Gil Friend Biography

The founder, CEO and chair, of Natural Logic Inc, which helps companies design, implement and measure profitable sustainability strategies is Gil Friend. He’s also a founder of Critical Path Capital, a family of funds. Friend is also a sought after keynote speaker who is widely considered as one of the founders of the sustainability movement, and was named an inaugural member of the Sustainability Hall of Fame (along with Ray Anderson, Amory Lovins, Karl-Henrik Robert and Bob Willard) by the International Society of Sustainability Professionals, acknowledging “those people that have contributed the most to the emerging field of sustainability,” and “one of the 10 most influential sustainability voices in America” by The Guardian. He served as the first Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Palo Alto, California, from December 2013 to November 2018, where he led the development of one of the most aggressive climate action plans in the US, winning the unanimous city council support for a goal of 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (and reaching 56% reduction by his departure to return to Natural Logic.) Friend is also a systems ecologist and business strategist with nearly 50 years experience in business, communications, and environmental innovation. He combines broad business experience with unique content experience spanning strategy, systems ecology, economic development, management cybernetics, and public policy. He’s called “One of the country’s leading environmental management consultants—a real expert who combines theoretical sophistication with hands-on, in-the-trenches know-how” by Tomorrow Magazine.

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