Spyros Kouvelis
Director, EPLO Institute for Sustainable Development

Mr. Kouvelis served as Minister of State for Foreign Economic, Environmental, and Cultural Affairs of Greece from 2009 until 2011. He was first elected as Member of the Hellenic Parliament in 2007 and re-elected in 2009. During 2007-2009, he was the Shadow Minister of Environment, Energy, and Planning. He is currently a Senior Associate of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and the Founder and Director of the EPLO Institute for Sustainable Development, which started as a joint initiative between the European Public Law Organization (EPLO), an International Organization with Permanent Observer status at the UN General Assembly, and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). He is also the Chief Senior Advisor with Verture, a European group of consulting companies on sustainable development policy, ESG strategy and metrics, innovation, and new technologies, with a global portfolio of clients, where he has designed the Verimpact ESG rating tool and methodology. He serves as an Advisory Board Member of Sustainable Investments Oman, promoting cutting- edge technological innovations in the MENA region on food security, energy and health. He is the Founder and Patent holder with BabylonGardens, an Innovation Hub for Green Urban Spaces, with offices in France, Greece and Cyprus. Spyros has worked as Senior Advisor to various UN programmes on the environment and sustainable development and previously held leadership positions with WWF and the Ramsar Conventions, and the Ecofilms International Film Festival.