Beyond Sustainability Reporting

How to Convert Sustainability Disclosure into Action New standards such as those of the International Sustainability Standards Board and new regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission are challenging companies to increase and improve their disclosure on what they are doing to support sustainability for their Environmental, Social and Governance activities. Companies are responding by changing their controls and procedures to include sustainability processes. But is this enough? For companies that truly want to help with sustainability issues, the answer is no. What is needed is the more action-oriented approach laid out in this book, which: Enables modifying the corporate strategic plans to include real sustainability actions. Makes use of the skills developed in providing sustainability disclosures, such as integrated thinking. Includes proper adoption of recognized standards for control procedures recognized by regulatory authorities. Adapts traditional management change tools, such as SWOT and the Porter Five Forces Model to include sustainability. Shows how to move the company from sustainability disclosure to integrated thinking to Corporate Social Responsibility. Beyond Sustainability Reporting: Integrated Thinking and Corporate Social Responsibility is a must-read for any company wanting to make a strong contribution to sustainability issues, for educators who wish to teach sustainability issues and how to manage them, and for anyone interested in knowing how companies can develop a strong and successful action-oriented program for sustainability.

How to Convert Sustainability Disclosure into Action New standards such as those of the International Sustainability Standards Board and new regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission are challenging companies to increase and improve their disclosure on what they are doing to support sustainability for their Environmental, Social and Governance activities. Companies are responding by changing their controls and procedures to include sustainability processes. But is this enough? For companies that truly want to help with sustainability issues, the answer is no. What is needed is the more action-oriented approach laid out in this book, which: Enables modifying the corporate strategic plans to include real sustainability actions. Makes use of the skills developed in providing sustainability disclosures, such as integrated thinking. Includes proper adoption of recognized standards for control procedures recognized by regulatory authorities. Adapts traditional management change tools, such as SWOT and the Porter Five Forces Model to include sustainability. Shows how to move the company from sustainability disclosure to integrated thinking to Corporate Social Responsibility. Beyond Sustainability Reporting: Integrated Thinking and Corporate Social Responsibility is a must-read for any company wanting to make a strong contribution to sustainability issues, for educators who wish to teach sustainability issues and how to manage them, and for anyone interested in knowing how companies can develop a strong and successful action-oriented program for sustainability.

Every fifteen seconds on our Earth, a child dies from waterborne disease. Three times an hour, another species becomes extinct. Each day we consume eighty-five million barrels of oil and pump twenty-three million tons of carbon dioxide into an already warming atmosphere. But against this bleak backdrop, beacons of hope shine from thousands of large and small initiatives taking place everywhere from isolated villages to major urban centers. Thriving Beyond Sustainability draws a collective map of individuals, organizations, and communities from around the world that are committed to building an alternative future—one that strives to restore ecological health; reinvent outmoded institutions; and rejuvenate our environmental, social, and economic systems. The projects and initiatives profiled are meeting the challenges of the day with optimism, hope, and results, leading the way in: Relocalization Green commerce Ecological design Environmental conservation Social transformation Overflowing with inspiration, the stories and ideas in these pages will cause the most chronic pessimist to see the glass as half full—to move beyond a perception of surviving with scarcity to one of flourishing with abundance. The comprehensive resource section provides the tools for everyone to become a catalyst for change. Andres R. Edwards is the author of The Sustainability Revolution, which has sold over twenty thousand copies. He is an educator, media designer, LEED-accredited green building and sustainability consultant, and the founder of EduTracks, a firm specializing in developing education programs and providing consulting services on sustainable practices.

This book approaches environmentalism via two academic disciplines, sociology and philosophy. Both have concerns about the environment's ability not only to sustain itself but to thrive. The authors argue that rather than simple sustainability, we must promote thrivability for the sake of protecting the environment and all living things. In this greatly expanded second edition, the authors have updated data and examples, introduced new topics and concepts, and emphasized the need to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels. Numerous topics are explored, from the differences between sustainability and thrivability, and the overuse of plastic, to mass extinction, the role of natural disasters and more. The Covid-19 pandemic offers an added perspective on the relationship between disease and the environment.

