Pavan Sukhdev

Pavan Sukhdev is a sustainability thought leader, an experienced innovator in sustainability metrics, and an influential voice amongst policy makers and institutions focussed on sustainable development.

While he was Special Adviser and Head of UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative, Pavan led the path-breaking TEEB study (2008-2011,‘The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity’) and UNEP’s landmark report ‘Towards a Green Economy’. He continus to support UN Environment and TEEB as Goodwill Ambassador, and was Special Adviser to their recent study “TEEB for Agriculture and Food” (2018).

Pavan was awarded the McCluskey Fellowship (2011) by Yale University. At Yale, he taught a graduate course on TEEB and wrote his book “Corporation 2020”. This led to his ongoing campaign (launched at Rio+20, 2012) on transforming business for tomorrow’s world. Pavan promotes tomorrow’s corporation, “Corporation 2020”, one with positive rather than negative externalities, as the engine of tomorrow’s inclusive green economy. He promotes four vital micro-policy changes needed urgently for this transition.

Pavan founded GIST Advisory, an international sustainability consulting firm which works with companies and governments to demonstrate & mainstream the recommendations of TEEB, Green Economy and “Corporation 2020”. GIST Advisory is a global leader in measuring and valuing business impacts across all capitals and all SDG’s, helping optimize corporate stakeholder value. It co-created Integrated Profit & Loss (IP&L) analysis for companies, and is at present building a systems platform to promote its uptake.

In January 2018, Pavan was appointed President of WWF-International. WWF is among the world’s largest networks for nature conservation, with offices in over 80 countries and over 5 million donors and members.

A career banker, Pavan delivered TEEB’s Interim Report (2008) whilst still working as a Managing Director of Global Markets Division at Deutsche Bank. His work has been recognized through several awards, including the Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development (2013) and the Blue Planet Prize (2016).