Sustainable business and economics

Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development

by Herman E. Daly
Sustainable development, as conceived by Daly, becomes a radical proposition of economy as part of the ecosystem, requiring that we give up an ideal of economic growth and reevaluate basic ideas about economic theory, poverty, trade, and population. The innovative scholar and World Bank rabble rouser argues that the catchword of environmentalists and international financiers is being used by both to further their own ends.

Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business (The Conscientious Commerce Series)

by John Elkington
Polish poet Stanislaw Lec asked, "Is it progress if a cannibal uses a fork?" Elkington applies the question to twenty-first-century capitalism as he ponders whether holding corporations accountable to a "triple bottom-line" of economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social justice constitutes progress. Elkington cofounded SustainAbility, a London consulting firm that advises major corporations on how to be more environmentally sensitive and socially active while prospering economically. He is also the author of several books on corporate "greening" and "green" consumerism. Published last year in Britain, Elkington's book identifies the seven dimensions of—or revolutions leading to—a sustainable future. For each of the seven, he examines the "blind-spots" most corporate leaders have that prevent them from joining in the revolution. Focusing mostly on environmental issues and using examples from his impressive client list, Elkington invokes the mantra of sustainable development and assures us that this is progress.

The Chrysalis Economy: How Citizen CEOs and Corporations Can Fuse Values and Value Creation

by John Elkington
Based on first-hand experience, The Chrysalis Economy explores some extraordinary cases of corporate meta-morphosis as we begin the long haul from today¹s Caterpillar Economy to tomorrow¹s Butterfly and Honeybee Economies. John Elkington looks over the shoulders of business leaders and boards as they build the values-based platforms essential for sustainable value creation. He also looks at the corporate cultures which will be needed and the steps required to achieve them.

Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth

by Lester R. Brown
Eco-economic theory calls for harmony between our economy and natural resources. Our current, untenable, profit-focused economic model, says Brown (Building a Sustainable Society), depletes forests, oil, farmland, topsoil, water, atmosphere and species beyond a sustainable level. Brown, founding director of the Earth Policy Institute, uses the Sumerians as an antimodel: as the land was overworked, water sources eventually disappeared. And he uses forestry as a counterexample: forests secure land and store water, acting as natural dams. The goal, presented here in convincing detail, is to design a profitable economy that accurately reflects the social cost of abuse of resources. Brown suggests shifting "taxes from income to environmentally destructive activities, such as carbon emissions."

The Ecology of Commerce A Declaration of Sustainability

by Paul Hawken
Paul Hawken, the entrepreneur behind the Smith & Hawken gardening supplies empire, is no ordinary capitalist. Drawing as much on Baba Ram Dass and Vaclav Havel as he does on Peter Drucker and WalMart for his case studies, Hawken is on a one-man crusade to reform our economic system by demanding that First World businesses reduce their consumption of energy and resources by 80 percent in the next 50 years. As if that weren't enough, Hawken argues that business goals should be redefined to embrace such fuzzy categories as whether the work is aesthetically pleasing and the employees are having fun; this applies to corporate giants and mom-and-pop operations alike. He proposes a culture of business in which the real world, the natural world, is allowed to flourish as well, and in which the planet's needs are addressed. Wall Street may not be ready for Hawken's provocative brand of environmental awareness, but this fine book is full of captivating ideas.

Harvard Business Review on Business and the Environment

by Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins, Robert Shapiro
With concern for environmental issues growing, defining the controversial relationship between business and the environment has become even more essential. Harvard Business Review on Business and the Environment brings together the latest management thinking on the role of the environment in business, and offers a general management perspective that will help outline the critical environmental issues your organization may face.

In Earth's Company: Business, Environment, and the Challenge of Sustainability (Conscientious Commerce)

by Carl Frankel
How deep is the corporate commitment to the environment? And what changes in corporate strategy and policy are necessary in the journey to sustainability? Carl Frankel deftly and lucidly gathers the pieces of the puzzle together into a single, comprehensive volume accessible to a wide range of readers.

Mid-Course Correction: Toward a Sustainable Enterprise: The Interface Model

by Ray Anderson
Of value to business people, environmentalists, and educators alike, Mid-Course Correction is a business book about the enviornment that's written from a personal perspective. With passion and pride, Ray Anderson, Founder, Chairman and CEO of one of the world's largest interior furnishings companies, recounts his awakening to the importance of environmental issues and outlines the steps his petroleum-dependent company, Atlanta-based Interface, Inc., is taking in its quest to become a sustainable enterprise—one that will never have to take another drop of oil from the Earth. Thought-provoking and thoughtful, Anderson's story is told from the heart.

Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution

by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins
In Natural Capitalism, three top strategists show how leading-edge companies are practicing "a new type of industrialism" that is more efficient and profitable while saving the environment and creating jobs. Paul Hawken and Amory and Hunter Lovins write that in the next century, cars will get 200 miles per gallon without compromising safety and power, manufacturers will relentlessly recycle their products, and the world's standard of living will jump without further damaging natural resources. "Is this the vision of a utopia? In fact, the changes described here could come about in the decades to come as the result of economic and technological trends already in place," the authors write. They call their approach natural capitalism because it's based on the principle that business can be good for the environment.

The New Economy of Nature: The Quest To Make Conservation Profitable

by Gretchen C. Daily and Katherine Ellison
Daily and Ellison (respectively, a research scientist at Stanford University and an investigative journalist) write of projects that seek "green gold," which means recognizing that ecosystems are capital assets and managing them so that they "continue to yield wealth." Among their examples are New York City's watershed protection program, schemes for turning waste into something useful in Australia and Costa Rica, and a river restoration project in Napa, Calif.