Levinson and Horowitz show the dramatic potential for profit in not just being a green company, but in addressing the huge social problems that have stumped humankind for millennia. Instead of waiting centuries for government to get it done, business can grab the reins and accomplish more through the profit motive than through any amount of guilt-tripping. Green practices can save and make money, and deep social change can skyrocket those revenues---when marketed correctly.

A pragmatic new business model for sustainability that outlines eight steps that range from exploring a mission to promoting innovation; with case studies. Many recent books make the case for businesses to become more sustainable, but few explain the specifics. In this book, Francisco Szekely and Zahir Dossa offer a pragmatic new business model for sustainability that extends beyond the traditional framework of the triple bottom line, describing eight steps that range from exploring a vision and establishing a strategy to implementing the strategy and promoting innovation. Szekely and Dossa argue that businesses and organizations need to move away from the business case for sustainability toward a sustainable business model. That is, businesses should go beyond the usual short-term focus on minimizing harm while maximizing profits. Instead, businesses on the path to sustainability should, from the start, focus on addressing a societal need and view profitability not as an end but as a means to support the sustainable organization. Szekely and Dossa explore key problems organizations face when pursuing a sustainability agenda. Each chapter presents one of the eight steps, describes a business dilemma for sustainability, provides a theoretically grounded strategic framework, offers case studies that illustrate the dilemma, and summarizes key findings; the case studies draw on the experiences of such companies as Tesla Motors, Patagonia, TOMs, and Panera. The book emphasizes leadership, arguing that leaders who question the status quo, inspire others, and take risks are essential for achieving sustainable business practices.

From the authors "Cradle to Cradle," the next step, in how society must change the way it uses resources. Drawing on the lessons gained from 10 years of using the cradle-to-cradle concept, McDonough and Braungart envision the next step in the solution to our ecological crisis.

Business-as-usual, it is widely accepted, will exceed the Earth's carrying capacity in an alarmingly short space of time. In simple terms, we need to learn to use the world's rapidly depleting resources in a significantly more efficient manner. Practical and readily adopted solutions are needed now. Eco-efficiency-or "produce more with less" – is achieved when goods and services satisfy human needs, increase the quality of life at competitive prices and when environmental impacts and resource intensity are decreased to a degree that keeps them within the limits of Earth's expected carrying capacity. Eco-efficiency – a term first proposed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in 1992 – is a management approach that allows businesses to carry out environmental protection measures from a market-oriented point of view, with the aim of illustrating that ecology and the economy do not need to be a contradiction. Indeed, eco-efficiency has been portrayed as a win-win-for both business and the environment. This book, which developed out of two conferences on eco-efficiency held in Düsseldorf in 1998 and 2001, is edited by Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker and his team from the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, one of the world's leading research programmes on resource productivity. The aim is not simply to explain the past and present of eco-efficiency but to look forward to and encourage a future where the comprehensive take-up of the concept by business, government and consumers could lead to innovation on a grand scale and the possibility of a giant leap beyond towards overall sustainability. There have been considerable achievements to date. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which aims to list the most sustainable corporations for investors, includes companies such as BASF, Climatex, Henkel and Matushita/Panasonic (all represented in this book), who are implementing eco-efficiency measures. A number of political initiatives have also been formed. In December 2001, the German government suggested a National Sustainability Strategy to measure Germany's sustainable development. While this not yet an accepted political target or even law, it shows that politics is moving toward binding targets for increasing efficiency. Eco-Efficiency and Beyond collects together the leading thinkers on the topic and aims to illustrate not only that the concept should be part of every business strategy but that it is a key trigger for innovation. Innovation cuts through paradoxes. It is the creation of solutions to conflicting demands. Flying in a vacuum gave us rockets and satellites; switching electrons through insulators gave us Silicon Valley and the digital age. Sustainable development presents a similar field of paradoxical innovation forces: i.e. provide affordable products and services for the growing unmet needs of the world population while reducing environmental impacts. This book is the definitive collection on eco-efficiency and will be required reading for business, government, NGOs and academicians.