Ricardo Young is a key figure in the socio-environmental entrepreneurship in Brazil. He was a councilor (member of the congress) in the city of Sao Paulo (2013-2017), elected in 2012 and has significant experience in developing public-private partnerships in Brazil.
Ricardo is one of the founders and former president of the board of Ethos Institute for Business and Social Responsibility (a major association of companies in Brazil committed to sustainability) and former president of the Brazilian Association of Franchising. He is also a Co-Founder and Council Member of several organizations such as Sustainable São Paulo Movement, Sustainable Amazon Forum, and World Business Academy in Brazil. He was also a former member of the Sustainability Council of Santander Bank, Kimberly-Clark, Fibria, and Amata companies, as well as a Council Member of the Global Reporting Initiative and Corporate Sustainability Index, Baumgart Institute, and Bemtevi impact investments.
Ricardo is the founder and partner at CTI- Culture Transition and Integrity. He is also the founder of Casa Amarela, a space for art, culture, society, and the environment in Sao Paulo that holds a permanent exposition of Museu Xingu (one of the most expressive collections of indigenous artifacts in Brazil). He is currently the president of IDS Instituto Democracias e Sustentabilidade in Brazil and is part of the Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of Sao Paulo in the Chair of Global Cities.
In the late 90s, when Ricardo was Chairman of Yazigi (a language school network located all over Brazil through franchising), he incorporated the Earth Charter as an educational instrument in this school system. Since then, he has incorporated the Earth Charter in many of his activities, courses, and talks. Ricardo has a postgraduate degree in General Management, PDG-EXEC, and a doctorate in Sustainable Cities from the University of São Paulo (incomplete). He is also a fellow of the ELIAS program at MIT.