“At Rocky Mountain Institute we are practitioners, not theorists. We do solutions, not problems. We do transformation, not incrementalism.”
–Amory Lovins, Co-founder, Chairman and Chief Scientist
Who We Are
Rocky Mountain Institute is an independent, entrepreneurial, nonprofit think-and-do tank. Cofounded in 1982 by Amory Lovins, who remains its active thought leader, chairman, and chief scientist, the Colorado-based organization now has about 80 full-time staff, an annual budget of nearly $12 million and a global reach.
RMI’s efforts take three main forms: transforming design, busting barriers and spreading innovation. RMI emphasizes strategic influence—changing the mindset of the people who make the rules—and “institutional acupuncture” to get blocked business logic flowing.
Join the Team
Find out about the current job openings at RMI.
What We Do
RMI’s central approach first uses philanthropy-funded innovation to create new solutions to gnarly old problems. Our integrated team of researcher/practitioners then tests and refines that via targeted consulting engagements that support our mission.
RMI’s strategic focus is Reinventing Fire: mapping and driving the business-led transition from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewable energy. Key initiatives will focus on the transportation, building, industrial and electricity sectors. RMI’s innovative design techniques optimize whole-systems, an approach which allows industries to capture benefits that would be left behind under a compartmentalized approach, a discipline we call “tunneling through the cost barrier.”
Learn about RMI's Guiding Principles.
Download "What RMI's Supporters and Staff Created Together," to learn more about our work over the last 30 years.
How We Do It
We work chiefly in the United States but with global context and reach, spanning over 60 countries. RMI’s interdisciplinary research and practice have earned a worldwide reputation for integrity, quality, originality, daring, scholarship, clarity and effectiveness.
RMI’s research and consulting staff works with industry leaders and key stakeholders in three interconnected Core Practice areas:
Learn more about RMI's strategic roadmap to drive our goal of moving the United States beyond the fossil-fuel economy.