Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
They are “practitioners, not theorists. They do solutions, not problems. They do transformation, not incrementalism –Amory Lovins, Co-founder, Chairman and Chief Scientist. Rocky Mountain Institute is an independent, entrepreneurial non profit think-and-do tank™ that drives the efficient and restorative use of resources. Established in 1982 by Amory and Hunter Lovins.
As a group of industry experts, thought leaders (major mindStylers) and engineers RMI focuses on breaking through basic challenges related to energy and resources. Amory Lovins, is an American consultant, experimental physicist and 1993 MacArthur Fellow and has been active at the nexus of energy, resources, environment, development, and security in more than 50 countries for 35 years, including 14 years based in England.
He is widely considered among the world’s leading authorities on energy—especially its efficient use and sustainable supply—and a fertile innovator in integrative design. Since their founding in 1982, RMI has focused on efficiency and renewables, and their primary objective going forward is to move the United States beyond the fossil fuel economy. They work on all parts of the solution process—idea, strategy, and implementation—in the following interconnected areas:
Build Environment Their work in the built environment takes an integrated approach by seeking to increase energy efficiency while simultaneously addressing building and community design, comfort, and health. RMI’s work on hundreds of successful buildings of different types in different climates dispels the notion that increasing energy efficiency or taking steps to reduce emissions negatively affects economics, comfort, or aesthetics.
Energy & Resources: Their mission is to eliminate electricity’s contribution to climate change by immediately transitioning to energy efficiency and renewables. What’s exciting is that even in light of significant challenges such as climate change, this vision is vital and is within our reach. Many of the necessary elements have been shown to work or are on the verge of becoming technologically and economically viable.
Mobility + Vehicle Efficiency: Systems from over 20 years of research in sustainable transportation, including RMI’s Nissan-award winning Hypercar, Inc., work during the 1990s. Since then, RMI has pushed the industry towards integrated platform design, lightweighting, advanced drive trains, energy storage and innovative fueling options through research and project engagements.
They create breakthrough efficiency solutions in our core automotive and trucking sectors and have expanded into freight and integrated transport systems. Currently, mobility in the world is 99 percent oil-fueled. RMI is focused on catalysing profitable, efficiency-led solutions to reduce this reliance on oil.”
“Imagine a world where carbon emissions have long been steadily declining—at a handsome profit, because saving fuel costs less than buying fuel; where global climate has stabilised and repair has begun; and where this planetary near-death experience has finally made antisocial and unacceptable the arrogance that let cleverness imperil the whole human prospect by outrunning wisdom.” –Amory Lovins.
