Workshop Instructor: Indigo Teiwes

Indigo is the Director of the Carbon Advantage Program at Earth Advantage Institute.  The program’s primary mission is to reduce carbon emissions from the built environment. Earth Advantage is a founding reporter of the Climate Registry, official NGO supporter of The Gold Standard, and participant in discussions of the Western Climate Initiative, working closely with peer organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Carbon Advantage group promotes a holistic approach to greenhouse gas reduction in the built environment through a number of innovative programs designed to minimize the carbon footprint associated with organizations, buildings, and other built infrastructure. Specific activities include:

• Education of building industry professionals and consumers
• Monetizing built environment greenhouse gas reductions into carbon credits
• GHG inventory development and third-party verification
• Consulting: advising clients on climate change risks, opportunities and carbon strategy

Specifically, Indigo has over ten years of experience evaluating sustainability risks and opportunities and developing corresponding strategic responses, specializing in those associated with climate change. She previously managed the Sustainability Research program for Portfolio 21, a global mutual fund with an investment philosophy based on identifying the business opportunities and risk minimization associated with addressing environmental challenges.

Indigo is driven by the urgent need to change the way businesses operate to ensure human activities are within the ecological capacity of the earth.  She specializes in issues of climate change with a history of innovation in this field.  For example, Indigo has developed several tools in the climate change arena including a carbon footprint and mitigation tool, which won a City of Portland BEST award in 2001.  Another tool is an evaluation framework for selecting carbon offset providers, which was developed for the Carbon Concierge.  Indigo has led carbon footprint and emissions inventories and associated strategic planning efforts for a variety of organizations, analyzed energy efficiency and renewable energy companies, tracked the US voluntary carbon market since 2000 and served as a Board Member for Focus the Nation (formerly The Green House Network), a Portland-based climate non-profit organization for eight years.

Indigo graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Oregon in 1999 with a double major in Business and Environmental Studies and received an MBA in Sustainable Business from Bainbridge Graduate Institute in June 2008.

In addition to her passion for sustainability and climate change, she is particularly interested in organizational development and organizational change strategy as it relates to sustainability initiatives.  Through the Carbon Advantage program Indigo provides independent and collaborative consulting services focusing on sustainability risks and opportunities, climate change, and organizational development.