Bob Willard

Bob Willard

The Sustainability Advantage

Bob Willard is a leading expert on quantifying and selling the business value of corporate sustainability strategies. A popular author, Willard has written four books; The Sustainability Advantage, The Next Sustainability Wave, The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook and The New Sustainability Advantage, outline the business benefits of sustainable development strategies. A sought-after speaker and consultant, Willard applies his business and leadership experience from his 34-year career at IBM Canada to engage the business community in proactively avoiding risks and capturing opportunities associated with environmental and social issues.


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Bob is a leading expert on quantifying and selling the business value of corporate sustainability strategies and has given hundreds of keynote presentations to corporate, government, university, and NGO audiences. His four books, The Sustainability Advantage (2002), The Next Sustainability Wave (2005), The Sustainability Champion's Guidebook (2009), and The New Sustainability Advantage (2012), plus his DVDs, spreadsheets, numerous webinars, and extensive slide set provide capacity-building resources for champions of sustainability.

He worked 34 years with IBM Canada; serves on the advisory boards of The Natural Step Canada, Learning for a Sustainable Future, and Durham Sustain Ability; is on ad hoc advisory committees for sustainable business certificate programs at three colleges and universities; and is a member of the Durham Region Round Table on Climate Change. He was inducted into the International Society of Sustainability Professionals' Hall of Fame in 2011. He has a PhD in sustainability from the University of Toronto, and is an award-winning certified B Corp.

A sought-after speaker, Willard has given hundreds of keynote presentations to corporate, government, university, and NGO audiences.

  • 2. Leadership Advice for Sustainability Champions

    Based on his book, The Sustainability Champion's Guidebook, Bob Willard provides practical guidance on how to imbed sustainability into a corporate culture. By connecting the dots between timeless leadership practices and sustainability strategies, he shows how sustainability champions at any level in a company can lead a transformation to a smarter and more sustainable enterprise that will thrive in the new economy. He outlines seven steps to take, seven leadership tips and techniques to use, and seven derailers to avoid.

  • 1. Communicating the Business Ca$e for Sustainability

    This presentation describes the compelling business case for sustainability strategies described in Bob's books, The New Sustainability Advantage and The Next Sustainability Wave. Bob Willard shows how executives can increase company value by integrating sustainability strategies with business strategies. In his talk, Bob applies a business lens to sustainability terminology and outlines the five stages companies pass through on their sustainability journey. He then builds the case for change by identifying awakened important stakeholders who could jeopardize a company's reputational value if it fails to be more environmentally and socially responsible, and quantifies potential bottom-line benefits from operating more sustainably, even in an economic recession.

     

  • April 2012

    The New Sustainability Advantage

    The New Sustainability Advantage shows how the benefits of the "triple bottom line" can increase a typical company's profit by at least 51 to 81% within five years, depending on the company's size and industry sector, while avoiding risks that could jeopardize its financial wellbeing. Expressed in clear business language and presented in an appealing, graphically rich format, this practical guide and the accompanying online Sustainability Advantage Simulator Dashboard enables executives to enter their own data and quickly identify high-leverage benefit areas for their organization. More detailed downloadable Sustainability Advantage Simulator Worksheets help them drill down into specific areas of interest and fine-tune the assumptions to their specific situation.


  • next sustainability
    July 2009

    The Next Sustainability Wave

    The idea of sustainability has been embraced enthusiastically by some businesses and rejected by others. The first wave of corporate converts to sustainability was driven by a PR crisis perhaps, regulatory pressures, or the founder's personal passion. The next wave, however, requires different drivers if it is to build a critical mass for corporate responsibility in the business community. The Next Sustainability Wave assesses why companies have resisted sustainability strategies and focuses on two emerging drivers that promise to spur corporate commitment to sustainability strategies.


  • sustainability advantage
    July 2009

    The Sustainability Advantage

    Corporations are under increasing pressure from customers, investors, employees, legislators, banks, and insurance companies to embrace social and environmental responsibility. Up until now, there's been very little evidence expressed in business language showing the benefits of the "triple bottom line" relevant to the short and long-term priorities of senior executives. So how can these seemingly incompatible goals be accomplished at the same time? The Sustainability Advantage shows that the business benefits of sustainable development strategies are quantifiable and real - and executives do not have to be tree-hugging environmental activists to reap these benefits.