[1][2] He has been a commentator on NPR and has appeared on The Colbert Report, The O'Reilly Factor, and the Glenn Beck Program to speak on issues of business innovation and the environment.

Esty earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Harvard College and Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

Esty spent the 2000–2001 academic year as a visiting professor at INSEAD, the European business school in Fontainebleau, France.

[4] Esty is the author or editor of ten books and a number of articles on environmental policy issues and the relationships between environment and corporate strategy, competitiveness, trade, globalization, governance, and development.

His book published in 2006, Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage, argues that pollution control and natural resource management have become critical elements of marketplace success and explains how leading-edge companies have folded environmental thinking into their core business strategies.