Martin Melaver, author of the new book, Living Above the Store, is something of a rarity for an author of a sustainable business text: someone who actually has decades of experience doing the work to create a socially-responsible business. Which is very lucky for us, because while many books claim to be able to teach us how to do it, very few can do so with the wisdom of experience on their side.
The result is an honest and forthright look at what it really takes for shape and maintain values-based business in a very traditional industry.
Melaver is CEO of Melaver, Inc.-a third-generation, family-owned company based in Savannah, Georgia. Through a series of personal anecdotes, Melaver explains, in detail, how a small corner grocery store evolved into a major regional chain, eventually transforming itself into a real estate company focused on sustainable development and management. The fact that this happened was not by accident: all along its seventy-year history, the company chose to pursue a values-based path, even when it meant making difficult choice.
Despite its limitations, Living Above the Store has some really great information. Among my favorites are:
As individuals, we want to do the right thing – but as businesses, we are challenged by the need...[read more]
Tackling the issue of e-waste is one of the greatest challenges facing end users and the electronics industry when it comes to environmental and social responsibility. UPS has responded by building an e-waste disposal supply chain that can serve as a model for other large corporations looking to cost-effectively reduce e-waste.[read more]
Why should sustainability change agents care about executive sponsorship? Because as sustainable business matures, those of us working in...[read more]
By Wes Muir, Director, Communications, Waste Management Just this week, TV land will witness a dramatic change in the...[read more]
Building upon my recent article, “Growing a Green IT Strategy,” this follow-up post provides a detailed presentation of the...[read more]
Currently, carbon emissions from IT and communication technologies represent 2% of global CO2 output, which puts information technology (IT)...[read more]
Yogi Berra once said, “If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” There’s a...[read more]
There is a mounting consensus that while business has created serious environmental problems, developing sustainable practices to address these...[read more]
The Xerox Corporation is a $16 billion enterprise that is beginning to integrate sustainability into their product offerings and operations....[read more]
For years, Patagonia has established itself as one of the strongest leaders of sustainability within the business community. Although...[read more]
By Deborah Fleischer Stakeholder engagement is a process of reaching out to a range of constituents who are interested...[read more]
Coalition of Environmental Groups Publishes Alternative Annual Report Describing Widespread Abuses by Chevron We’ve all seen the Chevron “Human Energy”...[read more]
By Lisa Bingham Over the three days of the recent BALLE conference, I was exposed to many inspiring people and...[read more]
A while ago I posted about Tony Hsieh's inspiring keynote address at last March's South by Southwest Interactive Conference in...[read more]
Yesterday I read an article that called out corporate social responsibility (CSR) as the new "Brand Content." We are...[read more]
Industry leading business software systems SAP AG appears to be doing more than just "talking the talk" when it comes to environmental sustainability. It just unveiled a new 200,000-square foot addition to its Newton Square campus and announced that it's looking to acquire a fast rising carbon/greenhouse gas emissions enterprise software developer.[read more]
(Note: this is the first post in a series of articles on developing, validating, and implementing a sustainability growth...[read more]
So far, we've learned how to create a sustainability vision for your organization using facilitated discussions and stakeholder engagement, and...[read more]
The goal of this post is to make the point that corporations are one of our greatest assets in...[read more]
Next to the Dr. Bronner's soap, it's hard to think of a consumer packaged product that wears its makers' political...[read more]
Water is fast becoming top of mind, joining oil as a precious resource, and carbon as something companies ought...[read more]
Mars Inc. has an ambitious agenda to make sure its entire cocoa supply is produced in a sustainable manner by 2020[read more]
The impetus for real corporate sustainability guidelines and standards is gaining steam. Maybe.[read more]
Assessing your current operations is critical to understand how to move forward with incorporating sustainability into your business. If...[read more]
The concepts behind stakeholder management seem to be so obvious, yet have been largely ignored for a long time...[read more]
Op-ed by Gwen Ruta, Environmental Defense Fund With today’s economy in such dire straits, it’s understandable that some executives...[read more]
