eQ Advisors
Ralph Earle, III
Ralph Earle, III is founder and principal of the Assabet Group, an eco-efficiency consultancy based in Concord, MA. He has created innovative, business-based solutions to corporate environmental problems for over two decades, authoring numerous studies on environmental strategy, environmental management, recycling, and life cycle analysis.
Prior to The Assabet Group, Mr. Earle was a founding Director of the Alliance for Environmental Innovation, a project of Environmental Defense and The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Alliance's projects with SC Johnson, Starbucks, and United Parcel Service have been widely hailed as an example of positive environmental change. Prior to the Alliance, Mr. Earle led Arthur D. Little's Competitive Environmental Strategy practice, helping corporations integrate environmental considerations into their long-term decision making processes.
Mr. Earle has also served as Assistant Secretary of Environmental Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Gib Hedstrom
Gib Hedstrom has 25 years of experience advising CEOs and board members about how to handle the toughest environmental challenges of the day. Schooled in finance at GE, Gib spent 20 years at Arthur D. Little, leading significant aspects of ADL's environmental strategy, governance and auditing work. He was elected a Vice President of the firm in 1989.
On over 50 occasions, Gib has reported to outside boards of directors of Fortune 500 companies regarding environmental governance, emerging issues, sustainable development, and audit program oversight.
Following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, Gib led ADL's worldwide Sustainable Development team until 2001. During this time, Gib also managed ADL's EHS activities throughout Europe and Asia. From 2001 to 2003, Gib was a partner with PA Consulting Group (the largest consulting firm in the U.K.), leading the firm's corporate environmental and sustainable development practice.
Terry Kellogg
Terry has worked at the intersection of business and the environment for thirteen years. His focus areas have included forestry issues at the Vermont Natural Resources Council, mining at the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and renewable energy at Green Mountain Energy. Through work with both for profit and non-profit organizations, Terry has gained a deep appreciation for the role that each can play in affecting positive change.
In 2000, Terry became the first staff person at The Timberland Company dedicated to minimizing the company’s environmental footprint and supporting new markets for sustainable products. Under Terry’s leadership, Timberland reduced its carbon footprint by more than fifteen percent, adopted widespread use of water based adhesives, and launched programs in green building and organic cotton. The company also pioneered several environmental assessment tools, performance management, and product rating systems that were successful in dramatically improving alignment around and movement towards the company’s environmental goals. Terry left his job as Director of Environmental Stewardship at Timberland in March of 2005 to join One Percent for the Planet. Since that time, One Percent has grown its membership base from 92 to more than 700 companies.
Terry has a BA in Economics from Middlebury College and a MBA and a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University where his thesis focused on the role of web based systems for managing corporate environmental performance. He serves of the Board of the Northern Forest Center and as an advisor to the Clark Group and eQuilibrium.
Deborah E. Savage, Ph.D.
Dr. Savage is the founder and Director of the Environmental Management Accounting Research and Information Center (EMARIC), as well as a Senior Associate at the Coalition of Environmentally Responsible Economies (Ceres). She has 15+ years experience working with both business and government in the areas of materials accounting, environmental cost accounting, corporate environmental performance evaluation and reporting, pollution prevention/cleaner production, supply chain environmental management, and related topics.
Her work has included policy and strategic planning, research, technical assistance, software development, and curriculum development and training, both in the US and overseas. Dr. Savage's project funders have included government agencies in the US, Austria, Canada, Korea, Taiwan, and the UK, as well as international government agencies such as the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development.
She has also worked with firms from both large and small industry sectors including chemicals, electronics, telecommunications, automotive, dry cleaning, and printing.
Prior to EMARIC, Dr. Savage was a Senior Scientist at Tellus Institute and a visiting lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University in 1984, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1992. She also studied for one year in Germany as a Fulbright Fellowship recipient.
Bob Willard, Ph.D.
Bob is a leading expert on the business value of corporate sustainability strategies. In the last five years, he has given hundreds of keynote presentations to corporations, governments, academics, and NGOs. Bob applies business and leadership development experience from his 34-year career at IBM Canada to engage the business community in proactively avoiding risks and capturing opportunities associated with sustainability issues.
He is the author of The Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line which quantifies potential bottom-line benefits from using sustainability strategies, and The Next Sustainability Wave: Building Boardroom Buy-in which shows how to convince senior executives to commit to sustainability strategies. His most recent venture is a DVD presentation of The Business Case for Sustainability. It is used in webinars and videoconferences and helps reduce his carbon footprint from global speaking trips.
Bob is on the faculties of the Sustainable Enterprise Academy and the Education and Sustainability Academy; the advisory boards of The Natural Step Canada, Durham Sustain Ability, Learning for a Sustainable Future, and eQuilibrium; and is a member of the Education Alliance for a Sustainable Ontario, the International Society of Sustainability Professionals, and the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers.
He has a BSc from McGill University (1964), an MEd from the University of Toronto (2000), and a PhD from the University of Toronto (2005). A resident of Ontario, he is the proud owner of his fourth hybrid car, a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid.
More information about Bob and his resources for sustainability champions can be found at www.sustainabilityadvantage.com.
