Expert in Sustainability & Responsible Business
Joel Hartter research spans work across the public, private, and non-profit sectors. He has worked with dozens of organizations, government entities, and industry to develop sustainable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. Joel has a background in engineering, behavioral science, conservation, natural resource management, and business. His expertise is in human-centered strategy, behavioral change, stakeholder engagement, sustainability strategy and implementation, partnership building, and leading change. Joel’s work has taken him to some of the most remote places in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, and he has worked on projects in public health, food security, business development, human welfare, education, conservation of endangered wildlife, supply chains, and infrastructure development.
Current and practice interests include private sector engagement in sustainability, ESG, climate action, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I specialize in sustainable business, sustainability culture building, net zero and low-carbon strategies, bioeconomy implementation, sustainable supply chains, and nature-based solutions.
His work has been funded by National Geographic, National Science Foundation, US Agency for International Development, US Forest Service, National Park Service, US Department of Agriculture, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and more. Joel has written over 125 scientific articles, published in top journals, and has spoken on sustainability topics around the world to local farmers and tribal elders to academic conferences to ministers of parliament and corporate executives. He is widely known for being able to translate scientific research to practitioners and stakeholder groups, and has been quoted in numerous media outlets and podcasts including CNN, The Guardian, Washington Post, NPR, NBC News, and more.
Example Projects
Selected engagements across responsible business, public lands, sustainability, international development, and natural resources strategy.
Funders: National Science Foundation, National Geographic, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Uganda's Albertine Rift is one of Africa's most biodiverse regions, but population growth and land use intensification around its national parks put conservation gains and local livelihoods in direct tension. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and National Geographic, this 20-year project is the longest running project of its kind in the region. We examined how climate, forest cover, and human settlement have shifted over time across seven parks, analyzing where ecological and social pressures converge and how communities perceive and adapt to change. The work produced the region's most extensive climate analysis and comprehensive study of human livelihoods, linking climate change, forest loss, education, biodiversity, and public health to inform conservation and economic development strategy in the region.
Funder: US Department of Agriculture
Rural communities in Oregon's Blue Mountains have faced decades of economic transition as timber, ranching, and farming declined — while fire risk has grown and forests have accumulated fuels that make large-scale disturbance increasingly likely. We partnered with Wallowa Resources, the US Forest Service, Oregon State University Extension, and local landowners to deliver an integrated assessment of forest conditions, climate risk, and adaptation options across seven counties in northeastern Oregon. Our results gave land managers and private landowners practical, near-term guidance for improving forest resilience under an uncertain climate.
Client: State of Colorado, Governor’s Office
Colorado needed a unified framework to connect conservation, outdoor recreation, and climate resilience across the state. We developed the nation's first comprehensive statewide strategy of its kind, along with shared data tools and collaborative mapping resources to help partners coordinate and prioritize work at the local level. The result is the Colorado Outdoors Strategy, now guiding how the state aligns funding and stewardship across regions.
Client: Minera Orex
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Peru operates largely outside formal supply chains, creating persistent gaps in transparency and environmental accountability across the sector. Working with Solidaridad, we conducted an ESG assessment drawing on 200+ hours of on-site research and 75 stakeholder interviews, examining how artisanal miners and Minera Orex could align on shared standards. Our work supported Minera Orex's path to third-party certification, advanced its SDG commitments, and delivered a model that other industrial operators in the sector could apply.
Client: National Park Service
Rocky Mountain National Park was receiving 4.5 million visitors a year with no system to manage access at that scale. Parking turnover studies and capacity threshold analysis across six high-use areas in the Bear Lake Corridor provided the empirical foundation for the timed-entry reservation system we designed, which became a permanent management tool at Rocky Mountain and was subsequently adopted across 300+ sites in the national park system. We applied the same approach to develop the shuttle and reservation system for Quandary Peak, one of Colorado's most heavily visited 14ers.
Client: USAID
Amazonas is the largest state in the Brazilian Amazon — 96% intact forest — but deforestation pressure and worsening climate extremes are putting both the forest and local livelihoods at risk. Working with the Governors' Climate & Forests Task Force and the state government of Amazonas, we helped design and facilitate a multisector planning process to build a viable path toward forest-based economic development, engaging government agencies, industry, universities, and local communities through workshops, scenario planning, and 40+ stakeholder interviews. The work culminated in the Manaus Action Plan and a "Call to Action – Financing the New Forest Economy," launched at COP28, establishing a framework for aligning investment with sustainable forest management across the state.
Client: Crocs
After committing to Net Zero, Crocs needed a strategy for the residual emissions that operational changes alone cannot eliminate. Working with the sustainability team, we conducted 25+ expert interviews and a market analysis of carbon offset options, evaluating nature-based and technology-based approaches against SBTi standards, regulatory requirements, and the company's business strategy. We delivered a decision framework and offset portfolio that positioned Crocs to neutralize residual emissions aligned with its Net Zero commitment.
Client: West Virginia University
West Virginia's coal-dependent economy is at an inflection point, and sustainable diversification requires addressing the upstream systems of workforce capacity, institutional readiness, and regional competitiveness before solutions can scale. WVU engaged us to diagnose those conditions, mapping talent pipelines, sector demand, and institutional gaps across the industries best positioned to drive the region's economic transition. We delivered a prioritized set of curriculum and program recommendations and a strategic communications platform, positioning WVU to lead workforce development at the center of Appalachia's economic transformation.
