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  • About The Institute

    The Sustainability Institute was founded in 1996 by the late Donella (Dana) Meadows to apply systems thinking and organizational learning to economic, environmental and social challenges.

     

    Philosophy

    We believe that unsustainability does not arise out of ignorance, irrationality or greed. It is largely the collective consequence of rational, well-intended decisions made by people caught up in systems – ranging from families and communities to corporations, governments and economies – that make it difficult or impossible to act in ways that are fully responsible to all those affected in the present and to future generations.

     

    Mission

    • Shift mindsets – values, attitudes, and beliefs – when they are out of step with the realities of a finite planet and a globally powerful human race.
    • Restructure systems when the rewards and incentives of the system are inconsistent with long term social, environmental, and economic goals.
    • Build the capability to manage and learn in complex environmental, social, and economic systems.

     

    Role

    The Sustainability Institute works for change in three ways:

    • Through workshops, leadership development, and consulting, we provide tools of systems thinking and organizational learning to clients and partners working on issues of sustainability, helping them to be more strategic, engage multiple stakeholders, and learn continuously.
    • We target specific systems and issues, including natural resource economies, climate change, energy, and regional development, where our tools and research can help with the transition to sustainability.
    • We draw insights from our consulting, workshops, and research to develop conceptual frameworks for large-scale change toward sustainable systems.




  1. Donella Meadows Leadership Fellows Program

    The mission of SI’s Fellowship Program is to accelerate the shift to global sustainability by increasing the effectiveness of well-positioned sustainability leaders.  Fellows learn to address social, economic and environmental issues at their root causes while benefiting from a national and international network of talented and supportive colleagues. More (+)

  2. CLIMATE INTERACTIVE

    Climate Interactive, a program of Sustainability Institute, is a collaboration of business people, academics, not-for-profits, and scientists committed to using innovative approaches to address climate change. The mission of this program is to develop, extend, and distribute powerful, open-innovation climate simulations for the world to share.More (+)

  3. THINKING IN SYSTEMS – THE BOOK

    thinking-in-systems-the-book"In Dana Meadows's brilliantly integrative worldview, everything causes everything else; cause and effect loop back on themselves. She was the clearest thinker and writer co-creating the art and science of systems dynamics, and Thinking in Systems distills her lifetime of wisdom. This clear, fun-to-read synthesis will help diverse readers everywhere to grasp and harness how our complex world really works." —Amory B. Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute More about the book (+)

  4. The Voice of a Global Citizen – The Archive

    “Systems thinking can lead us to the edge of what analysis can do and then point beyond - to what can and must be done by the human spirit.”    -Donella (Dana) Meadows More Archives (+)