Contact information
László Pintér has more than three decades of experience working on topics broadly associated with the sustainability/unsustainability and resilience of socio-ecological systems from the local to the global level, often focused on the natural resource sectors and human settlements. His focus is typically on strategic aspects of governance, including goal setting, measurement, integrated assessment, and the construction and insights gained from the analysis of future scenarios and transition pathways.
He carried out research focused on the MDGs and the post-2015 development agenda at national levels with emphasis on the mechanisms of goal selection, monitoring, and means of implementation, including involvement in the negotiation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). He contributed to the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) of UNEP between GEO-1 and GEO-6. He served as Coordinating Lead Author (CLA) of GEO-5's scenario chapter and as CLA of the outlook chapter of the European assessment of GEO-6. For over a decade, Prof. Pintér led the work on conceptualizing, developing, and capacity building with UNEP's training manual and program on integrated environmental assessment and reporting based on the GEO approach. He also co-authored a volume on the intellectual history of GEO. Dr Pintér co-established and co-chaired several strategic sustainability assessment-related initiatives, including the Bellagio Sustainability Assessment and Measurement Principles (BellagioSTAMP), the International Forum for Assessing Sustainability in Agriculture (INFASA), and at the local level the Community Indicator System for Winnipeg (PEG).
Using the SES lens, he worked on integrated vulnerability and adaptation in many regional contexts, exploring adaptation options to climate change in combination with other factors of global and local change. Among others, he served as a case study leader in the IMPRESSIONS FP-7 project focused on adaptation to high-end climate scenarios, and coordinated the climate risk assessment of large-scale hydraulic infrastructure investment scenarios of the World Bank for the Okavango basin through Pegasys Consulting and CRIDF.
More recently, his interest in resilient and regenerative communities led to a growing body of work on the role of nature and nature-based solutions in urban transformations. Significant examples of his projects include NATURVATION, and recently NATURESCAPES, and NATURGO. As a NATURVATION legacy, through CEU's Innovation Lab he established Physi Solutions, an SME dedicated to assisting urban sustainability transformations through knowledge products related to nature-based solutions.
Prof. Pintér has extensive board and advisory experience, currently serving as a steering committee member of the Balaton Group and The Integrated Assessment Society, and he is a member of the Academic Sounding Board of the Cohesion for Transitions Community of Practice of the EU's DG Regio.
He works worldwide and over his career collaborated with a wide range of major organizations such as the World Bank, the OECD, UNEP, UNDP, UNIDO, the Asia-Europe Foundation, the European Environment Agency, various Directorates of the European Commission, the GEF, and the China Council, and also with many Canadian organizations including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Environment Canada, the National Roundtable for the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE), the Canadian Index of Well-Being, CIDA, IDRC, provincial governments, various consulting firms, and others. While often working globally, he strongly believes in the power and importance of local initiatives and research where the concepts and theories of sustainability appear with a human face, tangibility, and often urgency.
Prior to joining CEU in 2010, he worked for the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in Canada between 1994 and 2010, serving as the director of the Measurement and Assessment Program between 2003 and 2010. During 2000-2001 he was Practitioner Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University, conducting research related to the effectiveness of integrated environmental assessment and reporting at the global level. Besides his position at CEU, he is also Senior Fellow at IISD and was granted the title of Honorary Professor by the University of Pannonia in Hungary.
