Sustainability is a hot topic in business these days. If you are looking for sustainability keynote speakers, we have put together this list of the top 10 sustainability keynote speakers for conferences, events and meetings. These sustainability professionals will help you create an effective sustainability plan that will allow your company to thrive!
Here are ten of the world’s top keynote speakers on sustainability, ESG and future trends.
Top Sustainability Keynote Speakers Overview:
- THE ETHICAL FUTURISTS (ALISON BURNS & JAMES TAYLOR)
Top co-keynote speakers on sustainability, business ethics, ESG and future trends. - ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU
Environmental activist, storyteller and ocean advocate. - JANE GOODALL
Internationally renowned primatologist, UN Messenger of Peace - SCOTT HARRISON
Founder & CEO of Charity: Water and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader - BILL NYE
“The Science Guy”, TV Presenter and Climate Change Activist - CHRISTIANA FIGUERES
Expert on Global Climate Change - CHAD PREGRACKE
Founder & President, Living Lands and Water - CLAIRE NOUVIAN
Film-maker and Environmentalist - PETER THUM
Founder of Ethos Water and Social Entrepreneur - BEA JOHNSON
Founder of the Zero Waste Lifestyle Movement
Here Are The Top Sustainability Keynote Speakers For 2021
1. THE ETHICAL FUTURISTS (ALISON BURNS & JAMES TAYLOR)
The Ethical Futurists is a unique pairing of two of today’s leading keynote speakers; Alison Burns and James Taylor. Together, they have spoken on thousands of stages from London to Dubai, delivering tailored, insightful, entertaining, and highly visual keynote presentations to clients including IBM, Cisco, GSK, Visa, EY, Apple, Intuit, and various Governments. In their inspiring, entertaining and highly visual co-keynote they will take you on a journey to discover how the world’s most ethical and innovative companies are transforming their industries and achieving sustainable growth.
Alison Burns is an award-winning performer, keynote speaker and expert in business ethics, sustainability and ethical leadership. For over 30 years, she has been a trailblazer in the fields of engineering, entertainment, technology and the law. Today as an Ethical Futurist she helps organisations and individuals think and act more ethically through her entertaining and inspiring keynote speeches on sustainability, environment, future trends, diversity, inclusion and the ethical implications of technology. James Taylor – who started his career managing high profile rock stars – is now an in-demand keynote speaker and internationally recognized leader in business creativity, innovation and artificial intelligence. For over 20 years, he has been advising CEO’s, entrepreneurs, educators, governments, leaders, writers and rockstars on how to build innovative organizations, unlock creative potential, and increase productivity.
2. ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU
Alexandra Cousteau carries the name made famous by the work of her grandfather and father with honor and pride. She not only films the underwater world with extraordinary skill but also campaigns tirelessly to preserve its health and beauty. In 2008 Alexandra was honored by National Geographic as one of their eleven “Emerging Explorers,” a group of young visionaries from across the globe noted for their discoveries, adventures and approach to solving the problems of the planet. Early in 2009 she joined the Discovery Channel as co-host (with her brother Philippe Jr.) of Blue August and also as Chief Correspondent on Water Issues for the same channel’s Planet Green. She also served as Water Adviser and spokesperson for the global Live Earth 2010 Run for Water.
3. JANE GOODALL
In July 1960, Jane Goodall began her landmark study of chimpanzee behavior in what is now Tanzania. Her work at Gombe Stream would become the foundation of future primatological research and redefine the relationship between humans and animals. In 1977, Dr. Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute, which continues the Gombe research and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. The Institute is widely recognized for innovative, community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, the global environmental and humanitarian youth program.
4. SCOTT HARRISON
Scott Harrison is the founder and CEO of charity: water. Through radical transparency and innovative digital practices, charity: water has mobilized 1M+ supporters from 105 countries, raised over $330M, and funded clean water projects in 28 countries for over 8.5M people. Scott was recently named #10 in Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, and has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and by Forbes, Fortune and INC Magazines.
