HARTLAND VT, USA (September 18, 2009) The Sustainability Institute, founded in 1996 by the late Donella Meadows, announced this week the appointment of Bastiaan "Bas" de Leeuw as their new executive director. Mr. de Leeuw's move from his current position, leading the United Nations Sustainable Resource Management Program, will help the Institute strengthen its global support program for Climate Change negotiators, its modeling and outreach work addressing other key environmental challenges and its leadership development program, the Donella Meadows Fellowship.

During his 12 years with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Mr. de Leeuw launched various programmes and initiatives, in particular UNEP's Sustainable Consumption Programme, the Advertising Initiative, YouthXchange, SC.net, the Life Cycle Initiative and the Wuppertal Institute's Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production. Early on, de Leeuw was instrumental in promoting and designing the UN's "Marrakech Process", aimed at building an international ten-year framework of programs on Sustainable Consumption and Production. Most recently, he played a leading role in developing the International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management, a think-tank on global resource use chaired by Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsaecker, with Mr. De Leeuw as Head of the Secretariat.

Regarding his time with UNEP, de Leeuw had this to say, "Throughout my time there, one of the most rewarding aspects was working with a young team of diverse nationalities (Australian, Austrian, Brazilian, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Kazakhstani, Kenyan, Korean, Mexican, Norwegian, Peruvian, UK and USA), all eager to make a difference, while respecting various cultures and values. We all learned to have patience and make compromises where necessary for the greater good. The UN's greatest assets are their junior staff. I am grateful for that experience and now look forward to working with SI's dedicated multidisciplinary team of scientists, writers, project managers and trainers, who are currently gearing up for the UN Climate Change Conference [COP15] in Copenhagen."

The Sustainability Institute (SI) and its partners, Ventana Systems and the Sloan School of Management at MIT, have developed a scientifically-grounded system dynamics model (C-ROADS) to help decision makers achieve more effective national and international climate policies. In partnership with the Global Observatory, C-ROADS will be used to provide real-time analysis of the implications of the Copenhagen summit to global media and to civil society groups lobbying for a strong, science-based agreement. The SI and partners also provide easy-to-use, open-source climate change support tools on the Internet, suitable for schoolteachers as well as technical advisors.

"The current climate crisis demands a global solution: nations must collaborate and they must act fast. National leaders and their negotiators must see clearly how their positions interact strongly with those of other nations, to either facilitate or obstruct the global solution required to avert environmental catastrophe", said de Leeuw, who will take up his position in November. The December Copenhagen Summit, tasked with agreeing to a framework for climate change mitigation beyond 2012, is only a few months away.

Mr. De Leeuw notes that climate change is not the only pending crisis. "We must also deal with global natural resource scarcity, increasing prices, worsening labor conditions and environmental degradation, all intensified by global interdependence and financial instability. But these challenges also provide opportunities to break old habits and develop better patterns of production and consumption, respecting nature and humanity. We need to find solutions based on the same science-based systems thinking that the world is now applying to climate change."

To help grapple with these issues, SI's Donella Meadows Fellowship Program trains sustainability leaders from around the world in systems thinking and organizational learning. Currently, 74 Fellows apply these skills to their high impact work in corporations, government, foundations and civil society organizations in over 16 countries including Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and The Netherlands. The Fellows Program reinforces the Institute's commitment to ensuring that a diversity of voices and experiences will help shape policy at every level, from global to local.

From his 12 years of service at the UNEP, Mr. de Leeuw brings to the SI a wealth of experience in resource management and strong relationships with sustainability leaders around the world in government, non-profits and the private sector. Mr. de Leeuw looks forward to strengthening the connections between his networks and the work of the SI. A January 2010 International Symposium on Sustainability in Mumbai, India, where Mr. de Leeuw is a member of the organizing committee and an invited speaker, will provide an early opportunity to develop those connections, which are so critical in addressing complex international sustainability issues.

Contact Info: For more information about the Sustainability Institute, visit www.sustainabilityinstitute.org or call +1 802 436 1277.

To contact Bas de Leeuw: + 33 6 86 68 12 40, (skype b.deleeuw1) or bas.deleeuw1@gmail.com

For more information about SI’s climate program, contact Andrew Jones, apjones@sustainer.org, +1 828 236 0884 or Dr. Elizabeth Sawin, bethsawin@sustainer.org, +1 802 436 1277 ext 103.

For more information about SI’s fellowship program, contact Edie Farwell, efarwell@sustainer.org, +1 802 436 1277 ext 106 or Nancy Gabriel, ngabriel@sustainer.org, +1 802 436 1277 ext 109.

Website : The Sustainability Institute