The Center for Sustainable Systems has released its 2025 collection of factsheets, which now include sheets dedicated to artificial intelligence and the Great Lakes
The Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan has published its annual update to the CSS Factsheets, featuring nearly 2,000 facts and 144 graphics related to sustainability issues.
CSS, which is part of the School for Environment and Sustainability, or SEAS, has also unveiled two all-new factsheets in the 2025 edition: one focused on artificial intelligence and another on the Great Lakes.
The collection features 34 factsheets with information gathered from more than 1,270 reputable sources to provide access to accurate and up-to-date information about a variety of topics: energy, water, climate change, transportation, environmental justice and many more. That list now includes artificial intelligence and the Great Lakes, the largest freshwater lake system on Earth.
The center's co-directors, Greg Keoleian and Shelie Miller, said they are excited about this year's launch of the two new factsheets along with the many updates to the existing ones. The project was supervised and curated by Geoff Lewis, CSS lead research specialist, and completed by graduate student intern Christabel Akhigbe.
"With this collection, you can explore sustainability problems and solutions from unique systems perspectives. The key strategies to improve transportation, the built environment, energy, water and food systems that we all rely on are well documented," Keoleian said. "Given that many threats such as climate change are intensifying, our hope is that the collection will motivate students, households, communities, businesses, policymakers and others to take action."
Launched in 2001, the factsheets present data on patterns of use, life-cycle impacts and sustainable solutions. Viewed more than 500,000 times in 2024, the factsheets are a trusted source for news outlets, businesses, educational institutions, congressional aides and anyone else looking for concise, accurate information.
SEAS graduate students update the factsheets annually and the collection is provided as a fee-free public service. The work is supported by CSS, SEAS and the generosity of donors who contribute to the Fund the Facts campaign. These contributions help expand the factsheets by supporting graduate student interns.
Written by Nayiri Mullinix
