Sustainability Champion

An individual who seeks to lead change in an organization to transform that organization into a smarter, more successful, and more sustainable enterprise.  This individual may exist at any level within an organization and in any type of organization, from the Chief Executive Officer to administrative assistant, from Mayor to city staffer, from university president to student leader.

The term was coined by Bob Willard, author of The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook.  Sustainability Champions are most effective when they: establish personal credibility about sustainability; pursue dialogue; seek collaborations and networks; meet people where they are; piggyback sustainability initiatives on existing processes; influence the influencers; and practice “planful opportunism.”