Achim Steiner was born in Brazil in 1961, he studied development economics and planning at the University of Oxford and University of London. He also studied at the German Development Institute in Berlin and the Harvard Business School.

He has worked at grassroots level and international policy-making to address the interface between environmental sustainability, social equity and economic development.

His professional career has included assignments with governmental, non-governmental and international Organizations in different parts of the world. He was a Senior Policy Advisor to the IUCN Global Policy Unit in Washington DC; worked as Chief Technical Advisor on a program for the sustainable management of Mekong River watersheds and community-based natural resources management.

He was previously Director General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) 2001-06, and was appointed General Secretary of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) in Cape Town in 1998.

Achim Steiner serves on a number of international advisory boards, including the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) and the Environmental Advisory Council (ENVAC) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).