Top Heroes of Sustainability 2026

At illuminem, the leading platform for sustainability insights with over 700,000 users worldwide, we are uniquely positioned to identify the individuals driving the agenda forward in ways both expected and … less so. After sleepless nights and countless expert consultations, our editorial board presents you: the Top Heroes of Sustainability 2026.

The ranking

1. Donald Trump

Few figures have shaped the sustainability agenda as decisively as Donald Trump. His refreshing rhetoric galvanised a generation of activists who may otherwise have stayed home, while his principled rejection of climate science freed policymakers from the paralysis of consensus. Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement proved a particularly shrewd move: global emissions pledges tightened almost immediately, and climate funding reached record highs within the year. Entire ESG departments owe their existence to the urgent need to rebut positions he articulated. Few leaders have done more to unify climate advocates.

2. Elon Musk

Elon Musk deserves enormous credit for what he has given the planet: a viable electric vehicle and a belief that clean energy could be cool. In return, he has asked very little: to launch rockets through the atmosphere as a hobby, and to purchase the internet's most influential social media platform and optimise it, gently, for climate scepticism. On balance, analysts agree the arrangement has been broadly favourable. For him.

3. Ursula von der Leyen

Ursula von der Leyen has demonstrated that sustainability is, above all, a documentation exercise. The European Green Deal proves that with sufficient legislative density, emissions themselves may eventually feel compelled to comply. In this model, progress is measured not only in tonnes of CO₂ avoided, but in pages produced: an indicator at which Europe continues to lead globally. As for the hydrogen … we don’t talk about the hydrogen.

4. Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift has made an invaluable contribution to the climate conversation by ensuring that carbon footprints remain deeply personal. While governments concern themselves with abstract targets and global averages, Swift, by operating her private jet with the frequency of a regional bus service, has helped reframe emissions as something one can truly own: trackable, attributable, and, ideally, chart-topping.

5. Xi Jinping

Under Xi Jinping, China has achieved the rare distinction of leading both the energy transition and its delay.  It is a masterclass in diversification: by investing heavily in renewables while continuing to expand coal capacity, China has ensured that no narrative becomes too comfortable. In Beijing, this is called vision. In the IPCC, it is called a scenario.

6. Larry Fink

Larry Fink rebranded capitalism as sustainable, a contribution whose elegance lies in its reversibility. By advancing ESG when it was fashionable and softening its prominence when it became contested, he has shown that sustainability, like all successful financial products, must remain responsive to market sentiment. Consistency, in this context, would only have limited its appeal.

7. Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg has arrived at a solution to climate change that has eluded every government, NGO, and intergovernmental panel: spend less time in the physical world altogether. The Metaverse, his proposed alternative, generates no carbon emissions at all, beyond those of the data centres required to run it - just a small caveat roughly the size of a few dozen coal plants.

8. Bernard Arnault

Bernard Arnault has addressed overconsumption by ensuring that it remains aspirational. By pricing luxury at levels that require either generational wealth or a minor existential crisis, he has achieved results that no government carbon tax has managed to replicate. Demand hasn’t disappeared, far from it, but it has been thoughtfully concentrated into the hands of a select few, allowing the rest of society to consume more responsibly by simply not participating.

Closing remark

If you’ve read this far, congratulations ;) … and perhaps a moment of reflection is in order. Because in just a few days, illuminem will unveil its official Thought Leaders of the Year, recognising those genuinely advancing sustainability across business, policy, and society. This list may raise eyebrows; the next one might shape the future. Stay tuned!