3p Contributor: Holly
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Book Review: The Sustainability Revolution
In The Sustainability Revolution, Edwards has given us a neat presentation of both the evolution and main principles of the sustainability movement up to the time of printing (2005). This is an important book because — without actually defining what sustainability is— Edwards gives us a pretty clear idea of what’s involved in “being sustainable”. At a time when “sustainability” is quickly becoming a buzz word, this book would be a very useful resource to a wide range of people, especially those looking for a starting point to learn how sustainability applies to business. Edwards covers all the critical standards and benchmarks, reflecting how broadly relevant the basic principles and themes are: from Natural Step to Natural Capitalism; the ICC Charter to The Earth Charter. Though at times Edwards’ writing is dry or dull, he is deftly able to organize dense information. For quick reference, look to the timeline and chart on page 124-126.
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Kate lives in San Francisco, and is currently earning her MBA at Presidio School of Management. Her motivation to engage sustainability in the arena of business started six years ago with books like “If Women Counted”, by Marilyn Waring and “Natural Capitalism”, by Paul Hawken, Amory & Hunter Lovins. She is particularly interested in working with the small business sector to promote sustainability and localism.
Book Review: Natural Capitalism
Natural Capitalism was published at a poignant moment in human history. As we edged toward the new millennium, it appeared that the unintended consequences of industrialization were finally getting the spot light: the U.S., along with several other countries, was on the verge of joining the Kyoto Protocol; electric and hybrid cars had hit the market and gained popularity, and Ray Anderson of Interface Carpet became the poster child of the business case for sustainability.
There is no doubt that this monster of a book contributed significantly to the sustainability movement that was gaining huge momentum (and continues to do so today). At the time it was written, when others felt the need to be revolutionary, Natural Capitalism was evolutionary. Without leaving the capitalist system, it gives us a framework to re-organize our market-driven economy around valuing all forms of capital: natural, human, manufactured, and financial. Hawken and the Lovinses propose Natural capitalism as the means to have both a prosperous economy and thriving natural environment, while meeting all human needs.
Book Review: The Next Sustainability Wave
In The Next Sustainability Wave, Bob Willard gives us an overview of the drivers for sustainability in the corporate world. This is Willard’s second book on outlining how to build the case for sustainability in business ( The Sustainability Advantage, his first, was published in 2002). The book is written for corporate business leaders, and Willard clearly knows his audience. It is particularly formatted for executives or those who like their information is bit-sized parcels (on the right side is text, with bold headers; on the left are quotes, cartoons, or anecdotes pertaining to the header). Willard argues that although there are executives that have a personal passion for sustainability, businesses need a great deal more leadership in this arena. His arguments center on the bottom-line impact, but he also suggests that as the popularity of “sustainable” grows, firms that do not adopt sustainable practices will eventually have a public relations crisis. His stance is that social and environmental responsibility is not a moral imperative, but a business solution.
Buy the world a Coke or a glass of water?
In this week’s Economist magazine, there is an article entitled “In hot water: The world’s biggest drinks firm tries to fend off its green critics” which tells the story Coca-Cola and their attempt to respond to green critics by protecting their brand image. When large brands, such as Coca-Cola, are subject to bad press, they must overcome the tarnished image by reinventing themselves or addressing the very issue that caused them the bad press. Coca-cola’s manager of environmental affairs, believes that, “water is to Coca-Cola as clean energy is to BP”, but BP took the strategy of reinventing themselves from an oil company to an energy company and Coca-cola is attempting to address their water complaint issues by releasing an environmental report which discusses and explains their new global water strategy.
Coca-cola’s company mission is “to benefit and refresh everyone it touches”. Amrit Srivastava of the India resource Centre believes that their mission is in conflict with their actions, and has launched a campaign against Coca-Cola because of their activities in India.
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