Donella Meadows Fellows retreat report (13Mb pdf)

Welcome to the Sustainability Institute.

We focus on understanding the root causes of unsustainable behavior in complex systems to help restructure systems and shift mindsets that will help move human society toward sustainability. Our staff includes biologists, writers, social scientists, system dynamics modelers, and facilitators bringing a wide variety of experiences and skills to our work.

We conduct stakeholder-based systems analysis and change projects through consulting, research, workshops, and facilitated systems thinking sessions for partner organizations. We facilitate reflective learning through learning histories, project evaluations and written publications in cross-sector partnerships. We also develop and conduct capacity building programs for leaders in nonprofits, government, and business.

Donella (Dana) Meadows, founder of the Sustainability Institute and lead author of Limits to Growth and Beyond the Limits, was a pioneer in the application of system dynamics to critical issues of human survival — poverty, growth in population and consumption, ecological degradation.