Vision: To support and empower diverse, innovative leaders who leverage business for a greater good. Action: Helps build valuable peer-to-peer connections among influential business leaders, social entrepreneurs and impact investors. This creates high-impact collaborations that contribute to a just, humane and sustainable world. www.SVN.org
Vision: To tell the world intimate tales of human courage and sacrifice that will inspire change for the better. Action: Giving a voice to the voiceless is what Kristof does best. The Pulitzer Prize-winner empowers audiences to understand the world we live in. He is author of the two best- selling books, Half the Sky and A Path Appears, coauthored with his wife Sheryl WuDunn. www.Kristof.Blogs.NYtimes.com
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
Vision: Achieve the UN Millenium Development Goals. Action: The most powerful woman in the United Nations, Clark has an annual budget of US$5 billion and a staff of 8,000 in 182 countries. She is leading the charge towards the UN’s Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The former prime minister of New Zealand aims to cut poverty in half and promote gender equality and environmental sustainability. www.UN.org
Vision: A society that nurtures tolerance and understanding among all people. Action: Twenty-something Sridharan invented a mobile app that provides real-time information on water availability in India via SMS. In addition to serving the needs of women in developing countries she has helped solve a problem that affects 90 percent of Asia. www.NextDrop.org
Vision: A world of equitable opportunity, where everyone – no matter race, gender, or religion – is treated with dignity. Action: The pair immerse themselves in pressing global issues and create films about their experiences to inspire action. Their approach is to take the time to listen and help share these stories on a global scale. www.LivingOnOne.org
Vision: We all want justice and equality, a chance for a life with meaning. Action: Contacting the UN High Commissioner for Refugees was Jolie’s first step in using her celebrity status to visit “forgotten emergencies” around the world to keep refugees and displaced people firmly in the media spotlight. www.UNHCR.org
Vision: A society that nurtures tolerance and understanding among all people. Action: The Archbishop Emeritus has identified essential human values as the building blocks for sustainable peace: Love, hope, tolerance and courage. His role as a spiritual leader has transgressed all cultures and religions as he’s made the world aware of our shared humanity. www.Tutu.org
Vision: Solving the world’s energy problems through smart energy means, and solving social problems while you’re at it. Action: Ideas are a necessary first ingredient – and the bigger the idea, the better. He’s turning municipal sewage into usable methane gas, generating 40 million litres of ethanol fuel per year. www.GrowingPower.com
Vision: Sustainability will lead to a whole new funnel of innovation. Action: A key belief is that Unilever will do better business in a healthy society, rather than in an unhealthy one. Healthy business needs healthy society. They have innovated on quality, performance and packaging and brought sustainability deep into their organization. www.Unilever.com
