Last month, the United Nations’ annual Climate Change Conference, COP30, closed in Belém on the edge of the Amazon rainforest – a region that plays a critical role in regulating the global climate.

The conference once again highlighted a sobering reality: despite years of pledges and negotiations, progress on tackling climate change remains frustratingly slow. While calls were made to increase adaptation finance and accelerate clean energy transitions, hopes for clear roadmaps to end fossil fuel dependence and halt deforestation were ultimately dashed.

This growing gap between ambition and action places increasing pressure on organisations to step up where global agreements continue to fall short. Businesses today face rising expectations from customers, investors, regulators, and employees to demonstrate genuine, measurable sustainability commitments – not just in what they do, but in how they operate and the broader impact they create.

From mandatory sustainability reporting to ESG disclosures and regulatory scrutiny, becoming sustainability-smart is no longer optional. Yet practical guidance on how to embed sustainability into strategy, finance, operations, and leadership can be hard to come by.

This is where academic experts can play a vital role.

Across business schools and universities worldwide, sustainability scholars are translating rigorous research into real-world insight – helping organisations understand complex challenges and chart credible paths forward. Increasingly, many of these academics are using LinkedIn to share ideas, challenge conventional thinking, and influence practice beyond the classroom.

The professors featured below are leading voices in sustainability, ESG, and responsible business. Through their research, teaching, and public engagement, they bridge theory and practice – offering valuable perspectives for professionals, students, and anyone interested in shaping a more sustainable future.

Concepción Galdón – Vice-Dean Business with Purpose, IE Business School

Concepción Galdón is a champion of purpose-driven business and sustainable transformation, currently serving as Vice-Dean of Business with Purpose at IE Business School and Director of IE’s Center for Social Innovation & Sustainability. She leads the Master in Sustainability & Business Transformation and works to embed sustainability across IE’s academic portfolio, bridging research with real-world leadership practice.

Her work spans social innovation, sustainable impact teaching, and global partnerships that advance business as a force for positive change. Galdón’s public engagements and academic contributions highlight frameworks like DARE (Discover, Align, Realize, Evolve), encouraging leaders to move beyond compliance toward purposeful organisational impact.

Galdón posts on purpose-driven leadership, sustainability strategy, and how business can create equitable and long-term value – making her essential for professionals interested in sustainability integration and social innovation.

Find and follow Concepción Galdon on LinkedIn here

Jean-Baptiste Vaujour – Associate Professor & Sustainability Advocate, emlyon business school

Jean-Baptiste Vaujour is a Professor of Practice at emlyon business school, an energy economist, and a recognised expert in green finance, decarbonisation strategy, and sustainable transformation. In addition to his academic role, he is the founder and CEO of Transition(s), a management consulting firm specialising in strategy, finance, and sustainable transformation – bringing more than a decade of industry experience to his teaching and research.

One of Vaujour’s major recent contributions is his co-authored book, Entreprise : Objectif zéro carbone – Les clés d’une décarbonation efficace et créatrice de valeur (Dunod, 2023). This work offers both theoretical foundations and practical guidance for organisations seeking to align decarbonisation with value creation, making it a useful resource for business leaders navigating the transition to low-carbon models.

His academic output also includes research on decision-making under climate uncertainty – including work on robust decision frameworks and how organisations can better respond to complex socio-environmental risks – as seen in his recent contributions on climate uncertainty and AI’s role in decision-making.

Vaujour’s unique combination of academic thought, practical consulting work, and policy-level expertise makes him a compelling voice on topics at the intersection of sustainability, finance, and risk. His writing cuts through abstract theory with frameworks you can apply to corporate decarbonisation, climate-risk planning, and sustainable decision-making – especially in environments where traditional metrics and forecasts fall short.

Find and follow Jean-Baptiste Vaujour on LinkedIn here

Kellie McElhaney – Distinguished Teaching Fellow, Berkeley Haas School of Business

Kellie McElhaney is a leading voice on corporate responsibility, equity-fluent leadership, and sustainability strategy at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She is the Founding Director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership (EGAL) and helped found the Center for Responsible Business – positioning sustainability and social impact as core competencies for future business leaders.

Her research and teaching focus on how organisations can integrate equity, inclusion, and social responsibility into their strategic frameworks, while her published work and keynotes explore how corporate culture and leadership practices drive sustainable and ethical performance.

McElhaney’s blend of sustainability with diversity, equity, and inclusion insights offers a nuanced view of how responsible business leadership creates long-term value – particularly helpful for leaders seeking intersectional approaches to sustainability.

