About Visualizing Energy

Our Mission

Visualizing Energy communicates trustworthy information on the link between sustainable energy and human well-being to decision-makers, media, companies, advocates, educators, and the public.

Who We Are

Visualizing Energy is an independent and neutral university-based research and communication organization. We are a project of the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS).

What We Do

We knit data analysis, visualizations, and the written word into stories that reveal how our energy system can be transformed to reduce inequity, steer humanity from climate disaster, improve health and other social outcomes, and lead to healthier natural systems. We address the energy system itself (sources, conversion, end use), economics (prices, investment, market failures), social outcomes (well-being, energy poverty, and climate justice), and environmental change (climate, pollution, and land and water use).

How Are We Different

The internet is awash in information about energy, climate change, and health impacts of pollution. But society is deficient in a shared understanding of how our energy system must change. One reason for that is that information is siloed by technology, policy, and disciplines. We use the unique role of energy in human affairs and natural systems as the unifying principle behind compelling, data-driven stories that point to solutions that are feasible, affordable, and equitable. We are interdisciplinary and collaborative, working with diverse teams and perspectives that span the broad energy landscape.

Open Access

Visualizing Energy aims to accelerate a sustainable energy transition by deploying a more equitable system of knowledge. To that end, all the data, visualizations, and original text are freely available to all users. We license all our content under the Creative Commons BY license. Users have permission to use, distribute, and reproduce the data, visualizations, and articles provided the source and authors are credited.

Transparency

We heavily rely on data that someone else produced. All the data in Visualizing Energy is attributed to its original source so that the user can independently judge its accuracy and reliability. We describe all major modifications that we make to data.

Our Values

Science Leads

The data and knowledge generated by the scientific investigation are the cornerstones of our work. This includes the social, data, and health sciences, and their related professions. We recognize that the humanities bring an indispensable perspective to the energy and climate challenge.

Neutrality

We are neutral regarding technology and policy. The outcome of rigorous and impartial investigation guides the questions we ask, the content we present, and the conclusions that we draw.

Independence

Independence is a foundation of reliability. We are vigilant in maintaining a firewall between our work and external special interests, whatever their orientation.

Communication

We prioritize making knowledge accessible, clear, and actionable to a broad audience.

Equity

We are committed to an equitable energy system in which every person has access to clean, affordable energy services regardless of race, ethnicity, age, income, language, or class.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

We work with people, data, and methods that span academic disciplines and multiple ways of knowing.

Meet our Team

Contact Us

Call Us

+ 1 617-358-2985

Email Us

[email protected]

Visit Us

111 Cummington Mall Suite 149, Boston, MA 02215

About Us

Connect

Data Stories

Topics

MA Energy Explorer

License: Unless otherwise noted, all visualizations, data, and stories produced by Visualizing Energy are open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). This means that you have permission to copy, transform, and redistribute the material in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.

A project of the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability