The Green Economics Institute was founded in the United Kingdom in 2004 and has grown into one of the largest green research centers in the world. It is an international non-governmental

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

, non-profit organisation

Nonprofit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 which operates in 47 different countries, leading a global movement for change through green economics

Green economy

A green economy is one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities - United Nations Environment Programme...

. It is operated by a core team of 20 economists and researchers, including Miriam Kennet

Miriam Kennet

Miriam Kennet is an economist and founder of the Green Economics Institute.. She is editor of the International Journal of Green Economics, the first peer-reviewed international journal which proposes and fosters discussion on all aspects of green economics...

 and Volker Heinemann, and directs a network of 5000 professionals on whose work it can draw for specialist inputs into bids and projects. It publishes an international networking magazine, The Green Economist

The Green Economist

The Green Economist is a news journal, published independently by the Green Economics Institute. It provides a networking update on the activities of the GEI, including campaigns, conferences, training courses and publications...

. The Institute also offers training programmes and examinations to obtain a Masters in Green Economics, and runs a large international internships programme during the summer. Its central offices are based in Reading, England.

Green Economics

As defined by the Green Economics Institute, green economics is "Progressive Economics, reclaiming economics for all people everywhere - women, nature, other species, the planet and its systems".

Green Economics Institute Founder and CEO Miriam Kennet

Miriam Kennet

Miriam Kennet is an economist and founder of the Green Economics Institute.. She is editor of the International Journal of Green Economics, the first peer-reviewed international journal which proposes and fosters discussion on all aspects of green economics...

 describes green economics as:

"Green Economics is the green movement's challenge to main stream orthodoxy in economics and it is gaining ground globally and in the corridors of power as the best alternative to solving climate change, the credit crunch, poverty and biodiversity losses. It is about providing reclaiming the practices and policies of economics, for all people everywhere, nature, other species, the planet and its systems. It is about provisioning for the needs, impacts, effects and responsibilities, for everyone and everything on the planet.

Founders

The Green Economics Institute was founded by Miriam Kennet

Miriam Kennet

Miriam Kennet is an economist and founder of the Green Economics Institute.. She is editor of the International Journal of Green Economics, the first peer-reviewed international journal which proposes and fosters discussion on all aspects of green economics...

 and Volker Heinemann in 2004.

Miriam Kennet

Miriam Kennet

Miriam Kennet is an economist and founder of the Green Economics Institute.. She is editor of the International Journal of Green Economics, the first peer-reviewed international journal which proposes and fosters discussion on all aspects of green economics...

, co-founder, director and CEO of the Green Economics Institute, received an MAIB in Economics and International Business from South Bank University, and most recently an MSC in Environmental Science and Economics from the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

. She has researched into environmental economics at South Bank University, Oxford University, and Keele University

Keele University

Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...

.

Volker Heinemann, co-founder and director of the Institute, holds a Masters degree in Economics. He is a former German Green Councillor and is currently an associate editor of the International Journal of Green Economics. He is author of 'Die Oekonomie der Zukunft', a book that investigates future economic trends in the developed world. It is based on the idea that a new economic science, free from any neo-liberal or other normative bias is needed: green economics.

Research

The Green Economics Institute's research is focused on three key aspects:

1. The reform of main stream economics
   Economics
   Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
   
    by means of robust research into alternatives and existing theories, and how these can be made more relevant and practical.
2. The creation and development of the new "Greening the Economy" discourse of green economics
   Green economy
   A green economy is one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities - United Nations Environment Programme...
   
   .
3. Research into policy formulation and implementation which would provide economics with the philosophy, methodology, ontology and instruments to bring social and environmental justice.

The Institute's philosophy is summarized as follows:

"The aim is that as a result more people enjoy a better quality of life. There is a focus on corporate activities and the globalisation process and their impacts on a range of stakeholders including indigenous peoples, minorities, women, people in less developed countries and non human species and the biosphere and also the conventional wisdoms of trickle down theories, growth and development."

Conferences

The Green Economics Institute runs several international conferences. The main one is the annual Green Economics Conference, held every summer at Oxford University. Other conferences include the Women's Unequal Pay Conference in March 2009, the Green Built Environment and Long-Termism Conference in January 2011, the Green Economics Methodology Conference in October 2011, the One World Conference in October 2011, and the South Africa Conference in December 2011.

Publications

The Green Economics Institute produces several publications, such as its magazine The Green Economist

The Green Economist

The Green Economist is a news journal, published independently by the Green Economics Institute. It provides a networking update on the activities of the GEI, including campaigns, conferences, training courses and publications...

and books the Green Economics Reader and the Handbook of Green Economics - A Practitioner's Guide.