Office Hours: By appointment via e-mail or walk in when door is open
Selected Work Experience
2025 (ongoing) RISTANC - Research and Innovation Cooperation for Sustainability and Reaching EU Missions Objectives (EU Horizon, CEU)
2025 (ongoing) GREENGAGE - Engaging Citizens - Mobilizing Technology - Delivering the Green Deal (EU Horizon, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH)
2024 (ongoing) Negotiating urban governance: A comparative study of non-state-led nature-based solutions in China and Europe (Balaton Group)
2024 (ongoing) NATURGO - Nature-based Solutions and Urban Water Governance (EU Driving Urban Transitions, Physi Solutions)
2023 (ongoing) NATURESCAPES - Nature-based Solutions for Climate Resilient, Nature Positive and Socially Just Communities in Diverse Landscapes (Horizon 2020, CEU team leader, Workpackage 1 leader)
2023 (ongoing) Cohesion for Transition - make better use of cohesion funds for sustainability transitions (DG Regio, contributor via the Academic Sounding Board)
2023 - Representation and analysis of urban Nature-Based Solutions in Southeast Asia in the Urban Nature Atlas; ASEF (senior advisor)
2022 - Contribution to the understanding of multiple benefits of urban nature in practice - insights from the Urban Nature Atlas; PBL (contributor)
2021-2022 Development of an interactive global map of climate change-relevant nature-based solutions in cities; The British Academy (team leader)
2022 - 2023 Mainstreaming environmental sustainability into Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) of EU member countries; PS4SD (contributor)
2020 (ongoing) Capacity building for climate security assessment through participatory scenario analysis ; UNDP (co-leader)
2020-2023 Sustainability measurement and assessment in support of the 2025 SOER for Europe; PS4SD and the European Environment Agency (co-leader)
2020-21 Future of the Global Environment Outlook; IISD for UNEP (team leader)
2019 Capacity building for SOE reporting in Afghanistan; NEPA and UNEP Post-Conflict Assessment Unit (co-leader)
2018 (ongoing) Physi Solutions; launch of startup around a software tool that helps make the business case for NBS in urban development (founder)
2018 National Adaptation Planning (NAP) global network; capacity building on monitoring, evaluation and indicators; IISD (expert)
2016-2022 Intellectual history of the Global Environment Outlook (independent book project; launch of book in 2022)
2016-21 - NATURVATION - NATure-based URban innoVATION (Horizon 2020 through CEU, CEU team leader, workpackage leader)
2016-17 - Climate Resilient Development Pathways - Okavango Basin pilot; CRIDF (study leader)
2016 - Accelerating and rescaling transitions to sustainability - ARTS (EU FP-7 through CEU, CEU team leader)
2015 - Global Environment Outlook - 6: Europe; co-CLA of Outlook chapter (UNEP-DEWA)
2014 - Niche Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture in Hungary. (Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency and PATHWAYS FP-7 project)
2014 - Governance of Sustainable Development Goals Implementations – National Case Studies in Veit Nam and Poland (Asia-Europe Foundation and Hanns Seidel Stiftung, project leader)
2014- Sustainable Development Goals and Indicators for a Small Planet (Asia-Europe Foundation, project leader)
2014 - Sustainable Consumption and Production Targets and Indicators (UNEP DTIE, IISD and CSIRO)
2013 - Task Force on Assessment and Outlook of Economic Green Transformation in China (China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, CCICED; member of Task Force)
2013 - Review of MDG-7 performance and lessons for the integration of the environment with non-environmental goals in the SDGs and post-2015 development agenda. (UNEP; study leader)
2013 - Review of learning mechanisms of national environmental indicator systems. (Environment Canada, study leader)
2013-present - Impacts and Risks from Higher-End Scenarios: Strategies for Innovative Solutions – IMPRESSIONS (EU FP-7 through CEU, case study leader)
2013 - Foreign investment contracts for farmland and water: Options for a sustainable future. (IISD and SDC, contributor)
2013 - Navigating Sustainable Development for the 21st Century: Governance ‘of’ and ‘for’ the post-2015 development agenda. (Tokyo Institute of Technology, chapter lead author on ‘political economy of measurement’)
2013 - Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Creation in ASEM Countries. (Asia-Europe Foundation, project leader)
2012 - Cost of Inaction on the Sound Management of Chemicals in Sub-Saharan Africa report (UNEP DTIE, Chemicals Branch, expert reviewer)
2011 - Scenario Summit – Internet Governance Forum. (IDRC and IISD)
2011-2012 - Ecosystem Management – Concept to Local Scale Implementation Training Manual – Phase 2: Peer Review and Pilot Testing. (UNEP-DEPI)
2010-2012 - Millennium Development Goals Fund – Knowledge Management. (UNEP-DRC)
2010-2011 - China Environment and Development Outlook Feasibility Study. (China Council, member of Task Force)
2010-2011 - Proposal to apply sustainable agriculture metrics to selected Western Canadian field crops. (SERECON Inc.)
