Areas of Focus

Blackstone Ranch Institute supports innovative initiatives that respond to a range of environmental challenges. Our understanding of deep societal change is that it needs to take place across all social sectors and in a number of key areas to be truly effective. As we change, we anticipate that the areas of focus and the mix of social sectors and organizational partners will change as well to reflect broader changes in society and the opportunities that present themselves.

Cities »
Cities

The majority of the world’s population now lives in cities. Cities are where the majority of the world’s environmental problems are concentrated, but they are also the sources of the greatest civic, scientific and business innovations that will address those problems. We have been supporting cutting edge urban sustainability initiatives since our inception.

View Cities: Laboratories for Innovation in Sustainability from our ten year review (a 10-page, 229kb PDF).
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Ecosystems »
Ecosystems

One of the most important dimensions of a healthy environment are nature's ecosystems. They provide habitat for increasingly endangered species, for the cultivation of biodiversity, and for the protection of natural systems which benefit and are integral to the continued survival of human society. A growing number of companies, municipalities, and private landowners are actively searching for the best ways to protect the ecosystems upon which their livelihoods and those of surrounding communities depend. At Blackstone Ranch Institute we have supported innovative efforts dedicated to the cultivation of an ethic of ecological stewardship and sustainable management.

View Ecosystems: Conserving Biodiversity and the Human Species from our ten year review (a 10-page, 557kb PDF).
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Energy »
Energy

In the years to come, an increasing number of metropolitan areas and communities will rely on a mixed portfolio of energy supplies that will be tailored to their needs and regional ecosystems. The variety of sources will grow beyond fossil fuels to include wind and solar power, the use of biomass and biofuels, and will necessitate the development of a workforce that will be responsible for developing and managing a new energy infrastructure. We have supported projects and networks that will advance the use and distribution of renewable energies.

View Energy: The Key to a More Sustainable Future from the our ten year review (a 12-page, 250kb PDF).
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Future Leaders »
Future Leaders

Perhaps the most important factor in the development of environmentally sustainable practices in the future is the behavior of coming generations. While most of the initiatives we fund involve newer generations as leaders or participants, we have at times supported initiatives aimed directly at educating or nurturing networks of future leaders.

View The Future: The Work of Coming Generations from our ten year review (a 10-page, 1.1MB PDF).
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Global Networks »
Global Networks

When we first started offering grants, we wanted to concentrate on building a network of organizational partners in North America. We did not see ourselves as working globally. But we were already funding initiatives that would have global impact by our second and third years. As we developed relationships with those doing global work, we started looking for initiatives that would involve multiple countries and weave together multiple goals rather than focus our attention on individual projects.

View Global Networks: Innovation Around the World from our ten year review (a 12-page, 1.2MB PDF).
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Health, Agriculture and the Human Environment »
Health, Agriculture and the Human Environment

An increasing number of communities are starting to re-examine the relationships between the health of their citizens, the quality of the foods they eat, the buildings they inhabit and the ecological impact of agricultural and building practices on their environments. Truly healthy diets depend upon a variety of naturally grown vegetables and animals, and the agricultural practices that support them can contribute to preservation of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. Similarly, the buildings we live and work in have a direct effect on collective energy use, the physical and esthetic qualities of our daily lives, and their surrounding environments. It is at the intersection of personal health and our immediate environments that broader environmental concerns have the most direct impact on individual lives. At Blackstone we have sought to support initiatives that can take the growing emergence of local initiatives to national scales.

View Our Living Environments: The Dynamics of Social and Personal Ecology from our ten year review (a 10-page, 393kb PDF).
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Cities

The majority of the world’s population now lives in cities. Cities are where the majority of the world’s environmental problems are concentrated, but they are also the sources of the greatest civic, scientific and business innovations that will address those problems. We have been supporting cutting edge urban sustainability initiatives since our inception.

View Cities: Laboratories for Innovation in Sustainability from our ten year review (a 10-page, 229kb PDF).

return to main Areas of Focus listing »

Areas of Focus

Cities

Ecosystems

Energy

Future Leaders

Global Networks

Health, Agriculture and the Human Environment

Cities