Climate Change
En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator Team Wins System Dynamics Award
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The En-ROADS climate solutions simulator team has won the 2025 System Dynamics Applications Award. The award, given by the System Dynamics Society, honors excellence in the real-world application of the principles of system dynamics, a computer-assisted approach to modeling complex systems that originated at MIT in the 1950s and helps people improve their decision-making when dealing with such systems.
The En-ROADS team received the award at the 2025 International System Dynamics Conference, which was held in early August in Boston, Massachusetts and online.
En-ROADS is a publicly available climate solutions simulation tool that models how different policy choices affect elements such as the cost of energy, global temperatures, air quality, and rising sea levels. Building on decades of work originated in the MIT Sloan System Dynamics Group by MIT Sloan Professor John D. Sterman, the En-ROADS climate solutions simulator is the product of a collaboration between the MIT Sloan School of Management and the nonprofit Climate Interactive. At MIT Sloan, En-ROADS is used to engage public- and private-sector leaders through the MIT Climate Pathways Project, which is a collaborative effort of the MIT Climate Policy Center, the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, and Climate Interactive.
To date, the En-ROADS simulator and the related C-ROADS climate policy simulator have been used by nearly 20,000 leaders in government, business, finance, academia, and other sectors around the globe. Insights from En-ROADS have informed decisions on topics ranging from corporate strategy to managing climate risk.
“The En-ROADS experience forces participants to connect with their own values and reminds us that we are all citizens of a global society and that our choices and actions have consequences for us, for our children, and for everyone’s children,” observed Brad Morrison, Chair of the Selection Committee for the System Dynamics Applications Award, in his announcement of the award.
En-ROADS “goes beyond, far beyond, exceptional climate science, and rigorous climate modeling,” Morrison added. “It exemplifies the use of system dynamics to make a difference.…It finds numerous ways to make the modeling and insight accessible and understandable. It is a truly unique specimen of system dynamics for the masses.”
“Receiving this award is a reminder that academic knowledge, translated effectively, can have a great impact,” said Bethany Patten, Executive Director of the MIT Climate Policy Center. “We are grateful to be part of a team of dedicated professionals who are so aligned on a mission to offer a trusted, non-partisan resource that helps leaders gain a better understanding of both the climate challenges we face and the most effective policy levers to address them.”
“We’re so proud to deliver on the original promise of system dynamics as laid out by Jay Forrester at the MIT Sloan School in the 1950s, which was to improve the performance of complex systems–in this case the earth’s climate, upon which all life depends,” said Andrew P. Jones, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Climate Interactive.
The System Dynamics Applications Award is the third award En-ROADS has received so far in 2025. Earlier this year, En-ROADS received high commendation from the 2025 Financial Times Responsible Business Education Awards as well as a 2025 Digital with Purpose Award, in the education category.
Many people have played a part in developing En-ROADS, including Sterman, Jones, Patten, Adem Delibas, Ava De Leon, Bindu Bhandari, Caroline Reed, Charles (Skuk) Jones, Chris Campbell, Chris Soderquist, Clara Iglesias, Danielle San Filippo, Ellie Johnston, Elizabeth Keating, Elizabeth Sawin, Florian Kapmeier, Jason Jay, Jack Homer, Janet Chikofsky, Joshua Loughman, Juliette Rooney-Varga, Katherine Markova, Kaveh Dianati, Ken Rath, Khaled Gaafar, Krystal Noiseux, Lucia Cheney, Lori Siegel, Michael Sonnenfeldt, Philip Rice, Sam Wellington, Sibel Eker, Stephanie McCauley, Todd Fincannon, Tom Fiddaman, Travis Franck, and Yasmeen Zahar.
