Earth Policy Institute, an independent environmental research organization founded in May 2001 by Lester R. Brown (founder and former president of Worldwatch Institute). Its mission is to provide a vision of what an environmentally sustainable economy--an eco-economy--will look like, a roadmap of how to get from here to there, and an ongoing assessment of where progress is being made and where it is not.

Current environmental research deals with various pieces of what it takes to build a sustainable future, but it does not provide a model or an overall plan. Unless we have a shared vision of where we want to go, we are not likely to get there.

Earth Policy Institute is disseminating its vision of an eco-economy via its book Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth and through brief Eco-Economy Updates, four-pagers that are designed for use by the media, can be read by busy policymakers, and can be easily distributed on the Internet. All information published by Earth Policy Institute is available online for free downloading. Individuals may also sign up to receive the Eco-Economy Updates by email.