Going Green

Reading List – Page 2

Biomimicry, Janine M. Benyus, Harper Perennial (2002)

Forget the notion that technology improves upon nature. Benyus introduces us to pioneering engineers making technological breakthroughs by uncovering and copying nature’s hidden marvels. These engineers are devising solar fuel cells as efficient as plants, fibers as tough as abalone shell, and computers as sophisticated as the brain. For Benyus, though, a technology that mirrors nature does more than enlarge human powers and gratify human ambitions. Such a technology teaches us how to live in harmony with nature, rather than how to dominate it. Unless we learn this urgent lesson, Benyus warns, our highly unnatural and exploitative technologies will soon render the earth unfit for life. Sobering yet hopeful, this book will bring help bridge the dangerous chasm between technophiles and environmentalists. (Booklist review)

(Added to the “Reading List” on August 26, 2009)

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Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto, Adam Werbach, Harvard Business Press (2009)

At the heart of Strategy For Sustainability is businesses being more keenly tuned to societal, technological and other trends, and being able to adapt to change.

As is common to this genre, Adam Werbach, former Sierra Club president and an executive with advertising giant Saatchi and Saatchi, mixes advice and analysis of changing business climate with success stories featuring large companies such as Wal-Mart and Xerox that have realized profits through energy efficiency and other sustainability strategies.

Most interesting, though, may be Werbach’s own story and motivation. In 1997, he met with then New Orleans mayor Marc Morial to warn that removing half of the city’s wetlands areas could, along with a levee system in need of upgrading, prove catastrophic in the event of a major climatic event. When the category 3 powers of Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005, Werbach had an epiphany watching the ensuing coverage on TV. Wal-Mart, he noticed, was getting emergency supplies to victims long before the U.S. government.

“The corporate sector has the incentives, operational know-how, scalability and ingenuity to respond to the global challenges we face today,” he writes. “There is no multinational government, but there are many cross-border corporations that witness how resource constraints affect markets, customers, communities and natural habitats. And this situation gives companies a special opportunity to lead. (Book review from Sustainable Industries magazine.)

(Added to the “Reading List” on July 29, 2009)

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The Green Business Guide, Glenn Bachman, Career Press (2009)

The Green Business Guide is a comprehensive resource designed to help organizations incorporate green practices into their operations. Its content blends strategic conversation at the board level with green planning and program management at the middle-level, and with how-to direction that spells out actions at the shop level. This book will give organizations guidance on how to:

• Understand the environmental factors that are influencing businesses ability to operate profitably
• Evaluate the benefits of going green
• Develop a plan for transforming the organization into a green business
• Identify specific actions to reduce energy use, water use, control packaging waste, and use resources efficiently
• Communicate and report on your environmental successes

The Green Business Guide also contains dozens of user-friendly checklists for every facet of making a business more environmentally friendly. By following the guidance contained in this book, organizations will position themselves as leaders in the marketplace, in their industry, and in the communities in which they operate. Business is recognizing the importance of being a responsible corporate citizen–not only to avoid negative publicity and brand erosion, but also to enjoy benefits that translate directly to the bottom line. (Book description from Amazon.com.)

(Added to the “Reading List” on July 29, 2009)

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Conversations with Green Gurus: The Collective Wisdom of Environmental Movers and Shakers, Laura Mazur and Louella Miles, Wiley (2009)

The collected wisdom of some of the world’s most influential environmental movers and shakers is brought together in this one book. The chosen gurus consists both of “thinkers” – those who have set the agenda, and of “doers” – those business people who made the green cause their mission long before it became so prominent.

The book covers a broad range of environmental issues as they apply to business, including the economic viability of choosing green routes. Interviewees include energy guru Amory Lovins, former Friends of the Earth Vice Chair Tony Juniper, diplomat Sir Crispin Tickell and business leader Ray Anderson, among others. The cutting edge thinking of the book’s contributors provides businesses with the information they need when considering how to change in a green direction. The end result is an illuminating insight into both general views on sustainability as well as good and bad business decisions made in the search for sustainability.

(Added to the “Reading List” on June 29, 2009)

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Return on Sustainability: How Business Can Increase Profitability and Address Climate Change in an Uncertain Economy, Kevin Wilhelm, Dog Ear Publishing (2009)

There are many books on the market seeking to blend business advice with political analysis and social activism: to explain why it’s in a company’s best interest from a financial perspective as well as an ecological one to set sustainability goals. But Kevin Wilhelm, CEO of Seattle-based Sustainable Business Consulting and chair of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce’s sustainability committee, has delivered one of the most succinct and well-articulated books on climate change from a business perspective.

