Collegium International endeavours to meet this challenge progressively by developing diagnoses, building concepts and creating forums with the ultimate goal of establishing blueprints for ethically responsible political policy and action. Prominent scientists, economists, philosophers and scholars engage, on a par with political figures at the highest levels, in a structured and ongoing exchange from which new ideas are sparked. At stake is meeting the demands of the historical present while taking the time to outline sound principles of governance by contrast to mere pragmatism. Sustainable forms of political policy at all levels are developed in opposition to shortsighted single-issue approaches. As such, the Collegium aims to provide a multifaceted warning that clarifies the causes of contemporary crises, and formulates coherent responses to the increasingly resounding question of what is to be done. In this spirit the Collegium produces scientifically informed and globally imperative guidelines for effective ethical action.

The Collegium maintains a dynamic relationship with the United Nations and its agencies, as well as with various political authorities and scholars, in an effort to make political policy responsive to the concrete needs and the legitimate concerns of people the world over. Uniting the high ethical standards of its members with their political and scientific expertise, the Collegium intends to provide bold and creative approaches to questions regarding the practical possibilities for a more just—and a more environmentally and economically sustainable—world. To this end the Collegium is preparing a White Book for publication, the successive chapters of which offer a systemic approach to confronting the interdependent crises that threaten the human and natural world. Beyond the White Book, the Collegium is preparing a publication series that tackles particular crises in their specificity.