TOP 10 Most-Read Thought Leaders of 2024 in Environmental Sustainability

Discover also our 2024 rankings of the Most Read Thought Leaders in Carbon, Climate Change, Energy, Energy Transition, ESG, Green Tech, Nature, Social Responsibility, Sustainable Business and Sustainable Finance. Explore how this year’s leaders compare to the most influential environmental sustainability voices of 2022!

We are proud to present the most-read Thought Leaders of the year in Environmental Sustainability globally, as recognized by illuminem's ever-growing community of over 500,000+ readers.

The authors listed below are part of a distinguished group of over 1,500 Thought Leaders publishing on illuminem. They include business leaders, scientists, academics, activists and policymakers from every corner of the globe. While their perspectives may differ, they are united by a shared mission: to advance environmental sustainability, protect natural resources, and foster innovation for a healthier, more sustainable planet.

Please help us congratulate the TOP 10 Sustainability Thought Leaders of 2024 in Environmental Sustainability!

1️⃣ Christopher Caldwell - CEO of United Renewables
Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Most-Read Thought Piece: On post-truth accounting (I/III)
Profile: Christopher Caldwell is the CEO of United Renewables, where he employs his past experiences as a corporate lawyer, investment banker, and team leader to lead all aspects of the business. Chris holds a degree in business from Trinity College Dublin, an MBA from London Business School, and is a former executive committee member of London Business School.

2️⃣ Ismahane Elouafi - Executive Managing Director of CGIAR and Fmr. Chief Scientist of the FAO of the United Nations
Country: Morocco 🇲🇦
Most-Read Thought Piece: Why biodiversity matters in agriculture and food systems
Profile: Dr Ismahane Elouafi is Chief Scientist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and CGIAR executive managing director. She has been ranked amongst the 20 Most Influential Women in Science in the Islamic World. She has experience in delivering stakeholder engagement in the environmental research sector with not-for-profit research organizations and government agencies.

3️⃣ Alessio Terzi - Professor of Sciences Po and University of Cambridge and fmr. Economist of the European Commission 
Country: Italy 🇮🇹
Most-Read Thought Piece: If you care about the climate, should you be anti-AI?
Profile: Alessio Terzi is an economist of the European Commission and adjunct professor at Sciences Po and HEC Paris, with over 10 years of experience at the intersection of EU policy-making, think tanks, and academia. He specializes in strategic advice on economic policy, with a focus on sustainable growth, macroeconomics, and competitiveness.

4️⃣ Monty Simus - Global Director of Public Affairs, Policy, and Blue Finance of The OceanCleanup
Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Most-Read Thought Piece: What’s needed to create more bankable projects in least-developed countries
Profile: Montgomery (Monty) Simus is the Global Director of Public Affairs, Policy, and Blue Finance of The Ocean Cleanup, where he leads efforts to drive global policy change and innovative financing for ocean restoration. He previously served as a 2023 Impact Leader In Residence at Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, focusing on global water accessibility, sustainable investing, and resilient infrastructure. Monty has spent several decades at the nexus of impact investing, catalytic philanthropy, and innovative social finance, building and scaling high-growth, purpose-driven commercial and philanthropic initiatives that serve millions in the Global South.

5️⃣ Antonio Vizcaya Abdo - Corporate Sustainability Professor of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Country: Spain 🇪🇸
Most-Read Thought Piece: Sustainability weekly update
Profile: Antonio Vizcaya Abdo is a consultant for Kueponi Consultoría SC and professor specialized in corporate sustainability and impact. Recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice on sustainability, dedicated to educating and igniting collective and individual action to address social and environmental issues.

6️⃣ Wim Naudé - Professor of Aachen University
Country: The Netherlands 🇳🇱
Most-Read Thought Piece: Depopulation, defertilisation, deglobalization, and domination: the end of food security?
Profile: Wim Naudé is visiting professor in Technology and Development of Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University, Germany; research fellow at the IZA Institute for Labor Economics, Germany; and distinguished visiting professor in Economics at the University of Johannesburg. According to Stanford University’s rankings, he is amongst the top 2% of scientists in the world.

7️⃣ Monica Sanders - Fmr. Senior Committee Counsel for the US House and Senate Committees on Homeland Security, and Founder of The Undivide Project
Country: United States 🇺🇸
Most-Read Thought Piece: Paradise at risk
Profile: Monica Sanders is the founder of The Undivide Project, an organization addressing climate resilience and digital justice in underserved communities. She is the inaugural social innovator in Residence at Grinnell College, an adjunct professor of Law at Georgetown University and a contributor of Forbes. Monica has served as senior committee counsel for the House and Senate Committees on Homeland Security and as Senior Legal Advisor at the American Red Cross.

8️⃣ Gokul Shekar - Head of ESG & Climate Change at The Carbon Collective Company
Country: India 🇮🇳
Most-Read Thought Piece: Sailing the seas of change: luxury travel, climate crisis, and our oceans' plea
Profile: Gokul Shekar has over 18 years of experience in B2B education and global team leadership across regions such as the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and India. He is currently head of ESG & Climate Change at The Carbon Collective Company, where he collaborates with businesses to support them in working towards bringing positive impacts on climate change, ecosystems, and communities worldwide.

9️⃣ Antoine Halff - Chief Analyst and Co-Founder of Kayrros
Country: France 🇫🇷
Most-Read Thought Piece: The need to fail
Profile: Antoine Halff is chief analyst and co-founder of Kayrros, a global environmental intelligence company and the world leader in earth and asset observation technology. Kayrros has been recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Companies in the World by TIME magazine. Antoina also works as non-resident fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy.

🔟 Laura Basconi - Chief Sustainability Officer at AWorld
Country: Italy 🇮🇹
Most-Read Thought Piece: Why climate change is everyone's business
Profile: Laura Basconi is chief sustainability officer at AWorld, the official platform of the United Nations and the European Commission for climate and SDG action and awareness. She holds a PhD in Science and Management of Climate Change, along with degrees in Biology and Ecology. Her expertise includes stakeholder engagement, ESRS S1 and S2, double materiality matrix, and ESRS E1.

To the most read sustainability thought leaders in environmental sustainability, congratulations on your well-deserved recognition. Your commitment to excellence has set a high standard for us all, and we are excited to see the continued growth and innovation that will undoubtedly define the future of sustainability initiatives in 2025.

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