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The IISD Economic Law and Policy Program provides technical and legal expertise to help governments, particularly in developing countries, design policies for equitable and environmentally sustainable growth. The program focuses on reforming investment, finance, trade, government procurement, and industrial policy to facilitate transitions to renewable energy and resilient infrastructure. Key areas of activity include shaping international investment agendas, fostering sustainable industrial policies, leveraging public procurement for green growth, and promoting responsible trade through voluntary standards and corporate social responsibility.

The IISD Energy Program provides practical guidance and research to help governments transition to low-carbon economies, reform fossil fuel subsidies, and implement international climate commitments. The program focuses on quantifying the economic impacts of electricity systems and promoting renewable energy, specifically noting that fossil fuel subsidies in Middle Eastern and African countries could fund the region's renewable energy targets through 2020.

The IISD provides multidisciplinary research and participatory risk management to help governments and communities transition from crisis to sustainability. Its work focuses on integrating climate adaptation into decision-making, addressing environmental drivers of conflict in fragile states, and securing agricultural value chains against climate uncertainty.

The IISD employs a combination of whole-lake experimentation at the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario and policy analysis to manage watersheds and develop bioeconomies. Its work includes removing nutrients from the Lake Winnipeg watershed to produce renewable energy pellets and assessing climate change vulnerability in Pakistan's water sector.

The IISD Impact Centre aims to act as a catalyst for sustainable development by leveraging the International Institute for Sustainable Development's (IISD) networks to scale field-tested innovations. Rather than creating new formal structures, the Centre focuses on increasing the impact of existing projects through strategy, capacity building, and knowledge sharing. It targets areas including climate change, energy, and trade, and seeks to become self-sustaining within three years through a "Circle of Friends" partnership model. Current demonstration projects include the CRiSTAL Tool for climate change adaptation and economic valuation training for the United Nations Environment Programme.

The IISD program on Environment, Conflict and Peacebuilding investigates the links between environmental change, natural resource governance, and human security to support conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction. The program employs a three-pillar approach consisting of research, policy, and practice, which includes analyzing emerging threats, promoting policy mechanisms to address root causes of insecurity, and training practitioners in conflict-sensitive programming. Specific project examples include assessing climate change threats in the Jordan River basin, analyzing Canada's security agenda regarding the Arctic and energy sources, and advising UN agencies on integrating environmental management into peacebuilding.

The IISD is implementing a project to prevent the marginalization of poor producers in sustainable agriculture markets. By providing data and capacity building on over 400 Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSSs), the initiative aims to help less-developed countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America strategically enter value-added markets to reduce poverty and meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The NAP Global Network's South-South Peer Exchange Awards support the exchange of technical expertise on national adaptation planning between developing countries. The program provides funding for travel, accommodation, and logistics for experts to either host or attend exchanges, which can range from one to five days. Eligibility requires registration with the NAP Global Network, residency in a developing country, and a role in the NAP process within government or a key organization. Past exchanges have focused on coastal issues, national budgeting, communication strategies, and stakeholder engagement in countries including Senegal, Togo, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Peru, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Albania.

The NAP Global Network provides South-South Peer Exchange Awards to support technical exchanges between adaptation planners from developing countries. These awards cover financial costs for flights, accommodation, and meals for experts to either host or attend exchanges lasting between one and five days. Eligible participants must be registered with the Network, originate from a developing country, and work on the NAP process within a government or key organization. Examples of past exchanges include collaborations between Senegal and Togo on coastal issues, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica on climate budgeting, Peru and Saint Lucia on communication strategies, and Grenada and Albania on NAP assembly planning.

The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) provides capacity building through two primary channels: Investment Academies, which help small and medium enterprises secure finance through modules on business planning and pitching, and the CORE Initiative, which offers technical training on DRE systems like mini-grids and solar thermal energy. These programs have trained 3,050 practitioners and 210 trainers across 15 countries, targeting the development of bankable projects and the transfer of engineering skills to enhance energy access and security in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.

The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) advocates for communication rights—including freedom of expression and access to information—as a fundamental requirement for human rights and sustainable development. WACC addresses 'communication and information poverty' through four main strategies: building grassroots capacity, monitoring media representation, analysing communication trends, and leveraging international networks. The organization focuses on five key areas: digital communication rights, the rights of migrants and refugees, indigenous rights, climate change, and gender equality. A central component of its work is the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), which provides evidence of the systemic under-representation of women in global news media.

The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) advocates for communication rights—including freedom of expression and access to information—as essential tools for combating social invisibility and achieving the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. WACC focuses on five key areas: digital communication rights, the rights of migrants and refugees, indigenous peoples' communication rights, the intersection of communication and climate change, and gender equality in media. Through capacity building, media monitoring, and global advocacy, WACC seeks to empower marginalized groups to be 'seen and heard' and to reform media structures to be more democratic and inclusive.

The RISE initiative by WRI India focuses on supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Tamil Nadu's automotive cluster and Gujarat's textile cluster. By 2026, the program intends to support at least 1,000 workers across 100 MSMEs to manage climate impacts, reduce emissions, and acquire green skills. This work is part of the broader Climate Resilient Employees for a Sustainable Tomorrow (CREST) initiative funded by the Ares Charitable Foundation, which targets training 25,000 individuals for clean energy jobs in the US and India.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) provides research and policy recommendations to support the United States' transition to a low-carbon economy. Its work spans industrial modernization in sectors like cement and steel, the deployment of renewable and clean firm power, and the development of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategies. WRI also focuses on systemic barriers such as permitting reform for energy transmission, the responsible sourcing of critical minerals, carbon pricing, and the electrification of transportation, including a specific initiative for electric school buses.

WWF Colombia is working to expand and manage the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP), notably through the Herencia Colombia (HECO) initiative. Launched in June 2022, HECO aims to secure $245 million to protect nearly 29 million hectares of landscapes and seascapes, supporting Colombia's 30X30 goal. A specific GCF project under HECO focuses on climate-resilient management for 5.72 million hectares, benefiting over 329,000 people directly and approximately 16.9 million people indirectly through ecosystem-based adaptation.