Tellus Institute
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The Tellus Institute is a not-for-profit research and policy organization formed in 1976, and located in Boston, MA (USA). The Institute's mission is to advance the transition to a sustainable, equitable, and humane global civilization. Tellus is an international leader in assessing critical environment and development issues, conducting research in thousands of projects throughout North America and the world. Tellus has worked at every level -- global, regional, national, local, and enterprise -- and has focused on energy, water, sustainable communities, corporate social responsibility, and climate change. Their projects seek to integrate perspectives that illuminate linkages across spatial scales and the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of development. The Institute’s sponsors -- foundations, government agencies, multilateral organizations, civil society organizations, and business -- reflect this diversity.
Tellus develops and supports a suite of software tools for strategic planning that are used throughout the world by governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions. Its major tools are:
- LEAP: Energy-Environment Planning
- WEAP: Water Planning
- PoleStar: Sustainability Planning
- WastePlan: Solid Waste Planning
- DSTAIR: Anti-Corruption Analysis
One of the Institute's current major efforts is the the Great Transition Initiative, a global network for elaborating visions and strategies for a future of enriched lives, global solidarity and a healthy planet. GTI’s scholars and activists work to give texture, rigor and direction to the popular slogan “another world is possible.” It builds on the work of the Global Scenario Group (GSG), which for a decade has been at the forefront of envisioning and analyzing alternative global futures. With a distinguished roster of 200 participants from over 40 countries, GTI is uniquely positioned to reach out to those seeking an improved understanding of global challenges and a positive framework for addressing them.
As of December, 2006, the Institute's President was Dr. Paul Raskin.
Website: Tellus Institute Homepage
