A practicing attorney (member of the State Bar of California), Lovins helped establish the urban forestry and environmental education group California Conservation Project (Tree People),[3] and was their assistant director for about six years.[4] She served as policy adviser for Friends of the Earth under David Brower.[5]
In 1982, Hunter Lovins and Amory Lovins co-founded Rocky Mountain Institute in Snowmass, Colorado.[6] They initially ran the research foundation out of their home[7] and referred to it as a "think-and-do-tank".[8] Hunter Lovins served as RMI's CEO for strategy until 2002.[8]
Lovins has taught at several universities including Dartmouth College, where she was a Henry R. Luce visiting professor, and the Bainbridge Graduate Institute's Pinchot University, which became Presidio Graduate School in 2016.[5][9]
In 2013, Hunter served as a mentor for Unreasonable at Sea, a technology business accelerator for social entrepreneurs seeking to scale their ventures in international markets, founded by Unreasonable Group, Semester at Sea, and Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design.[10]
Lovins is a founding professor of the MBA in sustainability at Bard College, where she serves as a faculty member.[11]
In 1983, she and Amory Lovins were awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "pioneering soft energy paths for global security."[14]
Lovins received a 1993 Nissan Award for an article on the Hypercar.[15] The Lindbergh Foundation recognized her with the 1999 Lindbergh Award for "outstanding achievements in energy and environmental practice and policy."[16] Lovins received a Leadership in Business Award at the Natural Business Conference in June 2001 for her work in the lifestyles of health and sustainability (LOHAS) industry.[17]
She received Loyola Law School’s Alumni Association Board of Governors Recognition Award in 2000.[18] The following year, Lovins and her Natural Capitalism co-authors were recognized with a Shingo Prize for manufacturing research.[19] In 2005, she received the Distinguished Alumni Award of Pitzer College.[20]
Time magazine featured Lovins in 2000 as one of their "Heroes for the Planet".[21]
Personal life
In 1979, Hunter married Amory Lovins.[22] The couple separated in 1989 and divorced in 1999.[8]