How did you first learn of RMI’s work?
Rachel: “Environmentalist network.” Adam: “Ralph Cavanagh, a brilliant and witty person has worked for decades leading NRDC’s demand side management initiatives. Ralph holds Amory in highest regard and I hold Ralph in highest regard, so the connection was made.”
What attracts you to RMI’s work?
Rachel: “It’s, ‘You can make a profit and help the Earth.’ Th is will appeal to many powerful polluters, most of whom think not of their fellow men or even, apparently, of their children’s future.”
Adam: “I remember in the early ’90s learning of Paul Erlich’s IPAT equation (environmental Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology) and thinking that it made a bunch of sense. When Rachel and I founded the ARIA Foundation we decided to search for organizations with the potential to move one of those factors in a real way. I got very excited when I read some of Amory’s articles on the Hypercar and the more I learned about his vision for revolutionizing the way we get and use energy, the more I felt RMI would fill the bill in shifting the ‘T’.”
You’ve been on the Board of RMI since 1998, what are you most proud of during your tenure?
Rachel: “Adam and a few other functioning board members and staff pulling together excellent board and staff teams.”
Adam: “As a board member I look for ways to make a difference and it was clear to me (and to Amory) that change needed to happen if RMI was going to have the level of impact that was clearly possible. You think about potential for impact and RMI to my eyes was like a huge boulder resting at the top of a hill being blocked by a few small rocks. There were a lot of good people and good work being done at that time, but the level of influence was not anywhere close to what it should have been. The board really was not functioning at a high level and good staff people weren’t sticking around. I knew I could help change the dynamic, so working with key board and staff members we rolled up our sleeves and got those little rocks out of the way. Today it’s ‘look out below!’”
Is there any one area of RMI’s work that gets you really excited?
Rachel: “Getting business people to realize there is profit in ‘greening’—hopefully our pathetic government will follow suite.”
Adam: “I am fixated by how we use energy in this country. It is so rare that we can find such an obvious huge win-win on so many levels and RMI is right in the middle of it. It continually amazes me how difficult it is to do something that is so clearly good for the environment, job creation, and our wallets. Finally things are beginning to shift, and it’s no small credit to RMI.”
What are your hopes for RMI’s future?
Rachel: “RMI’s team will get more into ‘greening’ government sectors as well as keep growing its ‘environmentalizing’ businesses.”
Adam: “Al Gore wrote in the forward to the Earth in Balance that one of the main reasons he said he was writing the book was that it was what he really knew and felt, and that he hoped that if he ever ran for office again his friends would remind him of what he had written. He did run for office and never spoke what he knew and what he felt about the environment. Th at was a huge disappointment but it woke me up to the huge limitations on even the best national political leader to truly lead. Th at leaves it largely to the non-profit sector to hold government accountable (which NRDC does so effectively) and mobilize the private sector to play more of a leading role. RMI sits at a unique and powerful nexus of charity and business. There is no other organization like it, and I think its potential to shift the way we think and live are unmatched.
You and Jesse Fink played a huge impromptu role at RMI25 … what motivated you to jump on stage and challenge everyone to join the NSC?
Rachel: “Success breeds success.”
Adam: “It was such a great gathering and from my view really was the Coming Out Party for RMI. As a group we were basically saying ‘we’re going to play on the bigger stage now and we’re going to make a bigger difference, so get on board.’ Jesse and I are both long-time, dedicated environmentalists and we both know that energy builds upon itself. What a great opportunity to encourage so many people who were perhaps just learning about the issues and learning what a great organization RMI is, to step up in a real way, support the work, and make a difference.”
What got you interested in the nonprofit world?
Rachel: “Maturation, along with realizing the world, and particularly the United States, is too tilted toward materialism, leaving nonprofit groups—which are generally underfunded—as the main societal watchdog.”
Adam: “I had met John Adams, the founding President of NRDC, in the early ’80s and we hit it off . He decided he would like a younger non-lawyer on the board, and so it came to pass. In 1990 I became actively involved in their strategic planning process and saw the dedication and knowledge that then board member, now President, Frances Beinecke brought to the table and realized that this nonprofit volunteer stuff was a something I could get serious about. I must have done a good job on the Strategic Planning Committee because after the process was over John asked me if I’d be willing to Chair either the newly formed Program or Fundraising Committee. I said I’d love to do the Program Committee, as that was clearly the sharp edge of the sword. John said ‘Great, I’m sure you’d do a good job, but you should realize that you can do the most good for the organization if you would head up the Fundraising Committee.’ Th at was an eye-opener for me and one of the main things I try to do with any organization I’m involved with is help build a ‘value-added board.’ Different boards need different things at different times, and over the years I’ve held pretty much every board leadership position, usually multiple times, always looking to where I personally can make the biggest contribution to the organization.”
You’re (Adam) on the board or have been on the boards of several organizations (Natural Resources Defense Council, Conservation International, Worldwatch Institute, Redefining Progress, Population Communications International, Futures for Children, and, of course, RMI). How about you, Rachel? What other organizations do you support and why?
Rachel: “I support all organizations our Foundation supports—it is a partnership.”
Why are you so involved with these particular organizations and how do they complement each other?
Rachel: “The environment and certain underdog groups of people need someone championing their causes. They’re both elements of the Earth that are too often ignored and left to fend for themselves. What do they have in common? They are more important than most people realize.”
Adam: “Our support for various issues usually starts with our priorities, which may be quite strategic (as in the case of the environment) or quite personal (as in the case with indigenous peoples). We then research the groups in the field looking for those that are particularly effective in their work and which have a unique and powerful approach to addressing the issues. For instance, Amazon Conservation Team’s support of indigenous peoples would be far less compelling to us if they did not teach them to use GPS systems to map their traditional lands, file a formal claim for them, and thereby gain the right to continue to manage them sustainably and evict illegal miners and loggers. We also try to support only one group in a sub-sector at a time. For instance, in the environmental arena we are active with and support NRDC (policy, advocacy, litigation, etc.), Redefining Progress (economics and environmental justice), Worldwatch Institute (environmental research and public education), Global Greengrants (support for a wide variety of international initiatives), Environmental Working Group (media and the environment), Berkshire Natural Resources Council (local land conservation), and Amazon Conservation Team (tropical biodiversity protection and empowerment of indigenous peoples).
Are there organizations that you, Rachel, have an interest in other than those mentioned? Any other interests of note?
Rachel: “I am on the board of Amazon Conservation Team (ACT). My work with indigenous peoples has made me want to give back.”
RMI works on efficiency in transportation, buildings, and infrastructure, and energy generation. Do you think RMI needs to apply its efforts in other areas? If so, what areas?
Rachel: “Let me say, if you truly tackle those four subjects you will change the world (and be very, very busy).”
Adam: “I strongly feel RMI is at a time in its organizational evolution when it needs to be strongly focused on really making a difference with a few priority issues, and the ones mentioned above would all make my short list. If this country were to truly shift the way it approaches any one of these priorities it would have a huge ripple effect throughout all sectors of our economy. To take on all of them in a meaningful way should keep us busy for a while.”
What could RMI do better?
Rachel: “Periodically ask yourselves—both board and staff —is the rubber hitting the road?”
Adam: “Making sure that its brilliant ideas actually get adopted. I think it’s now time to build more systematic and serious follow-through into RMI’s operations to ensure that its thought leadership becomes implementation leadership.”