Return on Sustainability is easy to read, with a balance of graphics and text explicating everything from emerging carbon trading financial markets to state-by-state listings of utility and regulatory commissions. The book can act as a point of entry for those new to sustainability issues without dumbing down such concepts, while also providing a spectrum of real-life examples from the business world.

The book is best viewed as an intelligent if generalist text on sustainable business practices. Many topics are covered in small paragraphs or portions of charts, limiting the opportunity for more thoughtful analysis. Even so, Return on Sustainability is a particularly clear and thoughtful execution in this growing genre. (Book review from Sustainable Industries magazine, May 25, 2009)

(Added to the “Reading List” on June 24, 2009)

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The Truth About Green Business, Gil Friend, FT Press (2009)

Everything you need to know to green your business and grow your profit.

• Part I: The Truth About Green Business
• Part II: The Truth About Green Strategy
• Part III: The Truth About Green Operations
• Part IV: The Truth About Green Marketing
• Part V: The Truth About Green Products and Services
• Part VI: The Truth About Green Design
• Part VII: The Truth About Green Procurement
• Part VIII: The Truth About Green Buildings
• Part IX: The Truth About Green IT
• Part X: The Truth About Green Management
• Part XI: The Truth About Green Finance
• Part XII: The Truth About Green Futures

(Added to the “Reading List” on June 24, 2009)

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Revolution in a Bottle: How TerraCycle is Redefining Green Business, Tom Szaky, Portfolio Trade ( 2009)

In the beginning… there were worms. And the worms did what worms do, eating and making worm castings (a polite way of saying “worm poop). Tom Szaky convinced a handful of friends and schoolmates that an army of worms could turn lunchroom waste into a marketable fertilizer and TerraCycle was founded.

His story is literally a “page turner!” Simply trying to keep up with his ideas, his energy, and his company is exhausting. This is one man who identified a source of raw materials that will keep his company growing – fast! – and keep tons of waste out of landfills.

TerraCycle is doing the right thing at the right time; though in the future, as more products are “designed with the end in mind,” we hope to see the kind of waste that drives his company go away.

I’m sure his wildly creative mind will find a new direction for his business. In the meantime, send him those juice bags and cookie wrappers.

Tom Szaky, 26, is co-founder and CEO of TerraCycle, producer of the world’s first products that are made entirely from and packaged entirely in waste. Born in Budapest and raised in Toronto, Szaky moved to the U.S. in 2001 to attend Princeton University, but left a year later to focus on his startup. TerraCycle, based in Trenton, New Jersey, now has annual sales of $8 million, sustained five-year growth of over 200% per year, and has been featured by hundreds of media outlets.

(Added to the “Reading List” on April 30, 2009)

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Green Design, Buzz Poole, Editor, Mark Batty Publisher (2006)

Another book to add to your reading list! Among the essays included in this book is one titled Paper as Progress by Colin Berry that notes:

If you [as a designer] are serious about reducing paper consumption, consider other ways to integrate the “recycled” concept. At Celery, Brian Dougherty (whose book we have also recommended) re-designs tab folders, door hangers, and other paper products in order to maximize his press sheets. And at Werner Design Werks in Minneapolis, principal Sharon Werner sleuths out caches of old unused paper: bingo sheets, butter wrappers, antique envelopes, wallpaper from thrift shops and junk stores. When printing on these she finds the effec is interesting and innovative.

The publisher’s review of the book:

By examining how companies such as American Apparel and Lego have been able to understand their places in the business world as places in the physical world, Green Design shows how designers and companies that take progressive, creative approaches to products and product marketing can satisfy bottom lines as they maintain environmental and social values.

Though the book features color photographs of all the small products mentioned, Green Design is not a glorified catalog. It is a collection of products that exemplifies the work of designers leading the trend for people to downsize and upgrade their lives for the betterment of one another and the world we share.

With essays by writers who have collectively contributed to Wired, Mother Jones, NPR’s All Things Considered, Entertainment Weekly, The Asian Wall Street Journal, Print, The San Francisco Chronicle, I.D., dwell and Photo District News, Green Design is a book suited for designers implementing aspects of green design and consumers who want to be informed about the products they buy.

(Added to the “Reading List” on February 4, 2009)

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Packaging Sustainability: Tools, Systems, and Strategies for Innovative Package Design, Wendy Jedlicka, Wiley (2008)

With initiatives like the Wal-Mart Scorecard in the U.S. and the E.U.’s Packaging Directive, delivering sustainable packaging is now an integral part of today’s global competitive market.

Packaging Sustainability is a comprehensive, single source of actionable information that enables everyone involved in the design and development process to make smart, informed decisions, opening new possibilities for creating truly innovative solutions.

The classic role of packaging is to “Protect, Inform, and Sell.” Today, packaging must do all that—but with minimal eco-impact. Packaging Sustainability is a comprehensive guide to thinking outside the box to create practical, cost-effective, and eco-responsible packaging.

