John Elkington

Founder & Chief Pollinator at Volans

John is one of the founders of the global sustainability movement. He has worked as a strategic advisor to businesses across the globe for 50 years, has co-founded four businesses since 1978, and serves as Founder & Chief Pollinator at Volans.

He has served on over 80 boards and advisory boards—and previously chaired an Advisory Council on Sustainability and New Markets for Neste (Finland) and an Impact Valuation Advisory Council for Novartis (Switzerland).

John has addressed over 1,500 conferences around the world and was a faculty member of the World Economic Forum from 2002-2008. He is the author or co-author of 20 books including the million selling Green Consumer Guide. His most recent book—Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism—was published in April 2020 by Fast Company Press and has reinforced his reputation as ‘The Godfather of Sustainability’.

He has helped inspire and incubate movements including the B Team, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, the Global Reporting Initiative, and B Lab UK. In 2009, he was named 4th in an international survey of the top 100 CSR leaders, after Al Gore, Barack Obama and Anita Roddick.

In 1994, John coined the phrase; ‘Triple Bottom Line,’ and in 1995 the popularisation ‘People, Planet and Profit’ (variously known as the 3Ps, TBL or 3BL). Among other things, the framework now provides the intellectual DNA for over 7,000 B Corporations worldwide. In September 2021, John received the World Sustainability Award.

John Elkington captivated the audience with his keynote Regenerating Our Future: The Challenges and Opportunities. He explored transformative strategies for addressing interconnected global challenges, leaving attendees energised with actionable insights. It was an honour to have John join us for _shift 2024.