SustainabilityWorks partners have pioneered the fields of “going green” and sustainability assessments, indicators and results metrics, implementing sustainability tracking tools and reporting, leadership and communication skills — from handling internal politics to effective public relations — for well over a decade. Our consulting team brings diverse experience to client partnerships, complementing the experience of client teams, and improving the speed, quality, and longevity of results. Ultimately, we aim to establish on-going cultures of sustainability within organizations, and our clients benefit from our well-rounded experience in leadership development and training. The SustainabilityWorks team is:
Biographies
Daniel Robin
Daniel Robin brings more than twenty-six years of executive/board, financial and business development experience to his consulting and teaching work, with a background in international marketing and venture capital, sustainability planning, and using Balanced Scorecard as a sustainability management tool.
Mr. Robin has been leading popular corporate seminars, conducting workshops and inspiring groups since 1985. More recently, he has given keynote presentations, chaired conferences on renewable fuels and biodegradable products, conducted seminars on commercializing advanced renewable materials, sustainability reporting, and sustainability metrics using Balanced Scorecard and other tools. Mr. Robin is adjunct professor of strategy and management at the Fisher International MBA Program, a top-rated graduate school for entrepreneurship (ranked 8th out of more than 700).
Author of more than 200 published articles on leadership, communication, investing, innovation and professional development, Mr. Robin has served on the board of the Sustainability Academy and several ventures funded by his cleantech commercialization company, In3 Group (www.in3inc.com). Mr. Robin is also CEO of In3 Finance (www.in3finance.com). Consulting clients include Pacific Gas & Electric, Diversey Lever, Driscoll’s, Hewlett Packard, Chemical Fabrics & Film Association, ExxonMobil Chemical, numerous NGOs, governments and educational institutions. After completing his formal education at UC Santa Cruz (1981 bachelors, Computer & Information Science) and UC Berkeley (1984, Marketing and International Business), Mr. Robin received certificates in public speaking, coaching, and NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP Comprehensive). View Mr. Robin’s complete bio
In3 is a private investment, market research and “venture catalyst” organization specializing in renewables, biomaterials and bioenergy (clean technology) commercialization and project finance. Mr. Robin is also co-founder and managing partner in Renewable Energy Investor Forum (www.renewablesinvestors.com).
Sharon Sarris
Founder and Principal of Greenfuse (www.greenfuseenergy.com), based in Aptos, California, a company based on sustainable business practices, and a former endorsing member of Ceres (www.ceres.org). Sarris is a former General Motors’ executive who contributed to GM’s sustainability report based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). She managed project teams with members from engineering, R&D, and manufacturing in GM’s highest quality U.S. plant in California and at the GM Technical Center, and was a quality improvement and organizational development director for the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. Sarris was also a member of the innovative team process that introduced GM’s EV1 electric vehicle in the mid-‘90s.
As a volunteer with the Sustainable Business Institute (San Jose, Calif.), Sarris led a team that developed the first-ever “Seal of Sustainability” program to recognize businesses that implement integrated sustainability practices. She also served two terms as an elected member of the Board of Trustees of Schoolcraft (Community) College in Livonia, Michigan. She is the co-founder and past co-chair of the Monterey Bay Branch of the U.S. Green Building Council and is a LEED Accredited Professional. She currently serves as an appointed memer of the County of Santa Cruz Commission on the Environment. Sarris earned a BA from Michigan State University and a MA from the University of Michigan.
Laura Strohm
Laura Strohm is a sustainability consultant currently in private practice in partnership with the firm Ecometrics. They work with all sizes and types of organizations on sustainability assessments, reports, and training.
In 2005 she founded The Sustainability Academy at Monterey, California, and served as its Executive Director through 2009. The mission of this think-do-teach tank is to accelerate the mainstream practice of sustainability through hands-on education.
Prior to starting The Academy, Dr. Strohm taught International Environmental Policy (IEP) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies for a dozen years. She designed the curriculum for the graduate program in IEP, a dual degree in business and environment, and special career training in that field. She has authored articles on the international waste trade, trade and environment, and comparative environmental policy. Known as an excellent teacher, she offered courses in International Environmental Law and Organizations, Sustainable Development, and Policy Analysis. Previous academic appointments include the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Harvard, UCLA, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Before taking her graduate degree (Ph.D.) at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy in Boston in 1991, she worked for both the County of Santa Cruz and the US Soil Conservation Service in watershed management and soil conservation in California. That work encompassed environmental planning, regulatory enforcement, and community education.
Matthew Marichiba
Matthew Marichiba is a sustainable business consultant and strategic planner with a background in engineering, writing, and education. He specializes in workplace culture change, with a focus on increasing productivity while improving employee engagement and satisfaction. Matthew has worked with organizations such as Environmental Defense Fund, the City of Berkeley, and Community Alliance for Family Farmers to create strategic plans, marketing plans, financial models, and industry analyses. He has also worked for the Monterey Bay Area Green Business Program certifying green businesses. Matthew’s toolbelt contains a combination of group facilitation, improvisational acting and play, business coaching, community building, business acumen, online collaboration expertise, and analytical engineering rigor. He is based in the Monterey Bay Area, and his goal is to help organizations develop profitable strategies that bring forth a world that is environmentally sustainable, socially just, and spiritually fulfilling.
Matthew has ten years of experience in digital system design in Silicon Valley, including field applications engineering, customer training, product marketing, communications and technical writing, and team management. He holds an MBA in Sustainable Management from the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. He received his Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and Bachelors of Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
Anders Riel Müller
Anders Riel Müller is the founder and Executive Director of ClimateAdapt, a non-profit organizations assisting cities, towns, and communities identify, implement and manage climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives. He is also a Senior Advisor on Renewable Energy and Sustainability to the Danish Foundation Baltic Sea Solutions.
During his career, Anders has led a wide range of local, regional and international initiatives within the areas of climate change, renewable energy and sustainability. He is the cofounder of Climate Action Map (www.climateactionmap.org), a free global web based geo-spatial visualization tool for cities to share climate change initiatives. He has worked with cities and institutions across the globe on regional and local strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
In the renewable energy field, he has organized several research workshops on micro-grids, energy storage systems, and offshore algae cultivation. Anders also initiated and led the Denmark California Renewable Energy Summer Program, a 4 week intensive applied research course between 5 Danish and California universities.
Prior to entering the world of sustainability consulting, he worked as a researcher in Canada and the US. His research was primarily focused on corporate social and environmental responsibility in global supply chains. He also did research on international agricultural trade policy, Global Commodity Chains, and rural poverty in Asian and Africa.
Anders holds an MA in Business Studies and Technological and Socio-Economic Planning from Roskilde University in Denmark.