2010-2011 - Achieving national and sectoral development priorities: Using integrated environmental assessment tools for improved MEA implementation. (UNEP-ROLAC and CARICOM)
2010-2012 - Global Environment Outlook 5, Chapter 9: Scenarios and Sustainability Transformation. (UNEP DEWA, coordinating lead author)
2010 - OECD Agri-Environmental Indicators: Lessons Learned and Future Directions. (IISD for OECD, project leader)
2010 - Accountability through Measurement, 2nd National CSIN Conference. (Environment Canada, Deloitte, Atkinson Foundation, Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Government of Manitoba; conference chair)
2009-2010 - Ecosystem Management – Concept to Local Scale Implementation Training Manual. (UNEP-DEPI)
2009-2010 - Bellagio STAMP – Sustainability Assessment and Measurement Principles. (OECD)
2009-2010 Hudson Bay Inland Sea Initiative – HBISI. (NTK and Government of Nunavut)
2008-2009 - Comparison of the Agri-Environmental Performance of Canadian Agriculture with a Focus on Beef Production. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Serecon Consulting, Inc.; contributor)
2008 - Developing an Indicator System for Winnipeg’s Urban First Nations Community. (Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs; contributor)
2008-2010 - Beyond Business as Usual: Promoting the Use of Sustainable development Indicators in Strategic Corporate Management. (IISD Innovation Fund; Contributor)
2008-2009 - Evaluation of the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicator system (CESI). (Environment Canada; contributor)
2007-2010 - BalatonTrend. Development of an Interactive Portal to Display Quantiative and Qualitative Information on Regional Sustainability. (IISD; project leader)
2007-2008 - Canadian Index of Well-Being – Ecosystem Health Domain. (Atkinson Foundation of Canada; contributor)
2007-2008 - Review of International Assessments (IPCC, GEO-4 and IAASTD) and their Relevance for Canadian Agricultural Policy. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Guelph University; contributor)
2007-2008 - Ecological Goods and Services and International Policy – Phase 1. (MNP, Netherlands; contributor)
2007-2009 - Ecosystem Status and Trends Assessment for Canada. (Environment Canada; Team Leader)
2006-2010 - Collaborative Initiative on Integrated Land Management. (GEOconnections Secretariat, Environment Canada and Natural Resources Canada; contributor)
2006-2008 - Indicators for the Circular Economy in China. (World Bank and National Development and Reform Commission, China; contributor)
2006-2008 - Evaluation of the implementation and impact of Manitoba’s Sustainable Development Act. (Manitoba Conservation; contributor)
2005-2007 - International Forum for Assessing Sustainability in Agriculture - INFASA. (Swiss University of Agriculture, AAFC, SDC; co-chair)
2005-2010 - Outcome Based Budgeting and Performance Measurement. (Treasury Board Secretariat, Government of Manitoba; contributor)
2005-2006 - Review of Sustainable Development Strategies in OECD and Other Selected Countries. (OECD; contributor)
2005-2006 - Strategy and Business Plan for Establishing IISD’s Institutional Presence in the European Union. (IISD; project leader)
2005 - Sustainable Development Indicators – Proposals for the Way Forward. (United Nations Division for Sustainable Development; project leader)
2005-2007 - Performance measurement for local government in China. (Task Force on Economic Growth and the Environment, China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development. (CCICED; member of Task Force)
2005-2009 - Lake Balaton integrated vulnerability assessment and adaptation strategies. (UNDP, UNEP and Lake Balaton Development Council for the GEF; project leader)
2004-2006 - Pilot Testing of the Canadian Biodiversity Index. (Environment Canada; project leader)
