John Elkinton is the Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Volans, also Co-founder of SustainAbility and of Environmental Data Services (ENDS, 1978). He is recognized as a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. In 2004, BusinessWeek described him as “a dean of the corporate responsibility movement for three decades.” In 2008, The Evening Standard named John “a true green business guru,” and “an evangelist for corporate social and environmental responsibility long before it was fashionable.”
John has written or co-authored 18 books, most recently The Zeronauts: Breaking the Sustainability Barrier, published May 2012. John’s expertise lies in futures and sustainability. He currently serves on some 30 boards and advisory boards, where a key part of his role is to channel the future into the present across a wide range of disciplines. John is also visiting professor at Cranfield University, Imperial College and UCL.
He is a columnist for a number of publications and as a public speaker, he hasaddressed over 500 conferences all over the world. In 2011 he was awarded the Spencer Hutchens, Jr. Medal by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) primarily for his outstanding leadership, as an advocate for social responsibility, and for bringing about positive social change.