L. Hunter Lovins (born L. Sheldon, February 26, 1950, in Middlebury, Vermont) is an American environmentalist, author, and advocate for sustainable development. She helped start the Rocky Mountain Institute and currently serves as president of the nonprofit group Natural Capitalism Solutions.

Education and career

Lovins earned an undergraduate degree in sociology and political science from Pitzer College in 1972 and a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School in 1975.

As a lawyer licensed in the State Bar of California, Lovins helped create the urban forestry and environmental education group California Conservation Project (Tree People) and worked as their assistant director for about six years. She also served as a policy adviser for Friends of the Earth under David Brower.

In 1982, Hunter Lovins and Amory Lovins started the Rocky Mountain Institute in Snowmass, Colorado. At first, they operated the research foundation from their home and called it a "think-and-do-tank." Hunter Lovins led the institute's strategy as CEO until 2002.

Lovins has taught at several universities, including Dartmouth College, where she was a Henry R. Luce visiting professor, and Pinchot University, which later became Presidio Graduate School in 2016.

In 2013, Hunter Lovins mentored participants at Unreasonable at Sea, a technology business accelerator for social entrepreneurs. This program was founded by Unreasonable Group, Semester at Sea, and Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design.

Lovins is a founding professor of the MBA in sustainability at Bard College and continues to teach there.

She has spoken at major events, including the World Economic Forum, the United States Congress, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development. She has also provided consulting services to citizen groups, governments, and corporations.

Lovins is credited with creating the term "global weirding," a variation of "global warming," in the early 2000s. This term describes unusual weather patterns that were not previously observed.

Awards and recognition

In 1983, she and Amory Lovins were given the Right Livelihood Award for developing new energy methods to help keep the world safe.

Lovins received the Nissan Award in 1993 for writing an article about the Hypercar. In 1999, the Lindbergh Foundation honored her with the Lindbergh Award for important work in energy and environmental practices. In 2001, she was awarded the Leadership in Business Award at the Natural Business Conference for her contributions to promoting healthy and sustainable lifestyles.

In 2000, she was recognized by Loyola Law School’s Alumni Association with the Board of Governors Recognition Award. The next year, Lovins and her co-authors of Natural Capitalism received the Shingo Prize for research in manufacturing. In 2005, she was given the Distinguished Alumni Award by Pitzer College.

In 2000, Time magazine listed Lovins as one of their "Heroes for the Planet."

Publications

Lovins co-authored the following books:

• Energy/War, Breaking the Nuclear Link (1981)
• Brittle Power: Energy Strategy for National Security (1982)
• Least-Cost Energy: Solving the CO2 Problem (1981)
• The First Nuclear World War: A Strategy for Preventing Nuclear Wars and the Spread of Nuclear Weapons (1983)
• Energy Unbound: A Fable for America's Future (1986)
• Green Development: Integrating Ecology and Real Estate (1998)
• Factor 4: Doubling Wealth – Halving Resource Use and Least Cost Energy (1998) with Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker
• Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (1999)
• Climate Capitalism: Capitalism in the Age of Climate Change (2011)
• The Way Out: Kickstarting Capitalism to Save Our Economic Ass (2012)
• Creating a Lean and Green Business System: Techniques for Improving Profits and Sustainability (2013)
• A Finer Future: Creating an Economy in Service to Life (2018) with Stewart Wallis, Anders Wijkman, and John B. Fullerton

Lovins has also written articles for Unreasonable Group's online hub, which focuses on social entrepreneurship.