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ISSP's Sustainability Hall of Fame formally recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the sustainability profession. An honor conferred upon them by their peers, these dedicated professionals have significantly advanced the effort to make sustainability standard practice.

“ISSP’s Sustainability Hall of Fame reflects the continued evolution of the sustainability field, and sets a high standard for those who will come after us.”
— Marsha Willard, Program Director & Professor at Presidio Graduate School

Members of the Sustainability Hall of Fame

Ray Anderson
Founder & Chairman of Interface, Inc.

Ray Anderson

Sustainability Hall of Fame – 2011

Ray Anderson, was founder and chairman of Interface, Inc. and one of sustainability's earliest pioneers. After experiencing a “spear in the chest” epiphany over 17 years ago, Ray altered the direction of his petro-intensive company forever. Inspired by his vision, Mission Zero is Interface's promise to eliminate any negative impact its companies may have on the environment by 2020.

Alan Atkisson
President & CEO of AtKisson Group

Alan Atkisson

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2013

Alan AtKisson, President and CEO of AtKisson Group. Alan has helped hundreds of organizations and leaders worldwide develop sustainability strategies, design initiatives, manage complex programs, assess progress, and find better pathways to effective sustainability leadership. He led the creation of the ISIS Accelerator, a comprehensive sustainability toolkit used worldwide by businesses, governments, and educational organizations. He is also the author of several books, has worked in over forty countries, and has given hundreds of inspirational speeches and practical workshops on sustainability innovation and leadership.

Janine Benyus
Co-founder, Biomimicry 3.8

Janine Benyus

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2019

Janine Benyus is the Co-founder of Biomimicry 3.8. She is a biologist, innovation consultant, and author of six books, including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. Since the book’s 1997 release, Janine’s work as a global thought leader has evolved the practice of biomimicry from a meme to a movement, inspiring clients and innovators around the world to learn from the genius of nature.

Susan Burns
CEO of Global Footprint Network

Susan Burns

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2014

Susan Burns, CEO of Global Footprint Network. Over the last decade Susan has built Global Footprint Network into one of the leading and most respected scientific organizations in the world addressing global ecological limits. She continues to lead the overall strategic direction of Global Footprint Network and now advises governments and financial institutions on incorporating ecological risk into financial risk analysis and government policy. Prior to launching Global Footprint Network, Susan founded the pioneering sustainability consulting firm Natural Strategies, advising such companies as Mitsubishi Electric, Genencor, and Lowes.

John Elkington
Founder & Chief Pollinator at Volans Ventures, Ltd

John Elkington

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2013

John Elkington, Founding Partner & Executive Chairman of Volans, a future-focused business working at the intersection of the sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation movements. John is also co-founder of SustainAbility, where he remains a non-executive member of the board and of Environmental Data Services. John is recognized as a world authority on corporate responsibility, sustainable development and innovation, and is renowned for introducing the phrase “triple bottom line” into the sustainability lexicon. John has written or co-authored 18 books; his latest, Tomorrow's Bottom Line: The B Team Playbook for Market Gamechangers, will be released in 2013.

Gil Friend
President & CEO of Natural Logic, Inc.

Gil Friend

Sustainability Hall of Fame – 2011

Gil Friend, president and CEO of Natural Logic, Inc., a leading sustainability strategy firm. Friend has been a central figure in the sustainability movement for 40 years, and has helped drive the creation of the sustainability consulting arena over the past twenty years. He is the author of The Truth About Green Business, which was ranked as a top "must read" sustainability book in a recent Triple Pundit survey.

Hazel Henderson
Founder of Ethical Markets Media, LLC

Hazel Henderson

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2013

Hazel Henderson, Founder of Ethical Markets Media, LLC and the creator and co-executive producer of its TV series. She is an interdisciplinary economist and political theorist and contributor to the creation of the ethical investment industry. Hazel is also a world renowned futurist, a worldwide syndicated columnist, consultant on sustainable development, and author of numerous books. Recently, she has served on the boards of such publications as Futures Research Quarterly, The State of the Future Report, and E/The Environmental Magazine.

