Positively Responsible : How Business Can Save the Planet

by Bichard; Cooper

• ISBN13: 9780750684750
• ISBN10: 0750684755
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-06-03
• Publisher: Elsevier Science

Summary

Surveys and polls show consistently that most of us, including those that are in business, already know that the natural and social life support systems of the world are in trouble but we are not doing very much about it. What is it about human beings that allow us to take in clear evidence, but then to turn away without dealing with the danger? Why do businesses confine themselves to limited improvements when a defined set of actions can guarantee long-term commercial success?

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. ix
Professor Cary L. Cooper, CBE	p. xi
Professor Erik Bichard	p. xiii
Deniers, despairers and contrarians	p. 1
A man of our time	p. 2
The futility of the waggling finger	p. 7
Excuses, excuses	p. 8
Legislation, technology and market forces are not enough	p. 12
People are irrational and self-centred	p. 15
The apparently hopeless case of sustainable behaviour	p. 16
Failure is not inevitable (Part 1)	p. 16
Failure is not inevitable (Part 2)	p. 21
Our survey said ...	p. 24
Reacting to evidence	p. 25
The myth of developing world self-interest	p. 26
Don't look at me	p. 26
The mind is willing but ...	p. 30
Incentives and spurs	p. 33
Yes I am doing my bit - aren't I?	p. 35
Behaviour in the context of reform	p. 38
Leaders and the bolt of light	p. 41
Getting personal about sustainability	p. 42
Are business leaders bad people?	p. 42
Change of heart or change in fashion?	p. 43
Reputation and corporate conformity	p. 44
Is it a conviction thing?	p. 46
Individual conviction: Terry Thomas	p. 47
Individual conviction: Ray Anderson	p. 54
Individual conviction: Yvon Chouinard	p. 61
Isolated stories or a recipe for global success?	p. 70
Working together: boycotts, campaigns and the feelgood factor	p. 71
Who's talking, and who's listening?	p. 72
The door to the burning building	p. 72
Rallying around the Spar	p. 74
The search for a little respect	p. 80
Dissecting effective campaigns	p. 82
Why boycotts and campaigns are a positive force for change	p. 86
What is it about the Swedes?	p. 89
The making of a reputation	p. 90
Do they mean us?	p. 91
Sustainability as a cultural characteristic	p. 94
Do Swedes live it?	p. 95
Sustainable talk	p. 97
Consensus as a nature-based thing	p. 99
Understanding more about nature as Swedish social context	p. 100
Can the Swedish experience be translated?	p. 101
Why sustainable change works better at work	p. 103
Workers' sustainability time	p. 104
Can attitudes about sustainability be changed at work?	p. 106
Attitude change through persuasion	p. 108
Acting sustainably - the power of theatre	p. 113
Art, science and sustainability	p. 114
Can plastic ever be fantastic?	p. 116
Playing at a theatre near you	p. 125
Positive movement and the creation of space	p. 133
Nature as persuader	p. 135
Our common thread	p. 136
The rift between man and nature	p. 137
Why the connection between our actions and nature's problems matters	p. 138
We are not in Kansas anymore	p. 140
Awe of nature as a motivator	p. 140
Valuing nature	p. 142
Awe, empathy and the workplace	p. 143
Nature as context	p. 148
It's values and emotions, stupid!	p. 151
Two Formula 1 racing car drivers stood at the gates of heaven	p. 152
The role of emotion in sustainable change	p. 155
The fuzzy world of values	p. 157
What does a values-driven business mean in practice?	p. 161
You shall be rewarded	p. 167
The unattractively paternalistic world of happiness	p. 168
I'm so sorry, let me buy you another	p. 170
An end to the blame game	p. 171
I can't wait for you	p. 173
An end to inaction	p. 174
Dangling the prize	p. 176
Incentives in the workplace	p. 181
Looking in the right place for the right incentive	p. 184
Positive responsibility and habits	p. 192
The next positive steps forward	p. 195
Life in the freezer	p. 196
Positive change is possible	p. 197
Comfort in numbers	p. 198
I, human	p. 199
Rewarding cultures	p. 200
Don't worry, but do hurry	p. 201
References	p. 203
Index
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