5. BILL NYE
Bill Nye the Science Guy is an American science communicator, television presenter, and mechanical engineer. He is best known as the host of the PBS children’s science show Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993–1998), the Netflix show Bill Nye Saves the World (2017–present), and for his many subsequent appearances in popular media as a science educator.
6. CHRISTINA FIGUERES
Christianna Figueres is an internationally recognized leader on global climate change. She was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010 to 2016.
With a long and distinguished career in the field, Figueres was a member of the Costa Rican climate change negotiating team 1995- 2009. She represented Latin America and the Caribbean on the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism in 2007, and was then elected Vice President of the Bureau 2008-2009. She conceived the new financial instrument “programmatic CDM” with four groundbreaking publications that marked global thinking on this novel concept.
7. CHAD PREGRACKE
Growing up just a few yards from the Mississippi River and working as a commercial shell diver, Chad Pregracke grew outraged as he encountered countless abandoned barrels, cars, appliances, and other discarded items along the river. When he was just 17 he decided to do something about it and began cleaning up the river”at first, single-handedly, and a short while later with a growing crew and fleet of barges and equipment. Fifteen years and 550 community river cleanups later, Pregracke, his crew, and more than 70,000 volunteers across the country have removed over eight million pounds of garbage from the Mississippi and 16 other major rivers in the United States.
8. CLAIRE NOUVIAN
Claire Nouvian is a writer and environmentalist who dedicates her career to protecting the distant and vulnerable deep sea. While wonder drew her to the depths of the ocean, finding out about deep-sea fishing prompted her to focus on combating destructive fishing practices. She is committed to putting an end to deep-sea bottom trawling and advocates before governments and institutions in favor of the protection of the vulnerable ocean’s depths. In 2004, she founded the Paris and Hong Kong-based non-profit conservation organization BLOOM.
Claire used to work in television production and journalism, specializing in wildlife and scientific documentaries. She spent an extended period filming in the jungles of Asia, Africa, and South America and eventually contracted two severe tropical diseases. Luckily, Claire had already discovered the fascinating deep sea, so her convalescence allowed her to craft a book, The Deep, translated into 11 languages, and an exhibition of the same name, which opened in 2007 at the Natural History Museum in Paris and presents the best specimens, pictures, and film clips that have been gathered by oceanographers over the past 25 years. The book and traveling exhibition have reached more than a billion people across the world.
9. PETER THUM
Peter Thum is working to stop gun violence. He is founder and CEO of two brands: Fonderie 47 and Liberty United; ventures that transform illegal guns into jewelry, watches and art. In 2008, while working in Africa on water projects, Thum met boys and young men armed with assault rifles. He decided to try to do something to turn the AK47 against itself by transforming these guns into objects that were beautiful, noble and completely opposite to the gun from which they were made. This concept has evolved into Fonderie 47. Fonderie 47 has destroyed more than 40,000 assault rifles in African war zones. Liberty United funds programs to stop gun violence in the U.S. and focuses on making children and communities safer in neighborhoods with extreme gun violence.
10. BEA JOHNSON
Bea Johnson is a top keynote speaker, author, and environmental advocate on how we can all work to generate as little waste as possible. Ever since Johnson launched her blog and best-selling book, Zero Waste Home, a global movement was created that shatters misconceptions, proving that zero waste can not only be stylish, but also lead to significant health benefits, and time and money savings. Johnson speaks at universities, corporate events and conferences all over the globe, including TED, Google, Pixar, Adobe, the European Parliament and the United Nations.
How do you define top sustainability keynote speakers anyway?
Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The concept of sustainability is composed of three pillars: economic, environmental, and social—also known informally as profits, planet, and people. Increasingly, companies are making public commitments to sustainability through actions like reducing waste, investing in renewable energy, and supporting organizations that work toward a more sustainable future. Top sustainability and environmental keynote speakers like The Ethical Futurists cover topics like these.
In this video from top virtual keynote speaker James Taylor explains the difference between the different types of speakers.
In this video you’ll discover about:
- Virtual Keynote speakers
- Virtual Platform speakers
- Virtual Motivational speakers
- Virtual Inspirational speakers
- Virtual Professional speakers
- Virtual Hybrid speakers
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