[1][2] He has written and co-authored 20 books, including the Green Consumer Guide, Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business, The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World, and The Breakthrough Challenge: 10 Ways to Connect Tomorrow's Profits with Tomorrow's Bottom Line.

He is a founding partner and chairman & chief pollinator at Volans;[3] co-founder and honorary chairman of SustainAbility;[4] honorary chairman of Environmental Data Services (ENDS, 1978); senior advisor to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre;[5] member of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Council of Ambassadors;[6] visiting professor at Cranfield University School of Management, Imperial College and University College London (UCL).

[15] At the age of 28, Elkington co-founded Environmental Data Services (ENDS) with David Layton and Max Nicholson.

In 2008, he co-founded Volans Ventures with Pamela Hartigan, Sam Lakha, Geoff Lye and Kevin Teo.

"[18] In 2008, the Evening Standard had named him among the '1000 Most Influential People' in London, describing him as "a true green business guru", and as "an evangelist for corporate social and environmental responsibility long before it was fashionable".