Find and follow Kellie McElhaney on LinkedIn here

Carol Adams – Professor Emeritus and Chair of the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), at Durham University Business School

With over 20,000 citations and four of the top 40 papers published in the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal to her name, Carol Adams is internationally recognised in the academic world as a leading authority on sustainability – especially in the realms of accounting, finance and regulation.

Being Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Carol is also leading the way in championing other academics’ work exploring the relationship between accounting, organisations and sustainable development.

Her work has a real-life and wide-reaching impact through her roles serving on various sustainability-focused industry boards. Carol is currently Chair of the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Global Sustainability Standards Board, and is a member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board’s Sustainability Reporting Project Advisory Panel.

On LinkedIn, she shares updates on frameworks like the GRI and ISSB, insights from key papers and consultations, and real-world cases that show how organisations are managing ESG impacts. Her posts combine academic depth with practical examples, making her essential for anyone interested in understanding and improving sustainability performance.

Find and follow Professor Carol Adams on LinkedIn here

Matt Gitsham – Professor of Business and Sustainability, Hult International Business School

Professor Matt Gitsham brings over two decades of experience researching sustainable development, organisational change, and human rights in business. At Hult International Business School, he serves as Professor of Business and Sustainability and Academic Director of Hult’s Sustainability Impact Lab, where he explores how organisations can lead and measure sustainability change holistically.

His work emphasises the evolution of corporate purpose, stakeholder engagement, and the systems thinking required to embed sustainable practices into strategy and leadership development. Gitsham regularly contributes thought leadership on sustainable business models, ethical supply chains, and the broader societal role of business in achieving sustainability goals.

Gitsham offers a mix of academic insight and practical guidance on sustainable business leadership, research impact, and evolving organisational models – ideal for professionals and academics alike.nce.

Find and follow Professor Matt Gitsham on LinkedIn here

Charles H. Cho – Professor of Sustainability Accounting and the Erivan K. Haub Chair in Business & Sustainability at the Schulich School of Business, York University

With over 20 years’ research and teaching experience under his belt, Charles H. Cho has become a trusted voice in the field of sustainability.

His work explores how sustainability accounting and reporting can be applied in practice, engaging with the sustainability, social and environmental accounting and reporting (SSEAR) field in multiple countries. He too is a member of the is a member of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)’s Global Sustainability Standards Board, as well as holding a seat with a number of other global sustainability-focused organisations.

On LinkedIn, he shares insights from his research, executive training, and international keynote talks, covering ESG reporting, stakeholder engagement, and trust-building in organisations. His posts offer actionable guidance and real-world perspectives, connecting academic findings to the challenges companies face in creating accountable and sustainable business practices.

Find and follow Professor Charles Cho on LinkedIn here

Melissa Gregg – Professor and Advisor on Sustainable Computing Futures at the University of Bristol Business School

Melissa Gregg is an author, ethnographer, and active researcher. Her work examines the intersection of technology, ethics, and sustainability, covering areas such as carbon emissions reduction, circular economy and Green UX.

She also puts her findings into practice as a sustainability consultant, taking a design thinking approach to help organisations engineer initiatives to address climate change.

On LinkedIn, her posts reflect her work. She’s a voice of reason on responsible electronics, circular technology, AI, and the social and ethical implications of emerging digital practices, providing thoughtful reflections on how technology shapes work, research, and society. She’s also keen to highlight the research and actions of others, giving her followers a rich insight into the human and societal dimensions of computing and innovation.

Not one to not practice what she preaches, she’s also involved in land and bird conservation in her home state of Tasmania.

Find and follow Professor Melissa Gregg on LinkedIn here

Albert Plugge – Associate Director & Professor ESG Transformation & Digital Innovation at Nyenrode Business University

Albert Plugge’s research focuses on how organisations can transform their practices through ESG integration and digital innovation – something he was candid in sharing with the BlueSky Thinking team in the most recent series of our Digestible Academia podcast.

As part of the Entrepreneurship, Governance & Stewardship Expertise Center at the University, Albert navigates how companies can rise to the challenge of achieving both their business objectives and compliance with ESG regulations. His work provides actionable insight and guidance for industry to follow.

On LinkedIn, he is active in sharing his perspectives. His posts cover a mix of research programmes, digital ecosystems, cyber resilience, and platform strategies, sharing practical frameworks and case studies that illustrate systemic change.

His content is ideal for professionals looking to understand how sustainability and digital strategies can be combined to drive long-term organisational value.

Find and follow Albert Plugge on LinkedIn here

Hugh Wilson – Professor at Warwick Business School – specialising in sustainability & marketing

Hugh’s expertise are wide-ranging with degrees in both mathematics and computer science earned and a career in management with IT and tech firms before pivoting into marketing and consumer behaviour with a sustainability lens.

