1974年，布朗創辦了從事全球環境問題分析的世界觀察研究所。25年前，他率先提出環境上可持續發展的概念，並用於他所架構的生態經濟。他作為世界觀察研究所的創辦者和前任所長而聞名。他於1984年創刊的《世界現狀》年度報告，目前已經有30多種文字的版本。被譽為全球環境運動的《聖經》。1988年，他又創辦了《世界觀察》雙月刊，發表世界觀察研究所的研究文章。
1971年，世界觀察研究所以布朗等著的《拯救地球：如何形成環境上可持續的全球經濟》一書領頭，開始出版“環境警示叢書”。1992年，他創辦了一種新的年度報告：《重要徵象：塑造未來的趨勢》。他的早期著作，主要有《人、土地和糧食》（1963），《增加世界糧食產量》（1965），《變化的苗頭》（1970），《沒有疆界的世界》（1972），《為了人類的利益》（1974），《僅僅是麵包》（與他人合作，1974，獲克里斯托弗獎），《第二十九天》（1978，獲Ecologia Firenze獎），《憑空躍進（Running on Empty）》（與他人合作，1979），《建立可持續發展的社會》（1981），《人滿為患》（與他人合作，1994），《誰將供應中國糧食？》（1995）《面臨全球糧食短缺挑戰的艱難抉擇》（1996），《超越馬爾薩斯：人口挑戰的十九個方面》（與他人合作，1999）等。
他於2001年5月創辦地球政策研究所並擔任所長。11月，出版了《生態經濟：有利於地球的經濟構想》，哈佛大學教授、兩次普利茲獎得主威爾遜稱讚此書“一出版就成為經典”。布朗於2003年又推出一本力作——《B模式：拯救地球 延續文明》。
地球政策研究所是非營利性的跨學科研究組織，其宗旨是提供環境上可持續發展的經濟——生態經濟的構想，從目前經濟模式轉向生態經濟的途徑，並且不斷地對我們是否朝著這個方向發展進行評估。
他獲得了國內和國外的22個榮譽學位，著作或與他人合著有47本書、19種專論和不計其數的文章。他是美國麥克阿瑟天才學術獎的獲得者，並且獲得其他許多獎金和獎章，其中包括1997年的聯合國環境獎，1989年的世界自然基金會金獎， 1994年的日本藍色星球獎。在馬奎斯：《名人錄》（Who’s Who）發行第15版之際，萊斯特?布朗被選為50位傑出美國人之一。
DETAILED BIOGRAPHY OF LESTER R. BROWN
The Washington Post called Lester Brown "one of the world's most influential thinkers." The Telegraph of Calcutta refers to him as "the guru of the environmental movement." In 1986, the Library of Congress requested his personal papers noting that his writings "have already strongly affected thinking about problems of world population and resources."
Brown started his career as a farmer, growing tomatoes in southern New Jersey with his younger brother during high school and college. Shortly after earning a degree in agricultural science from Rutgers University in 1955, he spent six months living in rural India where he became intimately familiar with the food/population issue. In 1959 Brown joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service as an international agricultural analyst.
Brown earned masters degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Maryland and in public administration from Harvard. In 1964, he became an adviser to Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman on foreign agricultural policy. In 1966, the Secretary appointed him Administrator of the department's International Agricultural Development Service. In early 1969, he left government to help establish the Overseas Development Council.
In 1974, with support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Lester Brown founded the Worldwatch Institute, the first research institute devoted to the analysis of global environmental issues. While there he launched the Worldwatch Papers, the annual State of the World reports, World Watch magazine, a second annual entitled Vital Signs: The Trends That are Shaping Our Future, and the Environmental Alert book series.
Brown has authored or coauthored 49 books. One of the world's most widely published authors, his books have appeared in some 40 languages. Among his earlier books are Man, Land and Food, World Without Borders, and Building a Sustainable Society. His 1995 book Who Will Feed China? challenged the official view of China's food prospect, spawning hundreds of conferences and seminars.
In May 2001, he founded the Earth Policy Institute to provide a vision and a road map for achieving an environmentally sustainable economy. In November 2001, he published Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth, which was hailed by E.O. Wilson as "an instant classic." He followed this in 2003 with another path-breaking book, Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble.
He is the recipient of many Prizes and awards, including more than 20 honorary degrees, a MacArthur Fellowship, the 1987 United Nations' Environment Prize, the 1989 World Wide Fund for Nature Gold Medal, and the 1994 Blue Planet Prize for his "exceptional contributions to solving global environmental problems." In 2003, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Italy and appointed an honorary professor at the University of Shanghai.
