Thomas Kostigen

Thomas Kostigen has traveled the world—from the deserts of the Middle East to the slums of India; from polluted cities in China to the jungles of Borneo; from the Arctic Circle to the Amazon; as well as many other environmental hot spots—to investigate the effect of man on the planet. Kostigen is The New York Times best-selling coauthor of The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time, and You Are Here: The Surprising Link Between What We Do and What That Does to the Planet which was published in September 2008.

Kostigen’s most recent work, The Green Blue Book: The Simple Water-Savings Guide to Everything in Your Life, gives tips for saving water: the water you see, use and the concept of “virtual water,” the water you cannot see but is embedded in the things all humans consume. The Green Blue Book provides an extensive guide to help audiences make smarter decisions to reduce the demand for water-intensive foods and products.

Kostigen writes the “Better Planet” column and blog for Discover Magazine, as well as the “Ethics Monitor” column for Dow Jones MarketWatch. He has spent almost two decades exploring issues related to global warming, the environment, social issues, and governmental policies.

At the podium, Kostigen employs images from his world travels to powerfully demonstrate the impact of our actions. He takes people to the frontlines of the most environmentally significant places on Earth and explains how everyday actions matter. Bringing the audience with him on his adventures to exotic locales, he provides “Wow!” factoids and empowering messages, as well as highlights the opportunities—for sustainability, profitability and natural resource efficiency. In a program that imparts an understanding of here-and-now issues, Kostigen educates audiences on the importance of their actions and leaves them emboldened to make changes in their businesses and their lives.

An advocate of corporate social responsibility, Kostigen regularly works with CERES (corporate environmental responsibility), Coop America, Liberty Hill, The Social Investment Forum, and other organizations that aim to shift social and environmental awareness through changes in habits and policies.

Kostigen has appeared on Today, Entertainment Tonight, Character Road Trip, The Daily Green, SPRIG, The Lazy Environmentalist, Good Company, Westwood One Radio Networks, and CBS Radio. He was recently asked by the State of California to serve as an environmental expert for a series of Public Service Announcements and video campaigns that will air throughout the state.