Jeffrey Hollender
Founder & CEO of Hollender Sustainable Brands

Jeffrey Hollender

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2014

Jeffrey Hollender, Founder and CEO of Hollender Sustainable Brands. Hollender Sustainable Brands has developed and markets Sustain condoms, the first US brand of condoms that is certified to be fair trade, free of chemicals of concern and sustainably produced. Jeffrey is also Adjunct Professor of sustainability and social entrepreneurship at New York University and the co-founder of Seventh Generation. He is also a board member and former Board Chair of the Greenpeace US; co-founder and Board Chair of the American Sustainable Business Council, a coalition of 200,000 business leaders committed to progressive public policy, and a board member of Verite.

Amory B. Lovins
Chairman & Chief Scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute

Amory B. Lovins

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2011

Amory B. Lovins, chairman and chief scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute, who has been active at the nexus of energy, resources, security, environment, development, and economy in more than 50 countries for 40 years.

 

L. Hunter Lovins
President & Founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions

L. Hunter Lovins

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2013

L. Hunter Lovins, President and Founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions, which educates senior decision-makers in business, government and civil society to restore and enhance the natural andhuman capital while increasing prosperity and quality of life. She has co-authored several seminalworks in the field, including the ground-breaking book Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution and most recently co-wrote The Way Out: Kickstarting Capitalism to Save Our Economic Ass. She has taught sustainable business management at Bard College, Bainbridge Graduate Institute in Seattle, Washington, and Denver University, and was a founding professor at Presidio Graduate School's MBA in Sustainable Management program.

Joel Makower
Chairman & Executive Editor of GreenBiz Group, Inc.

Joel Makower

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2014

Joel Makower, Chairman and Executive Editor of GreenBiz Group Inc. Joel is an award-winning author and a leading voice on the intersection of sustainable business, clean technology and innovation. He hosts GreenBiz.com’s annual GreenBiz Forum as well as the VERGE conferences produced around the world by his company, and is author of the annual “State of Green Business” report. Joel speaks widely to companies around the world. He is author of more than a dozen books, including his latest, Strategies for the Green Economy (2008). The Associated Press has called Joel "The guru of green business practices."

Karl-Henrick Robert
Cancer Researcher, Professor, & Founder of The Natural Step

Karl-Henrick Robert

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2011

Karl Henrik Robert, a Swedish cancer researcher and founder of The Natural Step framework for sustainable development. In recent years, he has focused his scientific research through the Real Change Program, an international initiative linking university research specialization in real world application using The Natural Step framework.

Dr. Vandana Shiva
Founder, Navdanya

Dr. Vandana Shiva

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2019

Dr. Vandana Shiva is the founder of Navdanya, an organization protecting the diversity and integrity of living resources, especially native seed, organic farming, and fair trade. She has advanced international progress on issues surrounding biotechnology and genetic engineering, developing biodiversity movements in Africa, Asia, Latin American, Ireland, Switzerland, and Austria, and has advised governments worldwide. Dr. Shiva's contributions to advancing gender equity are internationally recognized, and her book Staying Alive has dramatically shifted popular perceptions of developing economy women and girls. She initiated Diverse Women for Diversity, an international movement of women working for food and agriculture sustainability.

Mathis Wackernagel
Co-Creator of the Ecological Footprint & President of Global Footprint Network

Mathis Wackernagel

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2014

Mathis Wackernagel, Co-Creator of the Ecological Footprint and President of Global Footprint Network, an international sustainability think-tank. Global Footprint Network focuses on bringing about a sustainable human economy in which all can live well within the means of one planet. It proposes the Ecological Footprint, which measures how much nature we use and how much nature we have, as a tool for bringing ecological limits to the center of decision-making everywhere. Mathis has worked on sustainability on six continents and lectured at more than a hundred universities.

Bob Willard
Author & Leading Expert on the Business Case for Sustainability

Bob Willard

Sustainability Hall of Fame, 2011

Bob Willard, a leading expert on quantifying and selling the business case for sustainability. He is a teacher, speaker and author whose books include The Sustainability Advantage, The Next Sustainability Wave and The Sustainability Champion's Guidebook.