Imagine a University

This briefing is a transcript of an address by Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) delivered on July 17, 2013, at Appalachian State University. Lovins advocates for the adoption of 'integrative design' and 'natural capitalism' within university campuses to eliminate energy and material waste. He argues that universities should serve as living laboratories where students use a 'beginner's mind' to redesign buildings, food systems, and infrastructure, while simultaneously breaking down academic silos to foster transdisciplinary learning.

• The University of North Carolina (UNC) system demonstrated significant energy cost reductions over a decade, saving approximately $241 million. In the most recent calendar year, the system's annual energy bill decreased from about $290 million to $227 million, with $63 million saved across 17 campuses.
• Appalachian State University (ASU) achieved specific efficiency gains over ten years, including a 30% reduction in total energy use per square foot and the elimination of nearly one million gallons of annual fuel oil and most propane, despite a 39% increase in floor space.
• Integrative design can achieve extreme energy savings in specialized facilities. Examples include a CalTech lab retrofit that saved over 70% of its energy, fume hoods that can save upwards of 80% of energy, and an RMI data-center design capable of saving about 95% of energy and half of capital costs.

APA

Lovins, A. B. (2013). Imagine a University. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2013-12_ImagineAUniversity.pdf

Chicago

Lovins, Amory B. Imagine a University. RMI, 2013. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2013-12_ImagineAUniversity.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lovins |first1=Amory B. |title=Imagine a University |publisher=RMI |date=17 July 2013 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2013-12_ImagineAUniversity.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lovins2013imagine, author = {Lovins, Amory B.}, title = {{Imagine a University}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2013}, month = jul, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2013-12_ImagineAUniversity.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }