Many events have marked the last twenty years. Here we select some of our defining moments.
1987
SustainAbility founded by John Elkington and Julia Hailes, a few months before the Brundtland Commission reports on Our Common Future.
1988
The Green Consumer Guide, authored by John Elkington and Julia Hailes, is launched by Gollancz alongside a Green Consumer Week, organised with WWF and others—and the book goes on to sell around a million copies in multiple editions.
1989
John Elkington and Julia Hailes are elected to the UN Global 500 Roll of Honour for their ‘outstanding environmental achievements.’
SustainAbility signs up the first of a series of international retainer clients.
1990
SustainAbility moves out of John Elkington's house into its first new offices.
Launch a project with Brand New and Dow Europe looking at recycling of polymers in the auto and packaging sectors.
1991
We publish our second GreenWorld Survey, The Corporate Environmentalists and conduct the first international stakeholder engagement session for Novo Nordisk in Denmark.
1992
Three SustainAbility Directors attend the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro—Julia Hailes, Vernon Jennings and (though he still has to join us) Geoff Lye.
1993
Geoff Lye joins SustainAbility's Board as third Director—and combines strategic management with our inherently NGO culture. We publish Coming Clean, our first survey of corporate environmental reporting.
1994
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall and other upheavals, we start to develop our ‘waves’ model of social change.
We coin the phrase 'Triple Bottom Line', followed by the term ‘People, Planet, Profit.’
We establish the Engaging Stakeholders program with the launch of our first benchmark survey of corporate reporting with the United Nations Environment Program.
1995
Brent Spar and Nigeria make Shell a symbol of Triple Bottom Line challenges. We work with a growing number of companies on the implications. Our Rules of Engagement lead us to decline work with Shell.
1996
As the political dimensions of the agenda heat up and more companies seek our advice, we launch our 10-person Council. It is designed to test our thinking and priorities and to guide our engagement with controversial companies.
Turnover exceed £500,000 for the first time.
1997
Cannibals with Forks is published and provided insight to the triple bottom line agenda for business.
We begin work with Shell and advise on their new Profit and Principles report.
1998
We resign our relationship with Monsanto because they resist our advice on societal tensions in Europe with regard to GM technology.
A few months later, we start work with the Ford Motor Company.
1999
Peter Zollinger joins as Executive Director.
SustainAbility publishes The New Foods Guide and the first of our sector reports on the oil industry.
2000
We launch the first in our ongoing series of Global Reporters survey reports, The Global Reporters, alongside the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)—which we have worked with in this area since 1993.
2001
We break the £1m turnover mark.
We open for business in New York.
The Chrysalis Economy is published, focused on the need to blend values and value creation.
Buried Treasure is published, our first report on the business case for sustainable development.
We work with the International Business Leaders Forum to launch Power to Change and introducing the LEADER principles for high performance boards.
We start campaigning on transparency in corporate lobbying, leading to projects with the Green Alliance, WWF and Greenpeace.
We get more involved in the world of social entrepreneurs via the Schwab Foundation.
2002
SustainAbility participates at the World Economic Forum for the first time, held in New York.
SustainAbility publishes Good News and Bad – our first survey of the media sector.
Developing Value is our second business case report, focused on emerging economies, and published with the International Finance Corporation and the Ethos Institute.
Jeff Erikson is appointed Director of Operations in the US.
Tom Delfgaauw, former VP of Sustainable Development at Shell, joins as our first non-executive director.
Turnover exceeds £1.5m and staff numbers reach 20.
2003
Seb Beloe and Yasmin Crowther head up the London office to champion our research and consulting practices.
Peter Zollinger, our Executive Director, moves to Zurich to open an office there.
Mark Lee joins from BSR to open an office in San Francisco and co-direct our US operations.
Our NY office moves to Washington DC.
We participate in the first World Social Forum in Brazil.
We publish The 21st Century NGO: In the Market for Change with the UN Global Compact.
We notice growing interest in the Asia Pacific reason and Toyota joins as a client.
2004
We publish Values for Money with the Mistra Foundation, looking at the future of SRI funds.
Risk and Opportunity is launched with Standard & Poor’s.
Gearing Up: from corporate responsibility to Global Good Governace is published with the UN Global Compact.
We publish Good Migrations, looking at the impact of offshoring for jobs – in partnership with BT.
Sophia Tickell of Oxfam and Just Pensions joins as our second Non-Executive Director.
New clients include Microsoft, Starbucks and Chevron Texaco.
2005
We exceed £2million turnover.
We launch our new website.
Mark Lee becomes CEO and Sophia Tickell takes on role of Company Chair.
John Elkington takes the title Chief Entrepreneur and Peter Zollinger focuses on the finance sector in Zurich.
2006
Strategy review reframes SustainAbility’s Mission, Vison and Values around the theme of ‘Tomorrow’s Value’.
Specialist Sector teams are established: Chemicals, Energy, Food & Beverage, Financial Markets, Healthcare, Knowledge Economy.
We begin our £1m 3-year project with The Skoll Foundation, looking at social enterprise and its relevance to mainstream business.
India and Brazil Country Studies are published.
Kavita Prakash-Mani is promoted to Director and to champion our Emerging Economies work.
2007
Our team grows beyond 30 people and we celebrate the start of our 20th Anniversary year.
SustainAbility supports the publication of One Planet Business by WWF, to which we were a key content contributor.
John Elkington completes his new book on social entrepreneurs - The Power of Unreasonable People - co-authored with Pamela Hartigan of The Schwab Foundation, and due to be published by Harvard Business Press in 2008.
Raising Our Game anticipates future scenarios for sustainability and globalisation, and anticipates the implications for business.
