Our History
The EcoCiv Institute (EcoCiv) first emerged as a vision of the scholar and activist John B. Cobb, Jr. A professor at the Claremont Graduate University and Claremont School of Theology and a leader in ecological thinking, Prof. Cobb wrote the founding work in eco-theology in 1971, Is It Too Late? A Theology of Ecology. Over the decades that followed, Cobb published over 50 books, inspired two generations of scholars and activists, founded multiple organizations, and organized scores of conferences, most notably through the Claremont Center for Process Studies (CPS).
In 2010, Prof. Cobb began work on the culminating conference of his career, “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization.” After five years of work and a $1m investment, the conference was held at the Claremont Colleges in the summer of 2015. With 2,000 people at the plenary events and 1,500 participants working over the course of four days in 82 working groups, the conference sought to build a systematic foundation for the global transition to an ecological civilization in the years to come. Out of the conference grew several new non-profit agencies with ecological civilization-focused projects around the globe, the publication of dozens of books and hundreds of articles and manuals, and even a new publishing company focused on the publication and dissemination of work related to the development of ecological civilization.
One of these new nonprofits, initially incubated within the Center for Process Studies, was called Toward Ecological Civilization, later remained the Institute for Ecological Civilization. Founded by Philip Clayton and Wm. Andrew Schwartz, the Institute was created to be a catalyst for advancing the vision of ecological civilization worldwide. Its first event, “Ecology and Community,” was held in Fall 2015. Many of the signature features of the organization were seeded and developed during this first event: carrying out preparatory research, convening experts, facilitating visioning and back-casting, and producing a roadmap for action.
By the end of 2019, the Institute had already undertaken ecological civilization-focused projects with a number of organizations around the world, including Forum 21, People for Earth Forum (South Korea), the Land Institute, the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the Center for Earth Ethics, and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (Germany). In 2020 and 2021, the Institute rapidly expanded its staff, capacities, partnerships, and programming. During that period EcoCiv was also involved in programs or events in nine countries: South Africa, China, Korea, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Sudan, Canada, and the United States. EcoCiv is developing a robust methodology and approach that links global knowledge and resources to local leadership and capacity building.
In Spring of 2025, just a few months after the passing of John Cobb (at the age of 99), EcoCiv initiated a major shift. By Summer of 2025, the core work inspired by the visionary leadership of John Cobb–work that had been the central mission of EcoCiv for a decade–returned home to the Center for Process Studies to be continued under the name the EcoCiv Institute.