John Elkington, Chairman, Elkington Ventures, Founder and Global Ambassador, Volans

Variously known as the “Godfather of Sustainability” and an “Ambassador from the Future,” John is acknowledged as one of the founders of the global sustainability movement. Mainly focusing on business and markets, he has worked as an advisor to an A-to-Z of businesses across the globe for 50 years.

He has co-founded four companies since 1978, all of which still exist in some form: Environmental Data Services (ENDS, 1978); John Elkington Associates, later Countercurrent and now Elkington Ventures (1983); SustainAbility (1987); and Volans (2008). Over the decades, he has served on over 80 boards and advisory boards—and was a faculty member of the World Economic Forum from 2002-2008. He has addressed over 1,500 conferences around the world.

Along the way, he coined such terms as environmental excellence, green consumer and green growth, the triple bottom line (People, Planet and Profit/Prosperity), business-as-unusual and green swan.

He is the author or co-author of 21 books, including the million-selling Green Consumer Guide series. His most recent book—Tickling Sharks: How We Sold Business on Sustainability—was published in June 2024 by Fast Company Press. He has received many awards, most recently the 2021 World Sustainability Award.