methods for assessing sustainability indicators.
- Human dimensions of sustainability
This theme may include how to integrate human dimensions into sustainability design and implementations and research/projects focused primarily on linking knowledge with actions, environmental justice, decision science, participatory approaches, social life cycle assessment methods, etc. This theme also welcomes research regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion in sustainable systems and/or sustainable transitions. We want to hear from you!
- Sustainability and resilience of energy systems
ISSST is a leader in quantitative assessment of the sustainability and resilience of various systems associated with energy systems, including their interconnections and future uncertainties. Abstracts that provide cutting-edge insights, case study results, and methods related to renewable, low-carbon, energy systems and transitions are welcome. We are interested in applications spanning relevant domains including transportation energy, electricity, industry, building energy use, and more. This theme also encourages studies spanning interconnections among energy systems or between energy and other systems, including macro-energy models and integrated assessment models.
- Sustainability and resilience of infrastructure systems
ISSST is a leader in quantitative assessment of the sustainability and resilience of various systems associated with water, transportation, built environment, and waste management systems, including their interconnections and future uncertainties. Abstracts that provide cutting-edge insights, case study results, and methods are welcome. We welcome topics related to embodied emissions, circular economy, risk, disaster resilience, and similar, in this category.
- Sustainability education and communication
Educating future generations to be capable of realizing sustainable solutions is challenging and critical. ISSST welcomes you to share your educational approaches for community, K-12, university, and the workplace. We are also interested in learning how you engage with diverse populations and extend sustainability education beyond traditional settings through novel forms of science communication (e.g., gaming, storytelling, podcasts, citizen science). We want to learn from you!
- Innovative tools and methods in LCA and sustainability analysis
We invite abstracts that explore cutting-edge developments in methods, tools, and platforms for life cycle assessment and sustainability analysis. We’re particularly interested in new ways of thinking about LCAs and sustainability analyses and advancements that push the boundaries of traditional approaches. Whether you are pioneering a novel method or tool or reimagining LCA frameworks, we want to hear from you!
- Other creative sustainability-related topics
ISSST has long encouraged participants to dream big and try new approaches to realize sustainable futures. Please consider sharing new methods and ideas that demonstrate unique partnerships, big ideas, and perspectives from non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) disciplines. We also welcome creative submissions for unconventional or experimental sessions, such as exploring sustainability through games and other activities.
We also welcome sustainability-relevant contributions in:
- Ecosystem Services
- Circular Economy
- Materials Flow Analysis
- Applied Machine Learning and Data Science
- Business & Industry Practices or Case Studies
- Policy, Management & Regulation
- Open Science and Communication of Sustainability Science
- Equity and Justice
- Life Cycle Assessment and Evaluation of Emerging Technologies
- Advances in Sustainability Assessment Methods
- Computational Tools for Sustainability
- Energy and Sustainability in the Global South
- Handprint Analysis
- Pathways to Net-zero
- Critical Materials
- Sustainable Waste Management
- System-of-systems Urban Resilience
If you have an idea, but are not sure, please feel free to reach out: issstnetwork@conoscente.net.
Instructions for Oral and/or Poster Presentation Abstract Submission:
Participants are invited to submit abstracts for oral and/or poster presentations through www.conftool.org/issst2025. Abstracts should be 300 - 500 words and will be reviewed relative to four criteria: (1) Impact; (2) Originality; (3) Technical Quality; and (4) Completeness. The abstract should include a brief background/motivation but should focus on methods and results/anticipated results, or your proposed conference activity.
ISSST encourages submissions from academics, researchers, students as well as professionals, and we aim for the symposium to represent our emerging diversity including gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, national origin, disability, career stage, professional affiliation, and educational journey.
During abstract submission, you can indicate the thematic area most appropriate for your abstract in the online submission form. In addition, please note your preference for an oral and/or poster presentation at the time of abstract submission.
The program committee will evaluate abstracts for acceptance into the program, designate them for an oral or poster presentation, and place them within thematically organized sessions. Inquiries should be directed to issstnetwork@conoscente.net.
Instructions for Workshop Proposal Submission:
Participants interested in hosting a workshop are also invited to submit a proposal. ISSST 2025 will include full-day (6 hours) or half-day (3 hours) workshops. Accepted workshops will be held on Monday, June 17, 2024, from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM, preceding the Tuesday-Thursday main conference days.
Workshop proposals on the following topics are strongly encouraged: 1) career advising and mentoring for the ISSST community; 2) participatory research; 3) sustainability education; 4) team building and conducting convergent projects; and, 5) technical topics of high relevance and/or urgency to the ISSST community (e.g., data visualization in python, machine learning and data science).
Workshop proposals should be also be submitted via www.conftool.org/issst2025. Proposals must include the following details:
- Workshop title
- Workshop duration: Full-day or half-day
- Workshop motivation and description
- Intended audience and size limit (if applicable)
- Workshop Organizers.
For full consideration, submit abstracts via ConfTool for oral presentations, poster presentations, and workshops by January 9, 2025 January 17, 2025.