The mission of the University of Minnesota Exposure Science and Sustainability Institute (ESSI) is reflected in the Division of Environmental Health’s mission to be a world-class community of scientists and educators committed to improving well-being by discovering how environments affect human health.

We investigate the interactions between people and their environments to advance research, practice, policy, and education to improve the health of the populations of the state, the nation, and the world. Improvement of human health is best enabled through an integrated approach to understanding and influencing the linkages among exposures to environmental factors, resulting health effects, and policies to mitigate these effects.

We define sustainability in a human context. When work spaces, products, and policies are designed and selected to protect the health and well-being of people, we create more sustainable communities. We are invested in increasing equity of work and health by building bridges to and partnerships with communities, and to conducting community-based-participatory research.