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John Elkington

Founding Partner and Executive Chairman
Volans Ventures

John Elkington is a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. He is a writer, thought-leader, serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker and, at heart, a committed environmentalist. Described as the “Godfather of Sustainability,” he has now written or co-authored 21 books, including the million-selling Green Consumer Guide series. Otter books include Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of the 21st Century Business. In 1997, this book brought his term ‘triple bottom line’ to a wider audience. In 2020, John published Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism. The book draws on John’s experience working with some of the world’s largest companies. He optimistically argues that our species does its best work when backed into a corner. The book was shortlisted for the FT & McKinsey Book of the Year Award 2020. In 2024, his book Tickling Sharks: How We Sold Business On Sustainability surveyed the evolution of the global sustainability movement and industry. John is the co-founder of Environmental Data Services (ENDS, 1978), Countercurrent (1983), SustainAbility (1987) and Volans (2008), where he is Founder & Global Ambassador. Volans is a think-tank and advisory firm working at the intersection of the sustainability, entrepreneurship, and innovation movements. In 2008, The Evening Standard named John as one of the ‘1000 Most Influential People’ in London, describing him as a ‘true green business guru’ and an ‘evangelist for corporate social and environmental responsibility long before it was fashionable’. In 2009, a CSR international survey of the Top 100 CSR global leaders placed John fourth behind Al Gore, Barack Obama, and the late Anita Roddick of the Body Shop. He has won many awards, including the World Sustainability Award. Over the years, John has also served on over 80 boards and advisory boards, advising companies, non-profits and policy-making organizations. He is a visiting professor at the Cranfield School of Management, as well as at Imperial College London and University College London (UCL).

John Elkington is tagged in 8 assets.
Article
Are We Capable of Enacting Lasting, Positive Change After Disruption and Crisis?

The shadow of the unknown due to COVID could derail progress we’ve made toward a more sustainable future or it can motivate us to do better, faster. Now is the time for stakeholders throughout every organization to dig deep and figure out what they... View More

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‘Green Swans’ Will Kill Some Brands, Boost Others

Green Swans also take the world by surprise — because of their exponential character, and because they produce outcomes previously considered to be not just improbable but impossible. But rather than driving degeneration like their Grey and Black c... View More

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SDGs Key to the Sustainable Development of Your Business, Not Just the World

"What's your favorite sustainable development goal?" joked John Elkington, the writer, thinker and serial entrepreneur who coined the triple bottom line concept in 1997, who moderated a Tuesday panel on aligning the UN Sustainable Developme... View More

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How to Prove Skeptical Stakeholders Wrong on the Road to Fulfilling Your Brand Purpose

“Purpose is like Pokémon - everybody is chasing it and nobody knows why,” “Mr. Goodvertising,” Thomas Kolster, mused at the start of the Tuesday morning plenary session at SB’16 Copenhagen. Articulating purpose is central to modern brandin... View More

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Project Breakthrough: Can Your Brand Deliver Exponential Solutions to the SDGs?

Declaring intent is oh-so-easy. CEOs and other business leaders do it all the time. But delivering against declared pledges can be a very different matter. In recent years, for example, thousands of companies have signed up to various international c... View More

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The Personal Triple Bottom Line: Insight, Impact, Income

Two decades ago, John Elkington introduced the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), a disruptive corporate tool to measure a company’s success based on three Ps: People, Planet and Profit. TBL and its derivatives are widely used by companies around the world.... View More

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Elkington’s Dramatization of ‘The Stretch Agenda’ Aims to Help Execs Move Beyond ‘Change-as-Usual’

“We pan in to a generously proportioned boardroom on the 33rd floor of an iconic skyscraper, soaring above London and the River Thames. … This is an Extraordinary Board Meeting.”So begins the opening scene in The Stretch Agenda, a ‘playper’... View More

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The Breakthrough Challenge: Arguments for Branding (and Rebranding) Sustainability

Really, what is a sustainable brand?Having visited port wine cellars in Portugal, I know the history and value of branding — symbols literally burned into casks as a guarantee of provenance and quality. And when I think of the brands I have bought ... View More

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