Business executive Brian Sheth is a self-made entrepreneur with plentiful planetary vision — and it’s no secret he’s wild about nature. The Haveli Investments firm frontman is consistently seeking out new opportunities to prioritize environmental issues and use the private sector as a conduit for eco-conscious change.
“We need to understand and recognize that climate change in and of itself is a symptom,” Sheth says. “It’s a really negative effect, and the causes are myriad and complex, but they have to do with the degradation of the planet. We need to address these causes.”
Whether Sheth is helping Haiti develop its first nature preserve or raising more than $32 million to assist endangered animals, he continues to be a steward of wildlife.
Here are five ways he’s giving back to Mother Earth.
1. He leads the Sangreal Foundation and gave $1 million to the Discovery Museum in Massachusetts.
Brian Sheth first fell in love with the outdoors during childhood walks with a friend in Massachusetts. That pal grew up to turn his affinity for nature into a profession and became Dr. Wes Sechrest, now the CEO and board chair of Sheth’s organization Re:wild. Sheth also created the Sheth Sangreal Foundation, born of his desire to protect the planet and take a multi-level approach to seeking solutions which include research, resources, community team building, partnering with like-minded organizations, and constant collaboration.
In 2021, the Sheth Sangreal Foundation offered Discovery Museum in Massachusetts a five-year, $1 million challenge grant to assist the museum’s sustainability plan to convert to solar electricity and expand environmental education initiatives. It’s a goal slated to reach fruition by 2025. “The support of the Sheth Sangreal Foundation to make this work possible speaks to Brian and Adria Sheth’s commitment to both fostering awareness of and taking real steps toward environmental sustainability,” CEO Neil Gordon stated on the museum’s website. “We are proud to further these goals within our region.”
2. He’s helping save tree-dwelling snakes by raising awareness of rain forest destruction.
Brian’s Sheth honored his daughter Marley by naming a newly discovered species of snake after her to shine a spotlight on the struggles of tree-dwelling snakes in the jungles of Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama. The snail-eating snakes — scientifically known as Sibon marleyae — are disappearing now, due to illegal mining operations. While five new species of serpents were found, researchers warn the unveiling of new species will become less likely as miners ravage these reptiles’ natural habitats. Brian Sheth is working with Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio to advocate for the safety and future of these creatures.
3. He worked with Global Citizen to plant trees.
Brian Sheth understands the benefits trees bring to the environment. He’s sowing the seeds for a significant eco-friendly mission to plant 100 million trees in towns and cities by 2030. Sheth has been vocal about being a Global Citizen partner and says he hopes to create a better quality of life for current and future generations by taking better care of Earth.
“I’m proud to stand with Global Citizens,” Sheth said in a YouTube video. “By taking care of our planet, we also take care of each other.”
Global Citizen has championed other initiatives, such as teaming up with pop superstar Lady Gaga to help support struggling families pay bills during the COVID-19 pandemic, working to help the more than 700 million people coping with poverty around the planet, and the quest for equity for all. In addition to working with Brian Sheth, Global Citizen has partnered with Google, Verizon, Delta, Procter & Gamble, Forbes, American Eagle, and many others.
4. As founder of Haveli Investments, he hires conservation-minded leaders and prioritizes conservation efforts through his company.
Brian Sheth says he’s invested in building a strong team that’s not only innovative, but eco-centric. He added Lucas Joppa as chief sustainability officer and senior managing director on the Haveli Investments crew. The Yale University adjunct professor has a long history of environmental and ecological theory research throughout his career. He also handled environmental sustainability issues for Microsoft. Joppa oversees new eco-friendly goals at Haveli Investments, aligning with Brian Sheth’s plans. With a Ph.D. in ecology from Duke University, a bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology and zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and as a former Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi, Joppa delivers keynote speeches on the value of environmental conservation and continues to predict outcomes for ecological communities.
“Nature, thankfully, which is much older than we are by several billion years, has come up with its own mitigating technologies,” Brian Sheth says. “And so by helping to re-wild the planet and helping to invest in these nature-based solutions, I think they’re the best, most effective ways to do that. And we have to look to partner with local and Indigenous people who have the knowledge and the wherewithal to make these things happen. And we can do that very, very productively using the new tools and technology and artificial intelligence.”
5. Through Re:wild, he’s working with business leaders to save wildlife and wildlands.
Sheth’s mantra for Re:wild is “We don’t need to reinvent the planet. We need to re-wild it.” Re:wild’s overall goal is protection and restoration where all life flourishes on Earth. The organization launched in 2021 and Leonardo DiCaprio is a founding board member.
The Oscar-winning actor has been an environmental superhero, doling out more than $100 million in grants to a variety of programs and projects. Supporting more than 35 partners in Amazonia, Re:wild is the driving force behind the Forests for Life Partnership, which has been working for the past four years to reverse 2.47 billion acres of forest destruction. The Javan rhino, one of the rarest animals in the world, is one of the main creatures Re:wild has been working to assist in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park.
Re:wild works with over 80 countries to restore and recover natural wildlands. More than half of habitable land has been ravaged for agricultural needs and 90% of that has gone to animal agriculture. Re:wild supports more than 225 acres of land and has created 47 conservation areas.