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. "

With environmental concerns a top issue for consumers everywhere, the green market is the next big boom industry for entrepreneurs looking to make money—and make a difference. Discover 75 green startup ideas in multiple industries, including eco-tourism, small wind power, green schools, water conservation landscaping, green investment consulting and more. For each business, Croston shows you the market, product to be delivered, resources needed, major hurdles ahead, competitors and strategies for success.

An expert on business strategy offers a pragmatic take on how businesses of all sizes balance the competing demands of profitability and employment with sustainability. The demands and stresses on companies only grow as executives face a multitude of competing business goals. Their stakeholders are interested in corporate profits, jobs, business growth, and environmental sustainability. In this book, business strategy expert Yossi Sheffi offers a pragmatic take on how businesses of all sizes—from Coca Cola and Siemens to Dr. Bronner's Magical Soaps and Patagonia—navigate these competing goals. Drawing on extensive interviews with more than 250 executives, Sheffi examines the challenges, solutions, and implications of balancing traditional business goals with sustainability. Sheffi, author of the widely read The Resilient Enterprise, argues that business executives' personal opinions on environmental sustainability are irrelevant. The business merits of environmental sustainability are based on the fact that even the most ardent climate change skeptics in the C-suite face natural resource costs, public relations problems, regulatory burdens, and a green consumer segment. Sheffi presents three basic business rationales for corporate sustainability efforts: cutting costs, reducing risk, and achieving growth. For companies, sustainability is not a simple case of “profits versus planet” but is instead a more subtle issue of (some) people versus (other) people—those looking for jobs and inexpensive goods versus others who seek a pristine environment. This book aims to help companies satisfy these conflicting motivations for both economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Today greenness is goodness; non-greenness is not an option. It is therefore critical to advance thinking on why and how business, consumers and policy makers can contribute to the goal of sustainable global wealth creation. This volume analyzes the strategic sustainability issues confronting contemporary business, and explores the transformation in values, strategies, and practices needed by modern businesses to attain sustainable business. It is is developed from a Global Business Symposium organized by the Centre for International Business and Management (CIBAM) at Cambridge University in February 2009, which brought together leading academics, scientists and engineers, government leaders, and business executives to consider the transformation in business values and strategies implicit in sustainability. Green Business, Green Values and Sustainability offers a concise and definitive book on the green transformation of business in major sectors including government, finance, energy, and retail. Different solutions to sustainability are explored including ethical approaches, alternative environmental strategies, corporate responsibility, and carbon reductions.

This book provides rich new empirical evidence on green business as it examines its variation between industries and nations, and over time. It demonstrates the deep historical origins of endeavors to create for-profit businesses that were more responsible and sustainable, but also how these strategies have faced constraints, trade-offs and challenges of legitimacy. Based on extensive interviews and archives from around the world, the book asks why green business succeeds more in some contexts than others, and draws lessons from failure as well as success.

Grow an eco-friendly business that creates limitless profit potential From organic groceries to fuel-efficient cars and toxicity-free dry cleaning, the opportunities to profit from a business that builds local communities, heals the environment, and feeds the growing green demand are almost endless. As an entrepreneur who has developed successful eco-friendly businesses, Scott Cooney gives you expert advice and guidance on starting, building, and growing a green business--and then delivers a gold mine of business ideas for every kind of product and service. Grow a Green Small Business also gives you: Green Entrepreneur Rules that will get you started on the right foot Marketing, advertising, and networking techniques that build a loyal customer base Valuable resources, including green franchises, contacts, and web links for more information Whether you're a novice or a veteran business developer, Cooney points the way to productivity and profit strategies you can build into any small business model.

Sustainability has become an unavoidable topic in modern society. In order for sustainable development to be fully achieved, it must be integrated into the planning and measurement systems of business enterprises. Green Initiatives for Business Sustainability and Value Creation is an essential reference source including the most recent scholarly research on the development and application of green business models for contemporary organizations, with a focus on possible contexts and constructs of closed loop supply chain management. Featuring extensive coverage on topics such as consumption behavior, political economy, and structural modeling, this book is ideally designed for academicians, researchers, and professionals seeking current research on the importance of strategic green business practices.