He is a physicist, environmental scientist, and co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute in 1982, where he serves as Chairman and Chief Scientist.
He is widely known for the following of his concepts:

• “Soft energy paths,” a 1976 essay in Foreign Affairs, on an alternative future where efficiency and renewable energy replace fossil and nuclear fuels;
• The idea was expanded to a book: Soft Energy Paths: Toward a Durable Peace (1977).
• The “negawatt revolution” concept (1985), where units of electrical power saved by conservation or efficiency can be a commodity traded across time and space
• The energy-efficient “hypercar” concept (1994),

He has given testimony in eight countries, briefed 23 heads of state, and authored/co-authored >31 books and 480 papers, including

• Brittle Power: Energy Strategy for National Security (1982, 2001; with L. Hunter Lovins)
• Factor Four: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use—Report to the Club of Rome (1997, with Ernst U. von Weizsäcker and L. Hunter Lovins)
• Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution (1999; with Paul Hawken and L. Hunter Lovins)
• Small is Profitable (2002)
• Winning the Oil Endgame (2004)
• Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for a New Energy Era (2011)

Lovins has received ten honorary doctorates and many awards, such as the Right Livelihood Award (1983), a MacArthur Fellowship (1993), Heinz Award (1998), Time Hero of the Planet (2000), Blue Planet Prize (2007), and Volvo Environment Prize (2007).