Ralph Torrie is an analyst, thought leader, and advocate for sustainable development. He got involved in energy and environmental issues in the 1970’s while still a physics student at the University of Waterloo and has been working for environmental justice and sustainability ever since.
Attendees at past RCA conferences may recall Ralph’s previous presentations on the links between climate mitigation, the three R’s and the circular economy. This has been a longstanding focus of his research – see for example the paper he wrote in 2015 for the OWMA with Christina Seidel and Maria Kelleher.
Since his last address to the RCA conference he has been working as research director for Corporate Knights, a Toronto based media and research firm specializing in corporate sustainability. Under his direction the research team at Corporate Knights has been systematically identifying and quantifying the impacts of the corporations that are making the products and services the world needs for the sustainability transition. This includes supporting the world-renowned Global 100 ranking of the world’s most sustainable companies, released every year at the Global Economic Forum in Davos. (Notably, for the past two years the companies that have claimed the number one position in that ranking are circular economy companies.)
The Corporate Knights Sustainable Economy Intelligence database has identified over $2.7 trillion in sustainable investment and Ralph will draw on it to illustrate global trends in what he calls “the greatest race” – the race between climate disaster and the solutions that can forestall it.
Prior to joining Corporate Knights, Ralph ran a successful consulting and software business, was the Assistant Coordinator of the Energy Research Group of the United Nations University and the International Development Research Centre, served as Vice President of ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI), Managing Director of Navigant Consulting, now Guidehouse (NYSE:NCI), and Managing Director of the Trottier Energy Futures Project.
Ralph lives in Cobourg, Ontario with his partner Judy Smith.
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