What is reliable prosperity?
At Ecotrust, we believe that reliable prosperity is achievable for all of
the world¹s living beings, human or other. The term "reliable prosperity" is borrowed from the late, great Jane Jacobs, whose books include the now-classics The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), The Economy of Cities (1968), and Cities and the Wealth of Nations (1984).
In the foreword to her last book, The Nature of Economies, Jacobs argues that reliable prosperity for all is not possible without a deeper connection with the natural order. She writes, "human beings exist wholly within nature as part of the natural order in every respect." She goes on to say, "This is difficult for many ecologists and economists to accept" and cautions that "readers unwilling or unable to breach a barrier that they imagine separates humankind and its works from the rest of nature will be unable to hear what
this book is saying."
At Ecotrust, we hear what Jacobs is saying. In our view, the world's cultural, political and economic systems are ultimately built on the back of the natural order, and the collapse of that order threatens everything else.
Jacobs was an influential member of Ecotrust's board prior to her death in 2006 at age 90.
Mission
Ecotrust's mission is to inspire fresh thinking that creates economic opportunity, social equity and environmental well-being. Ecotrust is headquartered in Portland and is a unique organization; it integrates public and private purpose and for-profit and non-profit structures. Ecotrust's many innovations include co-founding the world's first environmental bank, starting the world's first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, food, farms and children's health, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic and environmental decision-making. Ecotrust works locally in ways that promise hope abroad, and it takes inspiration from the wisdom of Native and First Nations. Over nearly 20 years, Ecotrust has converted $60 million in grants into more than $300 million in capital for local people, businesses, and organizations from Alaska to California.
Role
Ecotrust’s role is to innovate, invest and inspire. It is:
- A “think tank” and a “do tank” designed to identify and test deep innovation;
- A vehicle for access to capital to invest in promising innovations as proof of concept and scalability; and
- A growing constellation of public, private, for-profit and nonprofit organizations designed to inspire people around the world.
We work at a bioregional scale because there is a natural competitive advantage implicit in the particular characteristics of every bioregion, and because it has global application.
Measuring Success
Ecotrust measures success by the power and practice of our ideas. We convey our ideas here and abroad through stories of practice at home.
Initiatives
Consulting
Community Ecosystem Services
Fisheries
Food & Farms
Forestry
Knowledge Systems
Native Programs
Natural Capital Fund
History
The history of Ecotrust is a story of innovation, adaptation and evolution. A committed group of individuals led by Spencer Beebe founded Ecotrust in 1991 in Portland. Previously, Beebe co-founded Conservation International and served as the president of The Nature Conservancy International. Beebe and his colleagues founded Ecotrust with the goal of bringing to America the best sustainability and conservation ideas emerging around the world. The original Ecotrust mission to foster conservation-based development in local communities from Alaska to California eventually evolved into a more ambitious mission to help lead an American economic revolution by demonstrating new business models based on economic, social and environmental principles. Ecotrust believes the world needs new systems-based approaches to its challenges, because social, economic and environmental conditions are interconnected and interdependent parts of a larger system of life support. Only systemic solutions solve systemic problems.
Accomplishments
- Creating $300 million in capital for the people, communities and businesses of the West Coast (from Alaska to California).
- Publishing more than 25 books and hundreds of research papers and documents.
- Receiving $50 million in New Markets Tax Credits from the U.S. Treasury Department to pursue a forest ecosystem investment strategy.
- Mapping the coastal temperate rainforest of North America (spanning mid-Alaska to northern California), leading to its recognition as the largest forest of its type in the world.
- Working with the Haisla First Nation to protect the 800,000-acre Kitlope River rain forests watershed in British Columbia, perhaps the largest watershed of its type remaining in the world.
- Launching Ecotrust Forests LLC, the world's first forest ecosystem investment fund, now with thousands of acres under management on the West Coast.
- Co-founding the world's first environmental bank ShoreBank Pacific and Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia now with $300 million in assets.
- Creating the North Pacific Fisheries Trust, a $6 million fund for the benefit of local fishermen in Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
- Completing America's first LEED-certified-gold historic building renovation, the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center in Portland, Oregon.
- Launching a public forestry initiative with $1 million from the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Serving as a lynchpin in a $20 million local food network.
- Receiving an Andrew W. Mellon national award for innovation for creating technology that improves ocean use and planning.
- Building a network of America's most important indigenous leaders, and recognizing them each year with awards and financial support.
- Creating The New Mainstream, a Vivid Picture of Sustainable Agriculture in California, the first statewide, holistic assessment of agriculture in the world based on social, economic and environmental principles.
- Launching Salmon Nation, as a generous citizenship brand intended to connect people who live in all areas of the world where Pacific salmon swim.
