illuminem Founder honored by UN as 'active part of change'

We are incredibly honored and humbled by this extraordinary recognition from the United Nations. To our CEO and founder, Andrea Gori — congratulations on this remarkable achievement! Being named among just fifty Impact Makers worldwide is a testament to your unwavering vision and dedication to creating real change. This honor belongs not only to Andrea but to our entire illuminem community — our team, our users, and everyone committed to building a more sustainable world. Together, we'll continue pushing boundaries and empowering action toward a healthier, more equitable future for all.

Awarded for being an active part of change and recognized as an "Impact Maker," this is a prestigious honor coming from an institution like the United Nations — especially when the same recognition has been given to only forty-nine other people worldwide. Scroll through the list, and you'll find the only Italian among them: a young man from Pistoia named Andrea Gori, just over thirty years old.

The selection came following the United Nations Climate Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, where the Presidency of the UN Climate Convention (UNFCCC) identified fifty civil society leaders who have distinguished themselves through their concrete contributions to a healthier, more equitable, and resilient future.

Andrea joins other world-renowned figures like Helmy Abouleish, the Egyptian pioneer of sustainable agriculture in Africa, who has created thousands of jobs, and Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, one of the world's leading international jurists on climate law.

An entrepreneur and university professor, Andrea is considered one of the key figures in European sustainability. Gori founded illuminem, a Tuscan startup that the Italian Ministry of the Environment has recognized as the "world's leading platform in sustainability information and data." With over 600,000 followers, the platform delivers hundreds of daily news items on sustainability and enables real-time monitoring of the environmental and social performance of thousands of companies through more than two hundred indicators.

Just a year ago, the startup raised capital from five international venture capital firms, achieving the highest valuation for a sustainability startup in Italy — over 12 million euros. As the youngest professor at HEC Paris, Europe's top business school according to the Financial Times, Gori teaches the continent's only Greentech course. He's also a former Global Green Champion at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he led projects on sustainable investments, innovation, and transformation for governments and multinationals.

Gori graduated from his city's scientific high school before pursuing international studies at Bocconi in Milan, the London School of Economics, and HEC Paris.

This article is also published in Italian on La Nazione. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.

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