Hugh’s research explores the psychology of consumption and sustainable behaviour, purpose-led business and sustainability-oriented innovation – themes that are also at the forefront of his teaching at Warwick Business School. In addition, Hugh is also co-chair of the School’s Sustainability Working Group, working to embed sustainability across the school’s teaching, research and operations.

On LinkedIn, he posts about overconsumption, identity-driven consumer choices, and the development of sustainability reporting and governance. He combines behavioural science with marketing insights and policy discussions, helping followers understand how individuals, businesses, and governments can make more responsible and impactful decisions.

Find and follow Professor Hugh Wilson here

Per Espen Stoknes – Psychologist, Regenerative Economist, and Associate Professor at BI Norwegian Business School

Per Espen Stoknes is known on LinkedIn for sharing clear, research-led insights on how businesses can shift from ESG compliance to meaningful sustainable growth, drawing on his teaching at BI Norwegian Business School in Olso, his research and his role as co-director for the School’s Center for Green Growth.

His work clearly impacts those lucky enough to engage with it. He’s received several “Best Professor” awards from BI Executive for his original teaching style.

Not only does he engage senior-level professionals through executive education. Per Espen Stoknes works closely with heads of industry across Scandinavia and beyond, and through his turn as a TED Global speaker.

He’s also held roles in shaping government policy, having represented the Green Party in the Norwegian parliament, sitting on the standing committee of Finance, between 2017 and 2021.

On LinkedIn he highlights projects that blend ecological philosophy, indigenous knowledge, and regenerative thinking, offering a perspective on sustainability that feels both practical and deeply reflective. He’s a great follow for thoughtful ideas that challenge conventional economics and encourage more holistic, future-focused approaches to responsible business.

Find and follow Per Espen Stoknes on LinkedIn here

Rob Hales – Professor of Sustainability & Social Impact, Griffith Business School

Professor Rob Hales is a senior academic at Griffith Business School in Australia, specialising in sustainability, social impact, and responsible business strategy. His work focuses on how corporations and organisations can operationalise sustainability through ethical governance, stakeholder engagement, and impact measurement frameworks.

Hales teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programs, mentoring future sustainability leaders and contributing to research on environmental and social governance (ESG) integration in business curricula. In his public commentary and executive education engagements, he advocates for actionable sustainability approaches that balance organisational performance with ecological stewardship.

Hales’s position at a major Australian business school positions him to share insights on sustainability trends, academic research, and practical implementation strategies relevant to the Asia-Pacific context and beyond..

Find and follow Rob Hales on LinkedIn here

Dr. Anjanette DeCarlo – Lecturer & Chief Sustainability Scientist, Vermont Grossman School of Business

Dr. Anjanette DeCarlo is a sustainability scholar and practitioner whose work spans ecological supply chains, field research, and ethical resource stewardship. At the Grossman School of Business (University of Vermont), she lectures on sustainability while serving as Chief Sustainability Scientist at the Aromatic Plant Research Center, where her field-based research on ecological systems and supply chain integrity informs both teaching and global policy conversations.

Her work on green and ethical supply webs and initiatives like Save Frankincense highlights the intersection of ecology, business ethics, and socially responsible commerce. DeCarlo’s broad field experience in countries across Africa, Latin America, and Asia enriches her academic voice with on-the-ground sustainability perspectives.

DeCarlo’s work blends ecological science with sustainability strategy and ethical business practices, offering a grounded perspective that connects academic research with real-world sustainability challenges.s.

Find and follow Dr Anjanette DeCarlo on LinkedIn here

Carlos Martin-Rios – Associate Professor of Management at EHL Hospitality Business School

Carlos Martin-Rios may sit within management, but his work, and his LinkedIn presence, leans unmistakably towards sustainability, circularity, and environmental transformation. His posts offer a candid, research-driven look at how hospitality and tourism can respond to climate challenges with integrity and innovation.

His perspectives are backed by a rich academic history, holding Masters degrees in Management, Strategic Human Resource Management, and Statistics, as well as a Ph.D. in Management and Labour Relations, gained at Rutgers University. He’s also authored more than 40 journal publications, multiple articles, book chapters, and is a regular invited speaker across the events scene.

Outside of academia, Carlos has built a reputation as a consultant, serving as an advisor in launching innovation and talent management programs, and two consulting companies.

On LinkedIn he shares reflections on ambitious workshops, collaborative research projects, and the uncomfortable but necessary conversations around the gap between sustainability commitments and real operational change.

He’s worth following for his ability to connect academic insight with industry practice, his focus on regenerative models, and his drive to build research networks that move from discussion to meaningful, funded impact.

Find and follow Carlos Martin-Rios on LinkedIn here

By, Megan-Rose Vince

Interested in this series? You might also like these…