Post Carbon Institute

What Post Carbon Institute does

Post Carbon Institute is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank founded in 2003 and headquartered in Corvallis, Oregon (legal entity Metafoundation, EIN 65-1208462). Its mission is to provide individuals and communities with the resources to understand and respond to the interrelated ecological, economic, energy, and equity crises of the 21st century, including fossil fuel depletion, climate change, resource limits, and the broader "polycrisis." The organization produces research, educational content, and events targeted at academics and researchers, environmental and social-justice NGOs, journalists, and sustainability-interested members of the general public.

Core products include the Resilience.org news and resource platform (1.2 million unique annual visitors), the Think Resilience online course (22 video lectures by Senior Fellow Richard Heinberg), podcasts (Crazy Town, What Could Possibly Go Right?, Human Nature Odyssey), a books and reports catalog including the 15-report Shale Bubble series by J. David Hughes and the Bloomberg-recognized title Power (2021), webinars and events, and a fee-based Speakers Bureau ($500-$10,000 per engagement). The platform architecture is a conventional content-and-publishing stack: a WordPress-based website, a dedicated online course environment at education.resilience.org, podcast distribution through Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and book distribution through Amazon, Bookshop.org, and New Society Publishers.

Revenue is generated primarily through individual donations (one-time and recurring), private foundation grants, retail book sales, and speaker fees, with most publications offered as free PDF downloads. The organization is led by Executive Director Asher Miller, governed by a Board of Directors (Board President Jason Bradford), and supported by a roster of advisors that includes William Rees, Nate Hagens, and Danielle Nierenberg. Headcount is approximately 13 staff members, and PCI is explicitly nonpartisan, declining affiliation with any government, corporate interest, religion, or political party.

Name

Post Carbon Institute

Legal name

Metafoundation

Website

https://postcarbon.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Post Carbon Institute is a nonprofit think tank that produces educational content on energy, climate, and community resilience through a news platform, online courses, podcasts, and publications, serving academics, NGOs, and the general public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Sustainability Research and Education

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Education, Capacity Building & Community Engagement (BPADALAO), Data Assurance, Audit & Attestation (ISAE 3000/3410, SOC, Chain-of-Custody) (EUABACAJ)

Keywords

• Sustainability research
• Environmental education
• Community resilience
• Energy policy analysis
• Nonprofit publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Corvallis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The majority of funding comes from individual donors through one-time and monthly recurring contributions.
2. Private Foundation Grants: Funding received from private foundations supporting environmental and sustainability work.
3. Book Sales: Revenue from selling books and publications through retail channels and direct sales.
4. Speaking Fees: Fees charged for speaker appearances ranging from $1,000-$10,000 for in-person and $500-$3,000 for virtual presentations.
5. Event Revenue: Webinars and events featuring expert speakers on sustainability topics.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Post Carbon Institute is a nonprofit think tank that produces and disseminates educational content and independent research on energy, climate, and community resilience. Its commercialized outputs include the Resilience.org daily news site (1.2M annual visitors), the Think Resilience online course, podcasts (Crazy Town, What Could Possibly Go Right?), research reports and books (e.g., Welcome to the Great Unraveling, Shale Bubble series, Power), and a paid Speakers Bureau.

Product overview

Post Carbon Institute operates as a non-profit think tank providing educational resources and content focused on sustainability, energy transition, and community resilience. The organization's offerings include Resilience.org (a news and resource platform), Think Resilience (an online course), podcasts (Crazy Town and What Could Possibly Go Right?), published books and reports, event programming, and a Speakers Bureau. These products work together to provide comprehensive education and engagement around the polycrisis of environmental and social challenges facing the 21st century.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Resilience.org: Premier source of news, insights, and resources for navigating turbulent times, visited by over 1 million people a year.
• Think Resilience
• Crazy Town
• What Could Possibly Go Right?

