# Joel Makower

> Joel Makower is an Oakland-based journalist, author, entrepreneur and chairman and co-founder of Trellis Group, formerly GreenBiz Group. Since publishing The Green Consumer and launching The Green Business Letter in the early 1990s, he has built a career translating environmental pressure into the language of business through reporting, books, conferences and professional networks.

- **Role:** Chairman and Co-founder at Trellis Group
- **Organizations:** Trellis Group, GreenBiz Group, GreenBiz.com, The Green Business Letter, Music Sustainability Alliance, ClimateVoice
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Undergraduate degree in journalism, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Built GreenBiz.com from a nonprofit web resource into the foundation of a media, events and peer-network company., Authored or co-authored more than a dozen books on green consumerism, corporate responsibility and sustainability strategy., Wrote a nationally syndicated column on green marketing and consumer issues for about 90 U.S. newspapers.

## Career timeline

- **mid-1970s** — Began working as a self-employed journalist after graduating from UC Berkeley.
- **1980s** — Self-published a book and created a book-packaging business that helped bring roughly 15 books to publication.
- **1990** — Published the U.S. edition of The Green Consumer and soon wrote a nationally syndicated column carried by about 90 newspapers.
- **1991** — Launched the monthly print newsletter The Green Business Letter.
- **2000** — Launched GreenBiz.com as a nonprofit knowledge hub focused on business and the environment.
- **2007** — With B2B publishing executive Pete May, commercialized GreenBiz.com and launched the company that became GreenBiz Group.
- **2009** — The company held its first GreenBiz event.
- **2012** — Received the Hutchens Medal from the American Society for Quality.
- **2014** — Inducted into the International Society of Sustainability Professionals Hall of Fame.
- **2016** — Co-authored The New Grand Strategy with Mark Mykleby and Patrick Doherty.
- **2024** — GreenBiz Group adopted the name Trellis Group; Makower continued as chairman and co-founder.
- **2026** — Continued writing and speaking on sustainability leadership, communication and the music industry's climate influence.

## Achievements

- Built GreenBiz.com from a nonprofit web resource into the foundation of a media, events and peer-network company.
- Authored or co-authored more than a dozen books on green consumerism, corporate responsibility and sustainability strategy.
- Wrote a nationally syndicated column on green marketing and consumer issues for about 90 U.S. newspapers.
- Received the 2012 Hutchens Medal from the American Society for Quality.
- Was inducted into the International Society of Sustainability Professionals Hall of Fame in 2014.
- Has delivered keynote talks at more than 200 industry conferences and events.
- Served as a commentator on public radio's Marketplace and appeared across major broadcast and print outlets.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Published and discussed work on the tangible but hard-to-measure value of sustainability events and professional community.
- **2026-07** — Examined whether sustainability professionals are pursuing incremental change inside systems that require broader reform.
- **2026-03** — Argued that the music industry offers a large, underused lever for sustainability through culture, touring and fan engagement.
- **2026-02** — Opened GreenBiz 26 with a reflection that sustainable business remains in the difficult middle of its story rather than at its ending.
- **2026-01** — Wrote about climate communication, the evolving role of chief sustainability officers and the growing complexity of corporate sustainability coverage.

## Links

- Website: https://www.makower.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/makower
- Twitter/X: http://twitter.com/greenbiz
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GreenBiz
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GreenBiz

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joel-makower
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-28