About Us
Contact InformationcarbonRational Telephone: 917.750.6779 |
carbonRational was founded in 2006 to help top management in business and industry prepare for and flourish during the transition from the current way of doing business to the emerging post-carbon era. Our clients are companies who realize the need for understanding the risks and opportunities that the coming changes present, and the need to act strategically to take full advantage of the alternatives available to them.
The Mission of carbonRational
To provide corporate leadership with the tools for building sustainable enterprises in a carbon-constricted economy and preparing the transition to the post-carbon epoch.
Selected Bios
Andrew J. McKeon, Founder
Andrew McKeon is founder of carbonRational and one of its principals. Mr. McKeon's systems training has informed the work of his entire career. He was a student of W. Edwards Deming, one of the great business thinkers of the 20th century who used systems approaches to management problem solving that revolutionized Japanese manufacturing. Deming's view of business as a system, with an appreciation for the importance of the interrelationships and interdependencies within a system had a huge impact on Mr. McKeon's way of thinking.
The realization that climate change was indeed the biggest systems problem that the earth has ever faced drove Mr. McKeon to raising awareness in the corporate sector on the dangers of global warming. In June of 2006 he met former U.S. Vice President Al Gore who invited him to help spread the word about anthropogenic climate change at a grass roots level. After being trained by Mr. Gore, Mr. McKeon began to give presentations carefully integrating business themes from his own experience and education. In 2007, Mr. McKeon began strategic business consulting through carbonRational focusing on how sound management theory points towards addressing anthropogenic climate change at a systems level.
Mr. McKeon has been invited to speak on business aspects of climate change by organizations as varied as the Wildlife Conservation Society, Sotheby's Institute, the architecture firm of Skidmore Owings & Merrill, NASA's Goddard Institute, Baruch College, the International Deming Symposium at Fordham University. and the United Nations.
Mr. McKeon began his career in the field of systems engineering working at AT&T Bell Laboratories (now Alcatel-Lucent), before moving on to the financial sector, working in derivatives, at both Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. He is a member of the Board of Directors of TransitCenter and holds both a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from Columbia University.
Testimonials
"Fascinating, Compelling, and Convincing. In this fascinating presentation using examples of process improvement from major league baseball, W. E. Deming's approach to systems thinking and Toyota's management system, Andrew McKeon provides a compelling argument and convincing cases to show that businesses will succeed in the carbon-constricted 21st century only by designing energy-efficient and information-intensive processes like those found in nature's living systems."
—H. Thomas Johnson, Professor of Business Administration, Portland State University and author of Profit Beyond Measure
"Every Head of State at the UN Should Hear This Talk, it is that important. Andrew McKeon's presentation at our UN GAID Conference on ICT and Sustainability was truly ground-breaking. This is the first time I have ever heard anyone so clearly make the link between our planet's biosphere and the global economic system, and the opportunities presented to us by aligning with - rather than dominating - the Earth's ecosystem."
—Sarbuland Khan, Executive Director, UN GAID.
"Insightful and informative. Andrew McKeon of carbonRational spoke at a recent event celebrating AMB's entry into Savannah, GA, where we have developed the first speculative industrial building in the southeastern U.S. built to a LEED™ Silver Standard. Andrew's presentation was very well received by our audience, and his comments about companies incorporating sustainability concepts into their businesses were insightful and informative."
—Gene Reilly, President, the Americas, AMB Corporation
"Positive and Actionable. Speaking on a topic that might normally lead an audience to despair, Andrew McKeon's approach is positive and comes with actionable suggestions for moving us towards the path to recovery. After his presentation, many of our staff were moved to take serious steps in changing the way we as a firm consume resources."
—John Rumely, Regional Marketing Manager, Nixon Peabody LLP
"Important, Insightful and Inspirational. Mr. McKeon spoke at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City November 27-28, 2007 on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and its effect on climate change. He brought a perspective on climate change as a symptom of a larger problem—and described how ICT is a key enabler for solutions. His comments were important, insightful and inspirational. He was an excellent addition to our conference."
—Mike Lackey, President of AIT Global, Special Advisor to the Executive Director for the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development