Conscious Endeavors Business, Society and the Journey to Sustainability

by Abbott, Robert M.

• ISBN13: 9781397809711
• ISBN10: 139780971X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-04-01
• Publisher: Green Frigate Books

Summary

Written by one of Canada's most experienced sustainability strategists, this collection of essays and speeches organized into four sectionsOrigins, Homage, Reflection, and Renewalblends business advice, autobiographical reflection, and poetic meditation to explain why companies have a responsibility to protect the environment. Drawing on examples from economics, environmental studies, history, and popular culture, the discussions show that humans like to elevate themselves and do good for othersideals that transcend the importance of profit and loss.

Author Biography

Robert M. Abbott is a business strategist, an expert on sustainability, and the author of Uncommon Cents: Thoreau and the Nature of Business. He lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgements	p. x
Introduction	p. xi
Origins
Reflection and Renewal on the Road to Valhalla	p. 3
Ecological Integrity and the Green Business Hypothesis: A Tiger by the Tale	p. 9
Sustainability and the Search for an Epistemological Sword	p. 14
Homage
Aldo Leopold	p. 29
Loren Eiseley	p. 35
Peter Drucker	p. 40
Charles David Keeling	p. 43
Herman Daly	p. 47
The Passing of a Holy Trinity: Time for a New Generation to Carry the Torch	p. 51
Reflection
Sustainability, Leadership and the Needs for a Story	p. 63
Thoughts on the World's Most Admired Companies	p. 68
In Defense of the Corporation	p. 70
Measurement and Management in Business Toward a New Model of Alignment	p. 73
$58 Barrel Oil: Save Your Balance Sheet . . . and the Planet	p. 75
Oil Profits, Global Warming and the Nature of Business	p. 79
Disconnect in Reporting on Oil, Hybrids	p. 81
Renewal
Seeing the World with New Eyes: Hortus Cultura in a Discordant Age	p. 86
Confronting Ridiculous Truths	p. 100
Civic Leadership and the Common Good	p. 102
Imagine Calgary: A Strategic Lens to View the Future	p. 107
Down to Zero: Waste Reduction and the Art of the Possible	p. 110
Bridging the Gap Between Strategy and Sustainability	p. 126
Why Climate Change is a Strategic Business Issue	p. 130
How Sustainability Helps Win the War for Talent	p. 134
Valuing Nature's Capital	p. 137
In Praise of Audacious Green Goals	p. 140
A Winning Strategy for the New Economic Game	p. 143
Close to the Earth	p. 146
Coda: Leaning Into the Light	p. 149
Web Resource Guide	p. 160
Bibliography	p. 164
Index	p. 170
About the Author	p. 174
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