Joel Makower
Trellis Group
For more than 30 years, through his writing, speaking and leadership, Joel has helped companies align pressing environmental and social issues with business success.
A former nationally syndicated columnist, Joel is author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including The New Grand Strategy, about a business plan for America, born at the Pentagon, that embeds sustainability as a national strategic imperative. Previous books include Strategies for the Green Economy, Beyond the Bottom Line: Putting Social Responsibility to Work for Your Business and the World, The E-Factor: The Bottom-Line Approach to Environmentally Responsible Business, and The Green Consumer.
In 2012, he was awarded the Hutchens Medal by the American Society for Quality, which cited “his ability to tell compelling stories that both inform and inspire business leaders toward profitable action.” In 2014, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals.
Joel has spoken at hundreds of events and is a frequent keynote speaker at industry and company events around the world. His audiences and venues vary widely — including senior executives, corporate supply chains, customer groups, trade associations, marketing professionals, award ceremonies, and regional economic development bodies — from small roundtable discussions to large and diverse gatherings.
He is also a skilled moderator, called upon by companies and conferences around the world to conduct on-stage or on-camera one-on-one interviews, or to host lively and intelligent panel discussions with executives and thought leaders, for in-person, video, and online events, and has served as the emcee of dozens of events, including multi-day conferences, harnessing his talents as an engaging host, a nimble thinker, and a quick wit to ensure events rise above “conference as usual.”
The Associated Press has called him “The guru of green business practices.”
More about Joel here.
A Closer Look at IBM's "Smarter Planet" Campaign
In December 2008, GreenBiz.com Executive Editor Joel Makower talked with IBM Corporation's Rich Lechner, Vice President of Energy & Environment, and John Kennedy, Vice President of Integrated Marketing Communications, about the company's "Smarter Planet" advertising campaign. Read More
The Four Simple Steps to Pitch-Perfect Green Marketing
Promoting your green efforts can be a precarious high-wire act, but following these guidelines can take the guesswork out of your communications strategy. (Hint: it doesn't involve Kermit the Frog...) Read More
The Environmental Impacts of Green Buildings
There's no question that green buildings represent one of the genuine success stories of green business -- but just how big of an impact have they had? Our newest report looks in-depth at the real impact of the green building movement. Read More
How Bad Is Greenwashing, Really?
Is greenwashing really as bad a problem as some are making it out to be? Read More
Inside the “greenmuting” paradox
What's worse — saying too little or two much about your company's green goals? Read More
The Death and Rebirth of "50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth"
50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth is back in print, updated for the 21st century. If that doesn't send a mild shiver down your spine, then you are under 25 years old. Read More
Clorox Aims to Show that 'Green Works'
Can a major consumer packaged goods company with a name indelibly associated with household bleach become a leading light in the green marketplace? That's the hope of Clorox, the Oakland-based company, which this week is launching its first new brand in twenty years: Green Works, a line of cleaning products that are, in the company's words, "at least 99 percent natural" Read More
Gary Hirshberg: Changing the Culture and 'Stirring It Up
I've long been an admirer of Gary Hirshberg, the idealistic and iconoclastic "CE-Yo" of organic yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm, which he co-founded in 1983. Read More
Introducing . . . The Eco-Friendly Cigarette?
What would you say if I introduced you to an environmentally friendly cigarette - one made of organically grown tobacco, with organic cotton filters, rolled in eco-friendly paper, all manufactured with renewable energy, with a portion of proceeds going to environmental charities? Read More
The Six Sins of Greenwashing
Is green marketing just a series of lies? That's one conclusion to be drawn from a new study that examines hundreds of environmental labeling claims and found pretty much all of them wanting, suffering from sins of either omission or commission. Read More