Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environmental and Economic Impacts (Business)
A thorough guidebook on strategies and best practices for corporate leaders, strategists, academics, and sustainability consultants * One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2008 * One of Sustainable Industries Best Books of 2008 Faculty members/course leaders: a free 38pp Study Guide is now available to accompany this book. Buy this book! There are books on sustainability and there are books on implementing management practices to support sustainability in real organizations. Making Sustainability Work is in the latter category. Marc Epstein authors the book with over 25 years of industry experience as a senior consultant on the topic of sustainability. His book begins like many others: with an introduction to the topic of sustainability and the customary follow-up discussion on how strong leadership and "buy-in" are must-haves for successful organizational change and implementation. It is at this point that the book separates itself from the pack. Making Sustainability Work contains the most inclusive and comprehensive discussion of measuring, managing and quantifying all of the business risks, benefits and impacts to society and the environment I have seen in a book. A cautionary note to the small business reader: The discussion is derived from large organizations that often have resources dedicated to this type of strategic thinking and analysis that small and medium enterprises often do not. It is often said that what gets measured gets managed, and what gets managed gets done. If this is true, then Epstein's latest book is instrumental and indispensable for moving sustainability to the next level in business. Are you ready for that? Making Sustainability Work is one of Sustainable Industries Best Books of 2008. -- Aaron Berg, Sustainable Industries Making Sustainability Work is an outstanding contribution to the field. This book will be an invaluable resource for senior executives, boards, and managers looking to integrate sustainability into their decision making. Strategic Finance The accessible, often stimulating, style, and the straightforward Corporate Sustainability Model allow readers to dip in and out of the text when addressing different ways of considering corporate social and environmental impacts ... a helpful guide for managers tasked with implementing strategies to embed consideration of social and environmental impacts in large organizations. In an academic environment, it could also be usefully integrated into business strategy and social and environmental accounting courses. Read the full review (PDF) -- Brendan O'Dwyer, Professor of Accounting, University of Amsterdam Business School The Accounting Review Issue 3 (2009) Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is no longer an optional string in the corporate bow, it has morphed and grown. Whatever the motivation for implementing CSR initiatives be it human concern, government regulation, stakeholder pressures or economic profit - multinationals and new start-ups alike are changing. They are realising they must effectively manage their social and ecological impacts in order not just to excel, but to survive. With stakes so high, the question on every corporate leader's mind is how to make CSR a reality. In Making Sustainability Work, Marc Epstein firstly acknowledges somewhat reassuringly the difficult nature of putting these step changes in place. This book spells out the plan to make sustainability happen, with practical day-to-day, results-oriented sense. This is not just a "how to do" guide but very much a "how to get it done" bible. Epstein crucially includes instructions on how to measure the results of CSR initiatives, which is notably lacking in previous texts. Drawing on research into best practices of 100 companies worldwide including Starbucks, Dell and Coca-Cola, the book puts forward a model for implementing sustainability initiatives. Although vast, the topics covered revolve around the following critical areas: * The role of executive management in leading sustainability activities * How organisational design can improve sustainability * Integration of social risk factors into investment, costing and risk * Improving sustainability performance through incentives and rewards * Measuring corporate social, environmental and economic impacts Making Sustainability Work successfully translates the strategic rhetoric of CSR initiatives into practical, real-life use. Epstein provides and explains tools, processes and metrics to produce and monitor true corporate sustainability. This insightful guide will appeal to corporate leaders, strategists, academics, sustainability consultants, and anyone else with an interest in actively practicing sustainability. http://www.lmcuk.com/book-review/making-sustainability-work London Management Centre As a practitioner's guide, Epstein's book offers several virtues not found in other similar sustainability works for managers. First and foremost, his language is the language of business ... Second, sustainability impacts are described using quantitative measures based on Epstein's extensive experience across decades of work with companies. Third, the challenge of sustainability is framed in terms of structures, systems, and procedures ... Fourth, a range of management techniques is offered, including scenario planning to assess future trends. Fifth, the work is peppered with relevant examples to illustrate key points ... And sixth, Epstein does an elegant job in providing a broad strategic vision of the role of global corporations in today's world - a role in which innovation and profit are consistent with addressing sustainability challenges for society and the environment ... Epstein has done a remarkable job of taking the existing methods of management and expanding them to include environmental and social impacts that, until now, were externalized or relegated to the business fringe. Armed with the insights and techniques in this book, practitioners will be able to tackle the sustainability challenges of their organizations in ways that can make them and their companies more successful. Read the full review (PDF) -- Chris Laszlo, visiting professor at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Manageme Promising to deliver the guidance that companies need in order to manage social, economic and environmental impact while remaining competitive, this book boasts its ability as the ultimate "how to do it" guide for corporate leaders, strategists, academics and sustainability consultants. No longer the exclusive territory of smaller, outwardly responsible companies such as Ben & Jerry's and the Body Shop, sustainability is becoming a prerequisite of a successful company worldwide. Covering everything from strategy, leadership and budgeting to evaluation of success and the benefits of sustainability, Making Sustainability Work delivers a compact and achievable guide to conquering what could be a dizzying mountain to climb. The Environmentalist 61 (7 July 2008) Die zahlreichen Beispiele bieten einen Uberblick zum State-of-the-Art des Nachhaltigkeitsmanagements in der Praxis. Fur Controller und Manager bietet es einen guten Einstieg in das Thema. -- Peter Horvath, Controlling 8/9 (August/September 2008) The strength of [Epstein's] book is that it does not just discuss corporate social responsibility but enumerates concrete strategies for generating real and measurable impacts in this area. Epstein's goal is to help corporations develop best practices for corporate sustainability, and he neatly extends his discussion of best practices with reference to applied research. A key question posed and addressed to organizations is, "What are you doing now and what should you be doing in the future?" Epstein answers with a blend of actual business practice and academic research, with a focus on assessment and measurement of sustainability initiatives. This synthesis combining best practices with real, measurable outcomes and conceptual "talk" about corporate social responsibility is a welcome addition to the literature ... Integrating corporate social responsibility into a corporate management construct is a major contribution of Epstein's lucid, well-written, timely work. Summing up: Highly recommended. -- S.A. Schulman, CUNY Kingsborough Community College Choice magazine, October 2008--This text refers to an alternateHardcoveredition.