Vision: Mobilizing business leadership for a sustainable world. Action: Ceres was formed 25 years ago after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Their mission was to bring environmentalists and capitalists together to forge a new sustainable business model, one that would help protect the planet, weaving social challenges and investor decision- making into the capital markets to help build a thriving global economy. www.Ceres.org
Vision: To inspire business to assume responsibility for the whole of society. Action: The academy is a nonprofit think tank and action incubator that assists those in business who share their values. They explore the roles and responsibilities of business in relation to critical moral, environmental and social issues of our day. www.WorldBusiness.org
Vision: Imagine a world in which our economy works for all people – this generation and the next. Action: Reframing the conversation about sustainability – from one of responsibility, cost savings and risk mitigation to one of revenue growth and opportunity for innovation. www.SustainableBrands.com
Vision: Be an optimist. Focus on a few big goals that can help every person have a healthy, productive life. Action: Some of the projects the foundation funds will fail. Bill and Melinda Gates not only accept that, they expect it—because they think their essential role is to make bets on promising solutions that governments and businesses can’t afford to make. They adjust strategies and share the results so everyone can benefit. www.GatesFoundation.org
Vision: To enable leaders to make wiser decisions so that there is less suffering as a result of war. Action: Elworthy has brought nuclear weapons policy makers into dialogue with their counterparts and with their critics, in confidential under-the-radar meetings to discuss the terms of treaties. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times. www.ScillaElworthy.com
Vision: A world in which business becomes a global force for positive social change. Action: Mainwaring wrote We First: How Brands and Consumers Use Social Media to Build a Better World. He started speaking around the world and writing for industry magazines to share these ideas. www.WeFirstBranding.com
Vision: To convince everybody they have a vested interest in fighting for the environment – however disenfranchised they feel. Action: Creator of the Observer Ethical Awards, Siegle thinks the circular economy has enormous potential to create positive change. @lucysiegle
Vision: A world where no one is powerless and creating change is part of everyday life. Action: The world’s first online platform for change has provided a petition tool for more than 87 million users since 2007. Rattray’s mission is to empower people everywhere to create the change they want to see. Twenty-five million people across 50 countries have already participated in at least one winning campaign. www.Change.org
Vision: Inspire the next generation of content creators to focus on gender equality and reduce stereotyping in children’s media. Action: The Institute has amassed the largest body of research on gender prevalence in entertainment. A biennial symposium convenes decision makers, content creators and thought leaders to share how best to establish a gender- balanced media landscape. www.SeeJane.org
Vision: A world in which humans live sustainably, in harmony with one another and nature, powered mostly by solar energy. Action: The principal organizer of the first Earth Day in 1970, Hayes helped launch the modern environmental movement. He recently built what some have described as the greenest office building in the world. www.bullitt.org
