Keynote speaker
45 to 60 minutes on why sustainability makes money, built around your sector and your numbers. Stories, humour and live demonstrations, and sometimes no slides at all.
Matthias Gelber, known on stage as the
The sustainability speaker who also runs the room.
Matthias gives keynotes, chairs conferences and leads ESG workshops that turn sustainability into sales, savings and growth. He has spoken in 42 countries, given five TEDx talks and served as ESG Advisor to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Recognition
- 2008Voted Greenest Person on the Planet by 3rd Whale, Canada
- 2016Green Icon of the Year, Asia Pacific CSR Awards
- 2024Global Sustainability Advocate and ESG Innovator of the Year
- 2026FAMAS Prestige Excellence Award in Global Environmental Sustainability
One booking covers three jobs on your programme.
Most speakers give the talk and leave. Matthias can open the day, chair the sessions in between and run the afternoon workshop, so organisers fill three slots with one booking and one brief.
Conference chair and moderator
He keeps the day to time, links each speaker to the next and gets the audience talking. He prefers dynamic, unscripted panels to a list of set questions.
Workshop facilitator and trainer
Two-hour sessions, one- and two-day workshops and the four-day CESGI certification. Teams work through their own numbers and leave with a company-level action plan.
Other talks he has delivered
- Big 5 Greenbuild, Dubai
- Masdar, Abu Dhabi
- Global CSR and ESG Summit, Hanoi
- The Star ESG Summit, Kuala Lumpur
- World Clean Energy Philippines
- Festival of Disruptors, Singapore
- SEC-PSE-GRI corporate governance webinar, Philippines
- MRANTI I-Nation, Malaysia
- Asian Development Bank
- Forbes China ESG event
- Asia ESG Summit, Kuala Lumpur
- Five TEDx talks
See how he holds a room before you book him.
Play the reel
Testimonials and feedback, exactly as they were sent.
Six talks. Every one is tailored to your sector.
Before each booking Matthias holds a short scoping call and rebuilds the examples, numbers and exercises around your industry. Each two-page outline shows what your audience takes away. Tap a page to enlarge it.
Beyond Compliance
Book this talkDecarbonisation
Book this talkESG ROI
Book this talkEmployee Wellness
Book this talkESG × AI
Book this talkBiodiversity and Nature
Book this talkThe four-day Certified ESG Innovator training.
CESGI is Matthias's own ESG certification, run with iTrain Malaysia. It is vendor-neutral and industry-validated, and every participant who passes the exam receives a certificate and a blockchain-verified Credly digital badge.
- Four days, including the exam
- HRD Corp claimable for Malaysian employers
- Certificate on completion and a Credly digital badge
- Public intakes, or in-house for your team
Watch the course video
1994Working on sustainability since his MSc at Brunel University
42Countries he has spoken in
5TEDx talks
2008Voted Greenest Person on the Planet
A German environmental scientist who made ESG entertaining.
Matthias grew up in a German village surrounded by forest, studied chemistry at the University of Siegen and took his master's in environmental science at Brunel University in 1994. He has worked on sustainability ever since.
He has advised companies, governments and development banks such as the Asian Development Bank, spent two years as ESG Advisor to the Philippine Stock Exchange and served as Net Zero Ambassador for DesertBoard in the UAE. He co-founded Maleki GmbH and IndoorCare, and created the CESGI certification.
Some proof that he lives it: he published a book printed on recycled paper with ink made from mushrooms, and in 2017 built Southeast Asia's first off-grid tiny eco home, in Malaysia. He speaks English and German.
For speaker bureaus: everything you need to propose him.
Bookings that start with a bureau stay with that bureau. If your client contacts Matthias directly, he sends them back to you.
Quick facts
- Known as
- The GreenMan
- Based in
- The Philippines, working across Asia, the Middle East and Europe
- Has spoken in
- 42 countries, including five TEDx talks
- Languages
- English and German
- Roles
- Keynote speaker, conference chair, panel moderator, workshop facilitator, trainer
- Delivery
- In person or virtual
- Topics
- Decarbonisation, IFRS S1 and S2, ESG ROI, employee wellness, ESG and AI, biodiversity
- Fee
- On request, by format and location
Short bio
Matthias Gelber, known as the GreenMan, shows organisations how to turn sustainability into sales, savings and growth. Voted Greenest Person on the Planet in 2008, he has spoken in 42 countries, given five TEDx talks and served as ESG Advisor to the Philippine Stock Exchange. He gives keynotes, chairs conferences and runs ESG workshops, and created the Certified ESG Innovator (CESGI) programme.
Speaker reel
No contact details appear in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJm_wHSmK1UBook now.
Send the date, the audience and what the session has to achieve. Matthias replies with availability and a fee for your format.
- You send the briefDate, city or virtual, audience and format.
- A short scoping callYour sector, your audience and what success looks like.
- He tailors the sessionExamples, numbers and exercises rebuilt around your industry.
- On the dayKeynote, chair or workshop, with time for questions.
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