The Balaton Group

A global network for collaboration on systems and sustainability – founded in 1982.

The Balaton Group generates new research, new action and new solutions for sustainability. We believe that through systems thinking, networking, communication, and envisioning we can make a huge change for the better in global sustainability. We think of systems in terms of natural resources – advocating their use only at rates that permit them to regenerate or be replaced by renewable alternatives.

Donella and Dennis Meadows—authors of The Limits to Growth (1972)—founded the Balaton Group in 1982. The proven mix of systems thinking, mutual professional support, and informal creative exchange continues to generate positive solutions through collaboration.

Why “Balaton”?

The Balaton Group is named for Lake Balaton in Hungary, where meetings have been held for most of the past 30 years. Its official name is the International Network of Resource Information Centers. We are an international network of researchers and practitioners in fields related to systems and sustainability.

The Balaton Group accelerates and deepens the world’s general understanding of three factors that are fundamental to sustainable development: a systems orientation, a long-term perspective, and an unshakeable personal commitment to achieving positive change.

Books that matter

The Balaton Group partly owes its existence to The Limits of Growth, the 1972 book by our founders Donella and Dennis Meadows. It was a groundbreaking study that modeled the dynamics of our human presence on the planet.

A large and ever-growing list of books by members of The Balaton Group is available on this website.

Random book cover

Just one of the many books by Balaton Group members.

What members say…

Probably no other group, formal or informal, has had more direct impact on the theory and practice of issues associated with sustainable development than the Balaton Group.

I know many of our members who are prominent today would tell you that it was the information, the contacts, the learning, and the support of others in the Balaton Group that gave them the boost they needed to become leaders.

The Balaton Group always has been not only ‘ahead of the curve’—it has been quietly shaping the curve.