Products and services

• Resilience.org A daily news and resource website providing articles on rebuilding local resilience, covering energy, climate, sustainability, and community resilience. Visited by over 1.2 million people annually; serves academics, NGOs, journalists, and the general public.
• Think Resilience An online course featuring 22 short video lectures by Senior Fellow Richard Heinberg, providing a systems-thinking perspective on climate change, energy, sustainability challenges, and community resilience. Delivered through the education.resilience.org platform.
• Crazy Town Podcast A podcast offering humorous analysis of complex sustainability topics, including energy, environment, and polycrisis issues. Distributed via podcast platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
• What Could Possibly Go Right? Podcast A podcast featuring pithy conversations with author and board member Vicki Robin and guests on resilience, sustainable living, and the polycrisis. Distributed via podcast platforms.
• Books and Reports A collection of books and reports on energy, climate, and resilience authored or commissioned by Post Carbon Institute. Includes Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival (Richard Heinberg, 2021), Welcome to the Great Unraveling (2023), and the 15-report Shale Bubble series (2015-2021). Available as free PDF downloads and via retail channels.
• Speakers Bureau A fee-based service providing expert speakers for conferences, universities, and organizations. Speaking fees range from $1,000 to $10,000 for in-person engagements and $500 to $3,000 for virtual presentations, typically excluding travel.
• Events and Webinars Online events featuring expert speakers exploring how to build equitable, sustainable, and resilient communities. Includes webinars, virtual events, and partner programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.2 million unique visitors annually to Resilience.org news platform
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Transition UScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Post Carbon Institute provided seed funding to Transition US in 2009. PCI's Executive Director Asher Miller served on the Transition US board for several years. Transition Network and Transition US promote community resilience initiatives worldwide, aligning with PCI's mission.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI): RMI is an independent nonprofit that conducts research, convenes stakeholders, and publishes analysis on energy transition, climate, and sustainability — a closely comparable sustainability think tank serving overlapping audiences (policymakers, funders, practitioners) with similar education and research outputs.
• Food Tank: Food Tank is a nonprofit research-and-advocacy organization focused on sustainable food systems, founded by PCI advisor Danielle Nierenberg. Both organizations use research, publications, and events to drive system-change awareness across sustainability audiences.
• Climate Central: Climate Central is a climate-science communications nonprofit producing research-driven content (visualizations, reports, journalism) for media and public audiences — directly comparable to PCI's Resilience.org news-and-analysis model.
• Resilience Alliance: Resilience Alliance is an international research collective studying social-ecological resilience; PCI's Resilience.org (originally EnergyBulletin.net) shares roots in this community and addresses the same resilience-and-sustainability audience with overlapping research and publication formats.
• Transition Network: Transition Network promotes community-led resilience-building initiatives worldwide and is PCI's long-standing mission-aligned partner. Both organizations share the community resilience framing and overlapping grassroots audiences.

Broad incumbents

• Union of Concerned Scientists: UCS is a long-established science-based nonprofit combining independent research with advocacy on energy, climate, and sustainability — overlapping substantially with PCI's mission and methods, but operating at significantly larger scale across multiple issue areas.
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): NRDC is one of the largest U.S. environmental advocacy organizations, combining scientific research with public education and policy advocacy on energy and climate. It overlaps materially with PCI's mission but operates across a much broader issue portfolio with significantly larger budgets and staff.
• Sierra Club: Sierra Club is a major environmental organization that combines grassroots organizing, publications, and educational programming on sustainability and energy — broadly comparable to PCI's mission, though it operates at a far larger scale and with a broader portfolio.

Others

• Institute for Policy Studies: IPS is a progressive think tank where PCI board member Chuck Collins directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. It is a research/advocacy peer addressing intersecting sustainability and equity issues — adjacent, not directly competing for the same audience.

Emerging players

• Earthworks: Earthworks is a smaller environmental advocacy nonprofit using research and public campaigns on fossil fuel impacts — a partial peer that overlaps with PCI's critical energy-research niche but focuses more on extraction impacts and accountability campaigns.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/postcarbon
• YouTubeyoutube.com/postcarboninstitute
• Facebookfacebook.com/PostCarbon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/93671

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Post Carbon Institute