Gil Friend Gil Friend—Palo Alto’s first CSO, and founder and Chairman of Natural Logic Inc.—is widely considered a founder of the sustainable business movement. An inaugural member of the Sustainability Hall of Fame (with Ray Anderson, Amory Lovins, Karl Henrik Robert and Bob Willard), he was named “one of the 10 most influential sustainability voices in America” by The Guardian.
Friend has advised leading companies on sustainability as a driver of innovation and business value; developed one of the first “sustainability dashboards” in 1994; and co-designed the ULe 880 sustainable business standard.
He served in the California Governor’s Office, was a founding board member of Institute for Global Communications, and cofounder of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and serves on the advisory boards of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and Sustainable Brands.
Friend lectures widely on business strategy and sustainability issues, is author of the acclaimed book The Truth About Green Business, and is a seasoned practitioner of “The Natural Step” environmental management system.