Much environmental research will never have the social impact that it could because it is carried out in institutions that are bound to traditional approaches misaligned with current needs and developed without active engagement with decision makers. Connecting environmental science to environmental problems is more than good science communication or writing a “broader impacts” statement, yet these are too often approaches put forward as pathways to bring science out of the lab and into the real world. In this session we highlight environmental change research having demonstrable impact in the world despite institutional barriers. If you collaborate on sea level rise projections with a coastal city, work in a climate services organization that supports municipal infrastructure planning, model disease vector spread related to warming climate with a health department or do other science that is both socially and scientifically impactful, join us to share how these barriers can be overcome.