“At Rocky Mountain Institute we are practitioners, not theorists. We do solutions, not problems. We do transformation, not incrementalism.”
–Amory Lovins

Who We Are

Rocky Mountain Institute is an independent, entrepreneurial, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) think-and-do tank. Co-founded in 1982 by Amory Lovins, who remains an active thought leader as Chairman and Chief Scientist, the Colorado-based organization now has approximately 75 full-time staff, an annual budget of nearly $12 million, and a global reputation.  

What We Do

RMI excels in radical resource efficiency, especially via integrative design. We drive progress chiefly by transforming design, identifying and busting barriers, and spreading innovation. 

(Watch the video to see what RMI and its supporters have created together.)

We collaborate with business, government, and civil society to show that:

• Whole-system thinking reveals interconnections and systemic solutions, which are often simpler, cheaper, and able to solve multiple problems with single investments.
• Energy and resource efficiency increase security, reliability, and opportunity for profit and long-term advantage.
• Saving resources is cheaper than buying them.

Our Strategic Focus

RMI’s strategic focus is to drive the business-led transition from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewables by 2050. In autumn 2011, we published an ambitious synthesis—Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era—showing how that shift can be led by business for profit.

Built on 30 years of research and collaboration in the four energy-using sectors of the economy—buildings, electricity, industry, and transportation—Reinventing Fire maps pathways for running a 158 percent-bigger U.S. economy in 2050 but needing no oil, no coal, no nuclear energy, and one-third less natural gas. This transition costs $5 trillion less than business as usual, counting all externalities at zero, and is attainable with no new inventions nor Acts of Congress.

Driving Impact

RMI generates breakthrough insights and drives their adoption by engaging with leading players in key industries. That’s why we call ourselves a “think-and-do” tank.

Our donor-funded research reveals novel, often transdisciplinary solutions to tough problems. Through donor support, RMI has the freedom to apply its unique expertise in areas where others cannot venture, to pursue public benefit with a long view, and to choose projects that make our vision of a world thriving, verdant, and secure become reality.

Our collaborations with society’s most effective change agent, business, test and refine our ideas and accelerate the depth, scale, and speed of progress

RMI focuses its implementation efforts in specific market-driven initiatives across the four sectors that use fossil fuels:

Buildings consume 42 percent of the nation’s energy and 72 percent of its electricity. RMI envisions an energy efficiency revolution that could revitalize the real-estate sector, create jobs, and help to rejuvenate the national economy while dramatically reducing the need for fossil fuels. Read More

Fossil fuels generate 70 percent of the nation’s electricity. But RMI’s analysis shows that, after profitable efficiency measures, at least 80 percent of electricity in 2050 can be reliably and affordably produced from wind, solar, and other renewable sources. Read More

The U.S. burns 13 million barrels of oil a day, three-fourths of its total oil use, for transportation. The hidden costs of U.S. oil dependence total roughly $1.5 trillion a year, twice what we pay for the oil, bringing its total cost to one-sixth of GDP—plus any costs to independence, security, stability, health, and environment. RMI has targeted trucking, electric vehicle infrastructure, and vehicle lightweighting as primary focus areas. Read More

U.S. industry generates more than 40 percent of the country’s GDP and employs almost 20 million people. Doubling its energy efficiency by 2050 can economically invigorate and de-risk the sector, creating jobs and driving global competitiveness. RMI works on design challenges for industrial processes and equipment, including electricity-hungry users like data centers and high-tech manufacturing. Read More

Join the Team

Find out about the current job openings at RMI.