International Sustainable Solutions (i-SUSTAIN) was started in 2003 while Patricia Chase and Jayson Antonoff were living in Denmark. They were very impressed by the systematic approach the Danish and Swedish governments and people had to urban development. They thought they had to share it with the people in Seattle. After a handful of successful study tours, they realized there were other cities that solved the same problems in different ways and with different challenges. Patricia has spent the last eight years traveling the world and meeting the experts who are responsible for implementing leading sustainability practices. As a result, she has become increasingly dedicated to understanding the role of cities in improving the well being of its citizens while decreasing resource consumption and the impact on the environment.

Luis F. Borrero met Patricia when Jayson was starting his work for the city of Seattle. Luis was doing research and communication materials to push sustainable thinking among his peers. They decided to leverage their talents to achieve better results. They cofounded the International Sustainablitity Institute, a non-profit, to spend more resources in the education part of their work under a structure that would suit them better. They were soon joined by Todd Vogel, an expert in public/academic relationships who continues to run the Institute as its Executive Director.

In 2010 Luis was made a partner at International Sustainable Solutions and they rebranded the firm as I-SUSTAIN. They have centralized all their research and educational projects under the umbrella of a for profit corporation with a social cause.