Thursday, April 29, 2010

Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto

The definitive work on business strategy for sustainability by the most authoritative voice in the conversation. More than ever before, consumers, employees, and investors share a common purpose and a passion for companies that do well by doing good. So any strategy without sustainability at its core is just plain irresponsible - bad for business, bad for shareholders, bad for the environment. These challenges represent unprecedented opportunities for big brands - such as Clorox, Dell, Toyota, Procter & Gamble, Nike, and Wal-Mart - that are implementing integral, rather than tangential, strategies for sustainability. What these companies are doing illuminates the book's practical framework for change, which involves engaging employees, using transparency as a business tool, and reaping the rewards of a networked organizational structure. Leave your quaint notions of corporate social responsibility and environmentalism behind. Werbach is starting a whole new dialogue around sustainability of enterprise and life as we know it in organizations and individuals. Sustainability is now a true competitive strategic advantage, and building it into the core of your business is the only means to ensure that your company - and your world - will survive. [Source: Adam Werbach, Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto, Harvard Business Review ]

Green Business Strategy

Just a decade ago, the term "green building strategy" evoked visions of fringe environmentalism and a high cost for minimal good. More recently, there's been a large shift in perception, an awakening of social consciousness, and a realization that a strategy good for the world can also be good for your bottom line. Green Business Strategy is no longer an option; the future depends on it. (Source: back ccover of "Harvard Business Review on Green Business Strategy")