Impact

Fuzzy, taken by somebody else, but on stage in Istanbul

(source: Global Leaders Summit, 2024; slide on screen, JE via Artiphoria)

From my early work on environmental impact studies in the 1970s, through to later engagements with social, cleantech and exponential entrepreneurs, I have explored how impact can form part of the universal language of markets, business and finance.

But when your business involves trying to change hearts, minds and cultures, the measurement of your real-world impact can be tough. It’s easy to be blinded by any successes along the way. Not every startup we back goes exponential, for example, as EcoVadis did (see last quote under “How leaders view what I do,” under Services tab).

Think of it this way: even a huge impact achieved with a client locked into the declining trajectory of an X-curve can be dwarfed—over time—by a relatively small contribution made with a client moving onto an upward trajectory.

How others see of all this

But to give some sense of how others view my impact, here is a range of perspectives from some more leaders in different sectors and geographies who know my work best. Still, as you skim-read them, put yourself in the shoes of someone looking back from 2050 or even 2100. What will their world be like? How will they view our efforts?

Insight and inspiration

“John is a legend. Throughout my 30-year career in sustainability leadership, he has been a source of insight and inspiration. By extension he has influenced the thinking of thousands of senior executives on our programmes.”

Dame Polly Courtice, founding director, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, UK

…

“I appreciate your voice—one we need now more than ever. The clarity, consistency and holistic thinking you bring continues to inspire.”

Ryan Gellert, CEO, Patagonia

“John has seen farther, sooner, and better than anyone how commerce could reimagine the world and has done so with modesty, eloquence, and kindness.”

Paul Hawken, environmentalist, entrepreneur, author of The Ecology of Commerce, Drawdown, and Regeneration, USA

…

“In the galaxy of ESG superheroes, John Elkington is the Incredible Hulk.”

Felix Arroyo Pujol and Monica Rico, cofounders, ESG Summit Europe, Spain

 

Optimism

“John Elkington has been a key player in the world of corporate sustainability for decades, and Tickling Sharks provides us with a very personal, highly entertaining account of this constantly evolving world and of his fascinating life. As a fully paid-up ‘stubborn optimist,’ John Elkington remains both realistic and refreshingly upbeat.”

Jonathon Porritt, former co-chair, Green Party; former director, Friends of the Earth; cofounder, Forum for the Future; author of Hope In Hell, UK

…

“… may I have the privilege of introducing you to a man I’m proud to call friend, a man who has shaped the direction of travel for so many, a man whose twinkling smile  and bookish eyebrows can light up any room. I give you John Elkington, the ultimate pragmatist with a heart of gold.”

Sir Tim Smit, cofounder, The Eden Project, UK

…

“John gives us the memoir that we would hope for and expect from his unrivalled role in originating what we now call ‘business sustainability.’ It’s erudite, entertaining, challenging, and optimistic about what can be achieved in the years to come.”

Tanya Steele, chief executive, WWF-UK

 

Sustainability

“John Elkington’s was probably the earliest—and is still the most important—voice to listen to on corporate sustainability. And as Tickling Sharks is his first-person narration of his journey, it’s a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the past, present, and future of the business of system change.”

Pavan Sukhdev, CEO, GIST Impact; former president, WWF International; author, Corporation 2020; study leader, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) initiative, India/Switzerland

…

“Since John first became an RSA fellow in 1983, the sustainability agenda has been mainstreaming in politics, policy, and, crucially, economics. Our challenge now is to make sure that the coming changes are both positive and systemic.”

Andy Haldane, chief executive, Royal Society of Arts; former chief economist, Bank of England, UK

…

“A masterly account of how sustainability has evolved into the mainstream. John has always taken the road less travelled with humility and humour. His latest book is packed with stories and lessons from which we can all learn.”

Richard Brass, managing director and co-head, Sustainable Capital, UK, Rothschild & Co.

…

“Tickling Sharks is essential reading for anyone who believes that business can contribute to a more just and sustainable future and who wants to play a role in making that happen.”

Jane Nelson, director, Corporate Responsibility Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, USA

 

Leadership

“Thank you, John, for being our godfather, soothsayer, advocate, provocateur, and—ultimately—inspiration.”

Hannah Jones, CEO, The Earthshot Prize, UK

…

“With his patented mixture of humor and ardor, the father of the triple bottom line distils the most important lessons learned during a long career spent at the bleeding edge of ESG.”

Denis Hayes, organizer of the first Earth Day in 1970; former head, Solar Energy Research Institute; president, Bullitt Foundation, USA

…

“In his poem ‘Dotei,’ Japanese poet Kotaro Takamura mused about feeling that his future path was not clear. But as he kept going, he had the sensation that a path had appeared behind him as he walked. In that spirit, this magnificent book describes the leadership journey of one of the founding fathers of the global sustainability movement. A must-read for tomorrow’s leaders.”

