Simon advises business and governments on the alignment of public policies and business strategies to sustainability outcomes. Current public policy roles include those with the China Council International Co-operation on Environment and Development’s Task Force on Trade, Investment and Environment, and as team leader of the South African Renewables Initiative, and advisor to the World Economic Forum. He advises many global businesses, with recent corporate clients including AngoGold Ashanti, Codelco, General Electric, and Nike.

Simon has widely published in academic and more popular channels, including in his role as non-resident Senior Fellow at the Centre for Government and Business of Harvard University’s Kennedy School. Most recently he has published on climate finance, emerging markets and sustainability and the China-Africa relationship. His book, ‘The Civil Corporation’, was awarded the Academy of Management’s prestigious Best Book on Social Issues in Management in 2008, and his Harvard Business Review article, ‘Paths to Corporate Responsibility’ is widely used as a reference point in understanding ‘emergent sustainability strategies’.

Simon founded, and was until recently Chief Executive of AccountAbility where he established the organization’s global leadership in sustainability standards, collaborative governance and responsible competitiveness. Before this, he was the founding Chair of the Ethical Trading Initiative and the Development Director at the think-tank, the New Economics Foundation. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the sustainability fund manager, Generation Investment Management, and the Boards of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and the Employers’ Forum on Disability. He is an honorary Professor at the University of South Africa.