2004 - Sustainable Development Indicator System for Yunnan Province, China. (Scott Wilson, Ltd.; contributor)
2004-2007 - Social Indicators for Canada’s Agri-Food Sector. (AAFC; contributor)
2003-2004 - Developing a Strategy for IISD’s Revitalized Natural Resources Management Program. (IISD; project leader)
2003-2004 - Study of Sustainable Development Initiatives and Strategies in the Wake of WSSD and Beyond. (GTZ, DFAIT, Environment Canada, UN-CSD, IUCN; contributor)
2004 - Ten-Year Assessment of the Information Products of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation. (Stratos, Inc., CEC; contributor)
2003-2005 - Yunnan Sustainable Development Action Plan. (Yunnan Environment and Development Program, China and Scott Wilson Ltd., UK; contributor)
2003-2009 - Strategic Cooperation with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on the Agriculture Policy Framework and the Sustainable Development Strategy-III; Coordinator. (AAFC; project leader)
2002-2010 - Peg - Community Indicator System for Winnipeg. (United Way of Winnipeg; co-chair)
2001-2002 - Strategic planning for the Global Environment Outlook-4: SWOT analysis of the GEO process; comparative analysis of global environmental reporting systems; and development of global capacity building strategy on integrated environmental assessment and reporting. (UNEP; project leader)
2001 - Black Sea de-eutrophication strategies. (IREX and University of Minnesota; contributor)
2001-2002 - Romania Local Agenda 21. (NCSD; contributor)
2000-2001 - Research and Assessment Systems for Sustainability. (Harvard University; contributor)
1999-2000 - Envisioning positive community futures through appreciative inquiry in Karnataka, India. (MYRADA and DFID, UK; contributor)
1998-2000 - Developing sustainability values and indicators for Canada's metals sector. (Natural Resources Canada; contributor)
1998 - Development of SD indicators for Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province. (Pakistan Environment Program of IUCN and CIDA; contributor)
1997-98 - Sustainable development: Tools and methods in practice. (Sessional instructor, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba)
<http://iisd.ca/educate/learn/nri/default.htm>.
1997 - Development of quality of life indicators for the City of Winnipeg. (City of Winnipeg; contributor)
1996-2001 - Global Environment Outlook-1 and 2000. (UNEP; Collaborating Centre leader)
1997 - Review of performance measurement strategies and indicators in the context of sustainable development. (Industry Canada; contributor)
1996-97 - Measuring sustainability in North American communities (Winnipeg, Canada; Guadalajara, Mexico; Seattle, US). (Commission for Environmental Cooperation) ; contributor
1996-97 - Bellagio Principles for Measuring SD. (Rockefeller Foundation; contributor)
1996-97 - Sustainable development of cities and regions – SUDECIR. (STENUM GmbH, Austria; project leader)
1996 - Mackenzie Basin Impact Study - climate change impact on aboriginal lifestyle. (Environment Canada; contributor)
1995-2010 - Sustainable development reporting for the Province of Manitoba. (Manitoba Conservation; contributor)
1994-2010 - Compendium of sustainable development initiatives and publications. (Environment Canada, Redefining Progress, World Bank, UN Division for Sustainable Development, International Sustainability Indicators Network; project leader)
1993-1994 - Community based comparative risk assessment in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. (Institute for Sustainable Communities, Montpelier, VT, USA; Consultant)
1992 - Lake Tata rehabilitation project. (Tata Environment Protection Society, Hungary; Consultant)
1992 - Use of commercial humic materials in wastewater treatment and soil decontamination. (Deltaco RT, Hungary; project leader)
