Adam Werbach

Adam Werbach is a technology entrepreneur, environmental activist, and author whose career spans more than three decades at the intersection of sustainability, business, and media. Werbach became the youngest person elected as national president of the Sierra Club at age 23. As a student, Werbach founded the Sierra Student Coalition, growing it to 30,000 members in the United States, and led a coalition of students to pass the California Desert Protection Act, which created Death Valley National Park and Joshua Tree National Park.

As Sierra Club president, Werbach negotiated an agreement with the Clinton Administration to create the 1,900,000-acre Grand Staircase of the Escalante National Monument. During his first year in office, he toured the country giving more than 200 speeches, and by the end of his second term, the average age of a Sierra Club member had dropped from 47 to 37. After leaving the Sierra Club, Werbach founded Act Now Productions to experiment with storytelling and emerging web technology, producing and hosting two seasons of the cable newsmagazine show "Thin Green Line." He later co-founded the Apollo Alliance, which developed the model for a $150 billion clean energy investment program.

Werbach's career is marked by a willingness to challenge conventional thinking in environmentalism and sustainable business. In a speech before the Commonwealth Club of California titled "The Death of Environmentalism and the Birth of the Commons Movement," he argued that the environmental movement had stalled due to outdated approaches. The speech was broadcast widely and led to an invitation from Walmart to engage its 2 million employees in a campaign to mainstream sustainability. His company created the Personal Sustainability Plan (PSP) employee engagement program for Walmart, training 1.5 million employees. Werbach sold Act Now to Publicis Groupe and became global CEO for Saatchi & Saatchi S, where he helped launch products from the Toyota Prius to wind turbines.

Werbach is the author of "Act Now, Apologize Later" (Harper Perennial) and "Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto" (Harvard Business Press). "Strategy for Sustainability" is taught at business schools including Stanford, Wharton, and Harvard, and was named one of the top 10 business books of the year by Fast Company Magazine. He was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement by the American Advertising Federation for his work on sustainable marketing and was chosen as a Young Global Leader by the Forum for Young Global Leaders at the World Economic Forum. Twice elected to the International Board of Greenpeace, Werbach is a frequent commentator on sustainable business, appearing on networks including BBC, NPR, and CNN, and on shows such as "The O'Reilly Factor" and "Charlie Rose."

Werbach co-founded Yerdle, a peer-to-peer marketplace that helped people and companies re-use physical items, which grew to more than 1 million members. The company later became Trove and supported brands including Lululemon, Allbirds, Nordstrom, and Levi's in creating re-use programs. He also co-founded Win The Future, an organization focused on increasing voice and choice in America's political system, alongside Zynga founder Mark Pincus and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. Werbach helped Kapital Entertainment launch its Unscripted and Digital Television division and previously served as the global lead for sustainable shopping at Amazon.com. From grassroots activism to global boardrooms, Werbach's career demonstrates the enduring relevance of sustainability as both a moral imperative and a strategic advantage in business and technology.