Alan AtKisson

The story of how I became involved in sustainability work is told in the opening pages of my first book, Believing Cassandra: An Optimist Looks at a Pessimist's World. (The Amazon.com excerpt gives you the gist of this story.) It involves my encounter with another book, the original version of The Limits to Growth, first published in 1972, and recently updated.

In short, despite massive intellectual attacks on their work, the original authors of Limits have been proven right. We're growing our way into dangerous territory -- climate change, resource shortages, and social instability are all just symptoms. Back in 1979, some little bell went ding-ding-ding when I first read Limits, together with a slew of other books. I know now, in retrospect, that those books set the course of my life. I felt compelled to do something.

So ... I work as a consultant on sustainable development. What that means is that I dabble in strategy, policy, economics, organizational development, communications, even songwriting, whatever it takes to help get a message across or frame an initiative for change more effectively. I often act as a bridge between science and strategy. My clients range from idealistic international initiatives on a new ethics for the Earth (the Earth Charter), to the U.S. Department of Defense. Between those extremes, as most would see them, are quite a number of foundations, government agencies in a dozen nations, international NGOs, UN programs in Asia, large companies, and small communities.

This diversity of practice keeps me connected to the diversity of the sustainability movement. It's not easy, this worldchanging stuff ... but the work gives plenty of opportunities for inspiration and amazement. Recently, one of my favorite clients was a 100-year-old steamboat that plies the waters of Stockholm's Archipelago: the Captain wants to make it both ecological and climate neutral. At the other end of the world, one of my training-program participants is trying to save elephants by helping the survivors in post-tsunami Aceh rebuild their villages along more sustainable lines.

I manage a small, but global, network of consultants and small firms, called the AtKisson Group. We're in the US, Europe (where I live), Australia, SE Asia, India and Japan. You can read about us at www.AtKisson.com.