With a broad range of contributions from pioneers of sustainability, Packaging Sustainability not only describes the concepts of sustainability but reveals the logic behind them, providing you with the tools to sift through and adapt to the ever changing barrage of materials, services, regulations, and mandates.

(Added to the “Reading List” on February 4, 2009)

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Green Graphic Design, Brian Doughtery, Allworth Press (2009)

The first book to focus on sustainable design:

• Green paper, printing, binding, shipping, packaging, more
• Author is a respected leader in green design
• Simple, doable changes that can help save the earth

Brian Dougherty is a partner at Celery Design Collaborative and a recognized leader in green design. A founding member of the board of advisors for the AIGA Center for Sustainable Design, he lives and works in Berkeley, California.

(Added to the “Reading List” on January 14, 2009)

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The Sustainability Revolution, Andrés R. Edwards, New Society Publishers (2005)

Sustainability has become a buzzword in the last decade, but its full meaning is complex, emerging from a range of different sectors. In practice, it has become the springboard for millions of individuals throughout the world who are forging the fastest and most profound social transformation of our time-the sustainability revolution.

The Sustainability Revolution paints a picture of this largely unrecognized phenomenon from the point of view of five major sectors of society:

• Community (government and international institutions)
• Commerce (business)
• Resource extraction (forestry, farming, fisheries etc.)
• Ecological design (architecture, technology)
• Biosphere (conservation, biodiversity etc.)

The book analyzes sustainability as defined by each of these sectors in terms of the principles, declarations and intentions that have emerged from conferences and publications, and which serve as guidelines for policy decisions and future activities. Common themes are then explored, including:

• An emphasis on stewardship
• The need for economic restructuring promoting no waste and equitable distribution
• An understanding and respect for the principles of nature
• The restoration of life forms
• An intergenerational perspective on solutions

Concluding that these themes in turn represent a new set of values that define this paradigm shift, The Sustainability Revolution describes innovative sustainable projects and policies in Colombia, Brazil, India and the Netherlands and examines future trends. Complete with a useful resources list, this is the first book of its kind and will appeal to business and government policymakers, academics and all interested in sustainability.

(Added to the “Reading List” on December 28, 2008)

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Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, Paul Hawkin, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins, Little Brown and Co. (1999)

Most businesses still operate according to a world view that hasn’t changed since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Then, natural resources were abundant and labor was the limiting factor of production. But now, there’s a surplus of people, while natural capital – natural resources and the ecological systems that provide vital life-support services – is scarce and relatively expensive.

In this groundbreaking blueprint for a new economy, three leading business visionaries explain how the world is on the verge of a new industrial revolution. Natural Capitalism describes a future in which business and environmental interests increasingly overlap, and in which companies can improve their bottom lines, help solve environmental problems – and feel better about what they do – all at the same time.

Citing hundreds of compelling stories from a wide array of sectors, the book shows how to realize benefits both for today’s shareholders and for future generations – and how, by firing the “unproductive tons, gallons, and kilowatt-hours,” it’s possible to keep the people who will foster the innovation that drives future improvement.

(Added to the “Reading List” on November 20, 2008)

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Lean Manufacturing for the Small Shop (Second Edition), Gary Conner, Society of Manufacturing Engineers (2008)

Thousands of people at hundreds of companies have used the Shingo-Prize-Award-winning first edition of “Lean Manufacturing for the Small Shop” as their how-to guide to shortening delivery times, eliminating waste, improving quality, and reducing costs.

Revised and expanded, the Second Edition describes not only what to do, but includes many tools useful to the reader describing how to do it. The principles of the Toyota production system are effective in any industry and within any company.

But the challenge is to apply the right tool, at the right place, at the right time, while maintaining the flexibility and nimble nature required of smaller shops. Customized to be applicable to this environment, some of the tools explored include kaizen, value stream mapping, takt time, determining optimum lot sizes, setup reduction, flow, standard work instructions, problem solving, overall equipment effectiveness, jidoka and poka yoke, pull systems, standard work-in-process, and facility planning. To help a company benchmark progress, there is also a lean self-assessment included.

(Added to the “Reading List” on November 10, 2008)

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The Business Guide to Sustainability: Practical Strategies and Tools for Organizations, Darcy Hitchcock and Marsha Willard, Earthscan Publications Ltd. (2006)

This easy-to-use manual has been written by top business consultants specifically to help managers, business owners, organizational leaders, and aspiring environmental managers and sustainability co-ordinators. It demystifies “sustainability,” untangles the plethora of sustainability frameworks, tools and practices, and makes it easy for the average person in any organization to move toward “sustainability.”