Dr. Tomo Noda, founding chair and president, Shizenkan University Graduate School of Leadership and Innovation; co-initiator, IESE-Shizenkan Future of Capitalism Project, Japan

…

“Tackling society’s grand challenges, both for present and future generations, requires us to transform business, markets, and capitalism. John’s leadership on all three has often been ahead of its time.”

Professor Mariana Mazzucato, founding director, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose; author of Mission Economy, UK

…

“From the first page, you feel like you are sitting at John’s dinner table in a conversation that you never want to leave. He is a giant whose shoulders we all stand on. Here is to riding that 100-foot wave of regeneration ahead of us—with this book as our compass.”

Jean Oelwang, founding CEO, Virgin Unite; author of Partnering, USA

…

“John took me under his wing at the start of my career, and it was the steepest learning curve I’ve ever been on. Many people know him as an agitator within boardrooms, but those lucky enough to have met him know he’s humble, funny, and insatiably curious.”

Clover Hogan, climate activist and founding executive director, Force of Nature, Australia/UK

…

“John hates being cast as a guru, but the word means ‘one who shines light in darkness’—and that is what he has long done for us.”

Shankar Venkateswaran, chair, Oxfam India; founder, ECube Investment Advisors; former chief, Tata Sustainability Group, India

Tickling Sharks illustration

(source: Silvio Rebêlo, 2020)

Recognition

Alongside endorsements from people who know one’s work, another way to gauge impact and progress is to review media coverage and any awards received. That is the purpose of this final section. But, as I say in the final lines, that’s looking backward at precisely the moment we should be looking forward. So, leaning into the future, how can we now shape and navigate tomorrow’s change waves together?

Media

A blizzard of keywords

(source: Impact Entrepreneur, 2022)

“Live by the sword, die by the sword” can be painfully true of the media world, too. It often eats its own children. So, unlike organizations measuring their impact in column inches or airtime, my aim has been less to broadcast than to narrowcast.

Even so, my work has been reported in various ways over the years. Recent interviews have appeared in countries as diverse as Spain (El País, October 2024) and Turkey (Oksijen, April 2021 and May 2024, and TR Monitor, April 2024). And I have been interviewed by publications as various as Bosch Global, the Harvard Business Review, Deloitte, Board Intelligence, I By IMD, IEMA, Mother Jones and Roar.

Front cover news in Brazil, 2023

(source: RI, 2023)

Filmed interviews

  • Interview with Oxygen Conservation
  • Fireside chat at EcoVadis SUSTAIN summit in Paris, 2025, with Mary Robinson, former President of Eire

Oxygen Conservation filmed interview, 2025

Interviewing Mary Robinson in Paris in 2025

Podcasts

I also contribute forewords to books and columns to media such as America’s Fast Company and, in Japan, quarterly articles to E-Square’s Frontiers Report. These days, too, there are a growing number of podcasts—with elements of my thinking outlined in the following:

It’s time to surf
bigger waves

A life spent surfing – and shaping – societal pressure waves

(source: ChristiLaLiberté, iStock 2024)

Awards and surveys

Awards

Surfers chase waves, as do we, but we don’t chase awards. Instead, most come out of the blue. The main benefit, in retrospect, has been the access provided to different communities of changemakers. Notable awards have included:

  • 1973: University College London, travel fellowship to the USA
  • 1981: Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship, again taken to travel to the USA, feeding into my 1985 book,Sun Traps: The Renewable Energy Forecast. (I am now an Ambassador for the Churchill Fellowship)
  • 1989: United Nations Global 500 Roll of Honour, alongside Julia Hailes
  • 2006: 3-year, $1 million grant from the Skoll Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, which covered work both at SustainAbility and later at Volans
  • 2008:Fast Company Social Capitalist Award (on behalf of SustainAbility)
  • 2010: American Society for Quality Spencer Hutchens, Jr. Medal for champions of quality and social responsibility
  • 2011: Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellowship, used to write part of The Zeronauts
  • 2013: Inducted into the Sustainability Hall of Fame by The International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) in honor of “extraordinary contribution” to the field through research, publication, teaching and innovation.
  • 2014: Honorary Doctorate, University of Essex
  • 2021: World Sustainability Award

Surveys

In addition, I have surfaced in various surveys:

  • In 2004, so already 20 years ago, BusinessWeek (now Bloomberg Businessweek) described me as “a dean of the corporate responsibility movement for three decades.”
  • In 2008,The Evening Standard named me among the ‘1000 Most Influential People’ in London, describing me as “a true green business guru,” and as “an evangelist for corporate social and environmental responsibility long before it was fashionable.”
  • In 2009, a CSR International survey of the Top 100 CSR leaders placed me fourth: after Al Gore, Barack Obama and the late Anita Roddick of the Body Shop, and alongside Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank. Mad but there we go.
  • In 2009, too, I made it into Who’s Who.

Next steps?

Still, that’s to gaze in the rear-view mirror at precisely the moment when we should be looking beyond today’s horizons.

So, back to our opening question.

How can we shape and navigate tomorrow’s change waves—together?