Green to Gold How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage

by Esty, Daniel C.; Winston, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9780470393741
• ISBN10: 0470393742
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-09
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

From the Publishers Weekly review: "Two experts from Yale tackle the business wake-up-call du jour-environmental responsibility-from every angle in this thorough, earnest guidebook: pragmatically, passionately, financially and historically. Though "no company the authors know of is on a truly long-term sustainable course," Esty and Winston label the forward-thinking, green-friendly (or at least green-acquainted) companies WaveMakers and set out to assess honestly their path toward environmental responsibility, and its impact on a company's bottom line, customers, suppliers and reputation. Following the evolution of business attitudes toward environmental concerns, Esty and Winston offer a series of fascinating plays by corporations such as Wal-Mart, GE and Chiquita (Banana), the bad guys who made good, and the good guys-watchdogs and industry associations, mostly-working behind the scenes. A vast number of topics huddle beneath the umbrella of threats to the earth, and many get a thorough analysis here: from global warming to electronic waste "take-back" legislation to subsidizing sustainable seafood. For the responsible business leader, this volume provides plenty of (organic) food for thought. "

Author Biography

Daniel C. Esty is the Hillhouse Professor at Yale University and Director of the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale (www.yale.edu/CBEY). Author or editor of nine books and dozens of articles, Dan is one of the world's leading corporate environmental strategy experts with twenty years of experience working with companies of all sizes and across many industries worldwide. He served as a senior official at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the early 1990s and is presently Chairman of Esty Environmental Partners (www.EstyEP.com).

Andrew S. Winston advises some of the world's leading companies on how to profit from environmental thinking. He is also a highly respected and dynamic speaker, exploring the business benefits of going green with audiences around the world. Andrew's earlier career included corporate strategy at Boston Consulting Group and management positions in marketing and business development at Time Warner and MTV. See www.andrewwinston.com for more information.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments.Preface.Introduction. The Environmental Lens.Part One. Preparing for a New World.1. Eco-Advantage.Issues and opportunities for business in an environmentally sensitive world.2. Natural Drivers of the Green Wave.Environmental problems and how they shape markets.3. Who's Behind the Green Wave?Stakeholders and the power they wield.Part Two. Strategies for Building Eco-Advantage.4. Managing the Downside.Green-to-Gold Plays to reduce cost and risk.5. Building the Upside.Green-to-Gold Plays to drive revenues and create intangible value.Part Three. What WaveRiders Do.6. The Eco-Advantage Mindset.Looking through an environmental lens.7. Eco-Tracking.Understanding your company's environmental "footprint".8. Redesigning Your World.Designing for the environment and "greening" the supply chain.9. Inspiring an Eco-Advantage Culture.Creating an organizational focus on environmental stewardshipPart Four. Putting It All Together.10. Why Environmental Initiatives Fail.Pitfalls to avoid on the way to Eco-Advantage.11. Taking Action.Execution for sustained competitive advantage.12. Eco-Advantage Strategy.Key Eco-Advantage plays, tools, and plans.Appendix 1. Additional Resources.Appendix 2. Methodological Overview.Appendix 3. Most Relevant Tools for Each.Green-to-Gold Play.Notes.Index.