Organized by sector (manufacturing, services, and government) and function (top management, marketing and PR, purchasing, facilities, human resources, finance and accounting and health and safety), the authors show how organizations can apply sustainability in their everyday work through the application of useful tools and self-assessments.

This is the most comprehensive and user-friendly guide to implementing sustainability in any organization and is indispensable for all organizations seeking to lower their environmental impact and improve the bottom line. (Amazon product description)

(Added to the “Reading List” on October 19, 2008)

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Green Business: A Five-part Model for Creating an Environmentally Responsible Company, Amy K. Townsend, Schiffer Publishing (2006)

This book offers a five-part model companies can follow to “green” themselves. Moreover, it shares the success, and failures, of forerunners in this fast-growing business trend.

It sites seventeen case studies that illustrate “green” advantages enjoyed by companies like Interface, Inc., Patagonia, IBM, Mitsubishi Corporation, and others. Winning “green” practices like the following have enhanced the performance of companies, both in employee retention, customer loyalty, and overall profits.

Learn what is driving this movement and what a company needs to do to improve its environmental performance. While many companies have made great strides in improving their environmental performances, there is little standardization for what is “greened.” (Amazon product description)

(Added to the “Reading List” on October 19, 2008)

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Greening Your Business: The Hands-On Guide to Creating a Successful and Sustainable Business, Daniel Sitarz, Nova Publishing Company (2008)

In the next few years, energy and carbon restraints will affect every small and medium-sized business owner. This hands-on guide shows entrepreneurs how to save energy, materials, and money by reducing their businesses’ impact on the Earth. Unlike any other similar books, this book provides a step-by-step and hands-on approach to analyzing any businesses’ operations and developing detailed plans to make those operations much more efficient and energy conscious while increasing the bottom line.

Greening Your Business is just what the doctor ordered: A smart and sensible, hands-on guide any company can use to align environmental responsibility with business success. Finally, in one place, is the full menu of possibilities, from small steps to large ones, clearly spelled out, combining checklists with concise and compelling context. It’s destined to become a bible for any company seeking to stay competitive in the growing green economy. (Joel Makower, Executive Editor, GreenBiz.com, and author, Strategies for the Green Economy)

With charts, worksheets, and other practical tools and advice, Dan Sitarz’s Greening Your Business: A Hands-On Guide to Creating a Successful and Sustainable Business offers a step-by-step game plan for bringing environmental sensitivity into business strategy, especially for the small business person. With material covering the full spectrum of issues from energy to water to waste, Sitarsz gives practical advice on how to respond to the green wave that is sweeping across society. (Daniel Esty, Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale Law School, and co-author of Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage.)

(Description and reviews from Amazon.com. Added to the “Reading List” on October 3, 2008)

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Strategies for the New Green Economy, Joel Makower, McGraw-Hill (2008)

In Strategies for the New Green Economy, Joel Makower, one of the world’s foremost green business experts, provides a clear roadmap for this challenging terrain. Makower offers insights and inspiration gleaned from his 20 years’ experience helping Fortune 500 companies and start-ups alike formulate strategies that align environmental and business goals.

Providing a comprehensive and realistic look at both the opportunities and challenges, Strategies for the New Green Economy shows how leadership companies are finding their way in the green economy, while their competitors struggle.

Including groundbreaking data about customers’ attitudes and behaviors regarding green products and services, Strategies for the Green Economy will lead you through the thicket of finicky customers, confusing research reports, and public cynicism regarding green marketing claims – and place you on solid footing in the growing green economy. (Publisher’s Review)

(Added to the “Reading List” on October 2, 2008)

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Relevance: Making Stuff That Matters, Tim Manners, Portfolio Hardcover (2008)

After years studying remarkable companies and speaking to some of the most influential leaders around, Tim Manners has discovered a solution to the marketing woes of many brands. Stop worrying about demographics, fads, and cutting-edge advertising. Instead, focus on relevance. Manners shares how the best of the best create solutions to their customers’ problems and help them live happier lives. You’ll learn how:

• Levi’s reasserted relevance when it created wardrobe solutions for men.
• Dunkin Donuts stopped trying to mimic the look and feel of Starbucks and found success by delivering a simple, quick cup of joe.
• Hasbro reinvented board games for today’s time-pressed consumers.
• Kleenex’s new germ-fighting tissues helped keep the company relevant by turning a useful product into a necessary one.
• Staples stopped wasting its shoppers’ time with extraneous products.
• Nintendo’s simple design for the Wii appealed to consumers of all ages and game designers alike, allowing it to outsell its competitors.

The path to sustainable growth for your brand begins with designing meaningful solutions and providing them when and where people need them most. Relevance will teach you how to become – and remain – indispensable. (Publisher’s Review)

(Added to the “Reading List” on September 24, 2008)

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Reading List – Page 1

Reading List – Page 3