Integrating modeling and empirical approaches can be challenging, and as a consequence, scientific communities remain separate. By themselves, both modeling and empirical approaches reach the limits of what they can explain. “Integrating empirical and modeling approaches can shed light onto complex causal processes that affect sustainability,” says co-author Kirill Orach. From there, the authors draw several key insights into the benefits of integration:Modelling can strengthen the design of empirical studies and can be used to gain additional insights into their results. Where prior understanding of causal relations is lacking, empirical approaches can inform model development; vice versa, modeling can help empirical approaches find the right focus.