2023 GreenBiz 30 Under 30 List of Sustainability Leaders

Recently, GreenBiz announced their annual GreenBiz 30 Under 30, which recognizes young professionals for their commitment to mitigating the climate crisis. The stakes are high, and the needs are great for these emerging leaders.

This year, the GreenBiz 30 Under 30 are tackling climate change at some of the world’s largest corporations, NGOs and government agencies. They work at companies as sprawling and varied as Bank of America, Disney, Hilton, Liberty Mutual, Nike and Wayfair. Or they have launched their own bold ventures. Whether based in Asia, Europe, the Middle East or North America — from Milwaukee to Manila and from Dubai to Dublin — these individuals are making an impact around the globe. 

Take, for example, Madison Barnes, who is mapping Disney’s Scope 3 inventory, from its theme parks to its toys. Colorado atmospheric scientist Emily Sambuco is helping Liberty Mutual assess climate risk. DaWan Smith II is engineering mobile energy backup systems for disaster zones at Sesame Solar in Michigan. 

They’re engineers and analysts, founders and funders, innovators and investors. They’re building trust in carbon markets, decarbonizing global supply chains and electrifying transportation. They’re encouraging Big Ag to adopt regenerative practices and popularizing crops that support biodiversity. They’re getting the fossil fuels out of disaster relief and industrial chemicals. They’re furthering innovations for low-carbon buildings and infrastructure.

In the process, many are also toiling to empower groups — including women, Indigenous populations and Black people — historically excluded from the centers of power and profit.

This year’s cohort was selected by the GreenBiz editorial team from more than 300 applicants and nominees from around the world. A broad range of criteria was considered for the final cut, including each candidate’s demonstrable past accomplishments in advancing corporate sustainability and their potential to influence and accelerate decarbonization efforts into the future. The 2023 honorees join the ranks of an accomplished group of 240 young climate innovators GreenBiz has honored since 2016, who have ambitiously furthered their climate goals and careers ever since. 

There’s Morgan Collins (2021), impact investments director at Microsoft’s $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund, who was Starbucks’ head of sustainable finance when he was honored. Chris Castro (2016), now a chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Energy, was community energy manager for Orlando when we honored him. The company co-founded by 2021 honoree Brock Battochio, Planetary, just signed a contract with Frontier, the $1 billion (funding) carbon buyers initiative created by Alphabet, Meta, Stripe and more.

You can read about this year’s 30 here. And continue to follow their stories as we chronicle their inspiring efforts, and shared mission, to make a difference in the business of sustainability going forward. 

The 2023 30 Under 30 Honorees List: 

John Altomonte, CEO and Founder, Verne Energy Solutions

Dustin Andre, Product and Packaging Sustainability Specialist; MilliporeSigma 

Amjad Azmeer, Doctoral Student, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Madison Barnes, Senior Analyst, Environmental Sustainability, The Walt Disney Company

Cedric Char, Vice President, Fifth Wall

Khiana Deas, Responsible Sourcing Manager, Bank of America

Anna Epstein, Sustainability Manager, Nike

Jamaica Gayle, Director, Sustainability & Environmental Affairs, Plant Based Products Council and Corn Refiners Association

Franck Gbaguidi, Director, Sustainability, Eurasia Group

Sophia Gluck, ESG and Sustainability Lead, Okta

Zikri Jaafar, Head of Enterprise Learning, Terra.do 

Lauren Morrell Kotze, Sustainability Manager, The Cheesecake Factory

Danii Mcletchie, Sustainability Program Manager, North America, Watts Water Technologies; CEO, Carnicycle

Syreel Mishra, Manager, Climate Change Advisory & Sustainability Services, EY

Mackenzie Neal, Program Manager, Division of Workforce and Youth Development, Office of Trust Services, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs

Sarah Nesbit, Co-Founder, BlackOak Collective; Principal Associate, External Affairs, Capital One 

Thomas Newbigging, Senior Sustainability Manager, GSK

Shauheen Noorani, Associate Director, Product, Solugen

Aghnia Dima Rochmawati, ESG Specialist, East Ventures

Haleemah Sadiah, Designer, Catapult Design

Emily Sambuco, Lead Catastrophe Analyst, Research & Development Team, Corporate Enterprise Risk Management, Liberty Mutual

Shrinal Sheth, ESG Advisory, Deutsche Bank

Alex Shockley, Director, Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability, Hilton

DaWan Smith II, Green Hydrogen Product Manager, Sesame Solar

Raymond Song, Carbon Markets and Policy Lead, CTrees 

Visvesh Sridharan, ESG Integration Lead, ERM 

Savannah Tarpey, Shop Sustainably Global Program Lead, Wayfair 

Namitha Thomas, Environment and Sustainability Consultant, AECOM 

Alex Trecha, Program Manager, ICF 

Berklee Welsh, Associate Manager, Sustainability & Mission, Simple Mills

You can read more about each of these innovators here.

Source: GreenBiz