Joel Makower

Joel Makower is co-founder, chairman, and executive editor of GreenBiz Group, Inc., a media and events company that created GreenBiz.com along with research and events on sustainable business and clean technology. Makower is known for his work on how companies integrate environmental thinking into their operations and communicate their environmental efforts to consumers. He hosts GreenBiz’s annual GreenBiz forums, as well as the VERGE and Circularity conferences produced by his company, and is principal author of the annual “State of Green Business” report.

For 30 years, Makower has been a well-respected voice on business, sustainability and clean technology. As a writer, speaker, and entrepreneur on corporate sustainability practices, he has helped a wide range of companies align environmental goals with business strategy. He also writes a blog called "Two Steps Forward.

Prior to founding GreenBiz, Makower co-founded Clean Edge Inc., a research firm devoted to clean energy technology acting as a senior consultant to GreenOrder, a sustainability strategy firm. In addition, he has consulted for many Fortune 500 companies such as Gap, General Motors, Hewlett Packard, and Procter and Gamble. In recognition of his influential work, Makower was awarded the Hutchens Medal by the American Society for Quality for 'his ability to tell compelling stories that both inform and inspire business leaders toward profitable action', and he was formally admitted into the Hall of Fame of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals.

A former nationally syndicated columnist, Makower is author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including "The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America’s Prosperity, Security and Sustainability in the 21st Century," about a business plan for America, born at the Pentagon that embeds sustainability as a strategic national imperative. His other books cover topics such as the green economy, the green consumer, and environmentally responsible business.

Makower frequently keynotes corporate events, business associations, and regional business and economic development events, is a sought-after moderator and host of sustainability events, and is frequently quoted in major news media, including Fortune, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Time, and public radio’s "Marketplace". He advises several startups and chairs the board of the nonprofit youth entrepreneurship organization United Roots.